The 'josh' of sitar

What is common to George Harrison (The Beatles and Traveling Wilburys), Lowell George (Little Feat), Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), Brian Jones and Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones) and Emily Robison (Dixie Chicks)?

They are all Westerners who are respected exponents of the sitar, an Indian instrument they mastered without a familial musical legacy. In the same bracket as these greats is American Josh Feinberg, who took stage at a special sitar baithak organised by Mumbai's Chhandam Nritya Bharati school on Saturday. "I've been training in sitar for several years and this is my fourth year of performing in India. This is the first time I am performing in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai."

Raised in a musical family, Feinberg grew up in Lawrence, on Long Island, just outside New York City. He was introduced to music through classical piano when only four years old and the bass violin when he was eight. "At 12, I knew I wanted to be a professional musician and often practised music for up to 12 hours a day. In the next two years, I began to enjoy the improvisation in jazz and took to learning jazz drums. My teacher Dan Weiss was the first to introduce me to Indian classical music." He adds that the music of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pt Nikhil Banerjee made a strong impression on him.

While at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Feinberg studied sitar with Dr Peter Row and Dr George Ruckert, and khayal and raga theory with Warren Senders. "I love so many things about Hindustani music—its depth, complexity, improvisation and refinement. There is a grace and a dignity in this music when it's played at the highest levels, and that speaks to me directly."

He also underlines how classical artistes will never have the same appeal as The Beatles or U2. "But that's okay. A true artiste must accept the possibility that no one cares about their art, yet they will do it anyway—because they must."

His own training with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan began in 2005. While pointing out how the concept of melody and rhythm exist in both Western and Indian classical music, he admits it took him a while to get used to the Indian guru-shishya tradition.

Though the late maestro had stopped accepting students formally, he taught Feinberg "with a lot of love" till he passed away in 2009. "He was also quite strict. When he once asked each student to play a murki in raga Kedar he had demonstrated, he scarcely heard the other students who got it right for a minute or two, but made me repeatedly play the same murki for nearly 15-20 minutes. Later, when I apologised, he told me to practise till I got it right… he was that invested in his students."

Feinberg is also thankful to his guru's senior disciples and sons—Aashish Khan, Tejendra Majumdar, Anindya Banerjee, James Pomerantz and Alam Khan. "They've all been very kind in opening up their doors and hearts to me."

He has also explored the possibilities of the sitar through collaborations with legendary tap dancer Savion Glover and saxophonist Patrick Lamb. He has also recorded on jazz drummer Richie Barshay's album Homework (which included pianist Herbie Hancock as a special guest) and cellist Gideon Freudmann's new album Rain Monsters.

Calling music one of the greatest creations of human beings, he speaks passionately about its ability to transcend everything material and go straight to the listener's soul. "Time marches on, music which doesn't move forward will stagnate and die. New approaches always take time to be accepted. The best thing we can do is keep an open mind, and listen with love."