Vishwa Mohan Bhatt
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Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, known professionally as V. M. Bhatt, is an Indian
Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...
instrumentalist who invented and plays a modified
slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...
that is widely called the Mohan veena.


Personal life

Bhatt lives in
Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
,
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, with his wife and two sons. His elder son Salil Bhatt is a Mohan veena player (and also a player of the ''Satvik veena''). His younger son Saurabh Bhatt is a Music Composer who has composed music for films, music albums and TV serials. Bhatt's parents, Manmohan Bhatt and Chandrakala Bhatt were teaching and performing musicians, who imparted knowledge of music to V.M Bhatt. His nephew, Krishna Bhatt, plays the sitar and tabla. He is the younger brother of Manju Mehta who is co-founder of Saptak School of Music at
Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...
and a trained disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar.


Career

Bhatt is best known for his
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
winning album '' A Meeting by the River'' with
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
released on Water Lily Acoustics label. He is also known for other fusion and pan-cultural collaborations with Western artists such as
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
,
Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...
and
Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...
. Exposure such as an appearance on the 2004
Crossroads Guitar Festival The Crossroads Guitar Festival is a series of music festivals and benefit concerts founded by Eric Clapton. The festivals benefit the Crossroads Centre founded by Eric Clapton, a drug treatment center in Antigua. The concerts showcase a variet ...
, organized by
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
, allowed his playing to reach a larger audience. In 2016, he performed a duet that has been released online with Kapil Srivastava, another leading Indian guitarist and the founder of Guitarmonk The folk musician
Harry Manx Harry Manx (born 1955) is a Canadian musician who blends blues, folk music, and Hindustani classical music. His official website describes his music as being a "blend Indian folk melodies with slide guitar blues, add a sprinkle of gospel and ...
, who studied with Salil Bhatt for five years, plays a Mohan veena.
Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immergl ...
' bassist Matt Malley also plays a Mohan veena and is a student and friend of Bhatt. Australian musician
Lawrie Minson Lawrence (Lawrie) Minson (born 13 September 1958) is an Australian country musician, best known as a session player. Career Minson is the son of former Australian radio personality John Minson. His country music career commenced in 1979 acco ...
also learned Mohan veena from Salil.


Select discography

*1992 - ''Guitar A La Hindustan'', Magnasound (India) *1992 - ''Saradamani'', Water Lily Acoustics *1993 - ''Gathering Rain Clouds'', Water Lily Acoustics *1993 - '' A Meeting by the River'' (with
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
), Water Lily Acoustics *1995 - ''Bourbon & Rosewater'' (with
Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...
&
Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won seven Grammy Awards and been nominated ten times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass ...
), Water Lily Acoustics *1995 - ''
Mumtaz Mahal Mumtaz Mahal (; ; born Arjumand Banu Begum; 27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of t ...
'' (with
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
& N. Ravikiran), Water Lily Acoustics *1996 - ''Saltanah'' (with Simon Shaheen), Water Lily Acoustics *1996 - '' Tabula Rasā'' (with
Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...
& Jie-Bing Chen), Water Lily Acoustics *1996 - ''Sounds of Strings'', Music today, India *1997 - ''
Iruvar ''Iruvar'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language epic political drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film, inspired by the lives of M. G. Ramachandran, M. Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa, is set against the backdrop ...
'' (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack,
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...
) *2002 - ''Indian Delta'' (with Sandeep Das), Sense World Music, U.K. *2008 - ''Mohan's Veena'', Times Music, India *2010 - ''Desert Slide'', Times Music, India *2010 - ''Mohan's Veena II'', Times Music, India *2011 - ''Groove Caravan'', Deeksha Records, Canada *2012- "Morning Mist", Bihaan Music, Kolkatta, India *2014 - OMKARA - The Sound of Divine Love (with Rupam Sarmah) *2015-"Vishwa Ranjini"-Bihaan Music, Kolkatta, India


Awards

* 1993
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
(Best World Music Album) – '' A Meeting by the River''(With
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
) *
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...
, 1998 *
Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
, 2002 *
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
, 2017


References


Further reading

*Hunt, Ken (Oct. 1994) "A straight Bhatt ... the Grammy-winning, Cooder-collaborating inventor of the Mohan Vina" ''Folk Roots'', Oct. 1994; pp. 42–45


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatt, Vishwa Mohan Grammy Award winners Hindustani instrumentalists Indian guitarists Living people Rajasthani people Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Musicians from Jaipur Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Slide guitarists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts 20th-century Indian musicians Year of birth missing (living people)