Bollywood Icon Asha Bhosle Celebrates "75 Years of Asha" as Part of Kimmel Center Debut on
March 17, 2008
"She's a virtuoso, and she sang with a girlish, pure voice. Drifting effortlessly from pitch to pitch, her phrases, animated by vibrato, floated like heat waves coming off hot asphalt. Her tunes…forced American soul music, rockabilly, James Bond movie music and country music through an Indian filter."
Bollywood icon Asha Bhosle celebrates "75 Years of Asha" at her Kimmel Center debut in Verizon Hall on Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 7:30pm. Dubbed the "Queen of Indipop," Bhosle has been extolled as one of the greatest playback singers in Bollywood history with more than 12,000 recorded songs to her name. She has performed in more than 15 languages a repertoire that ranges from cabaret-style pop to Indian folk songs, and Sufi devotional music to traditional Indian classical. Vocalist Amit Kumar, son of the late actor and Indian playback singer Kishore Kumar, will join Bhosle and ensemble on stage.
Beyond her 950 film credits, Bhosle has developed a pop following with her own unique brand of Indipop albums, such as the 2007 release of Asha and Friends, and collaborations with Michael Stipe and Boy George. The first Indian singer to be nominated for a Grammy® Award, Bhosle earned a second nomination for her collaboration with Grammy® Award winner Kronos Quartet in 2006.
This concert is the twenty-second concert in the World & Pop Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season. The next concert in the series will be Jerry Blavat’s Doo Wop Reunion on April 13, 2008 at 7:30pm.
Tickets for Asha Bhosle are $35, $49, $65 and $100 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Asha Bhosle has garnered scores of awards and nominations throughout her career, including more than 15 Maharashtra State Awards and several Filmfare, MTV and National Film Awards. She has been recognized with a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award presented by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Filmfare’s Lifetime Achievement Award and The Freddie Mercury Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts. On January 26, 2008, Bhosle was awarded the prestigious Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India. A native of Sangli, Maharashtra in India, Bhosle was trained by her father in classical music, but soon followed her sister, popular playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, into the realm of film music. In addition to contributing vocals for films such as "Rangeela" (1995), "Dil To Pagal Hai" (1997) and "Taal" (1999), Bhosle released her own albums, including a self-titled album in 2005 and Love Supreme in 2006. Her songs have been sampled on recordings by British opera pop singer Sarah Brightman, Nelly Furtado and the Black Eyed Peas. Bhosle also holds honorary doctorate degrees in literature from the University of Amravati and the University of Jalgaon.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Sunday, April 6, 2008 | 7:30pm
Verizon Hall
World & Pop
Asha Bhosle
With special guest
Amit Kumar
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Sunday, April 6, 2008 | 6pm & 10pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Sangeet Society
Join us in Commonwealth Plaza as Maitrayee Patel, Vaishali Patankar, and local Indian classical music artists take us on a delightful musical tour from Indian classical, semi-classical, folk, and film songs prior to and following the ticketed Asha Bhosle performance in Verizon Hall.
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