When Roger Lipson first started piano lessons as child, he had no idea that he would eventually make a name for himself as a musician, and as a life-long devotee of Indian classical music at that. Today, he is the talent behind his company, Shaadi Ki Shehnai, which provides a realm of Indian classical and bridal instrumentals and songs for high-end weddings across the US.
Yes, he plays many, many instruments including the clarinet, guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, sitar and shehnai. And yes, he sings as well. But what most people don’t know is the Roger has been known to rock out at NYC legendary live music venues such as Joe’s Pub, The Highline Ballroom, B.B King’s amongst others. Roger has also played at the Indian Consulate (New York) for the Maharini of Gwalior and has performed at Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors Festival with a performance of The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” played in its entirety with a full orchestra, rock band, vocalists and Indian ensemble.
He has also recorded for the PBS television series Nova and the Miramax feature film, Our Idiot Brother and has found himself on a number of pop recordings most notably, with The Easy Star All Stars and their album, Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band (#1 on Billboard’s reggae charts for 2009).
Here, Roger talks to us about his unique and varied career.
How did you get involved in South Asian music? Like so many Westerners, I was first exposed to Indian music, in particular Hindustani music, through The Beatles and their introduction of Ravi Shankar to the international audience. But I found, as much as I love their Indian influenced songs, and play them to this day, that I wanted to get deeper into the classical tradition.
When I first started as a musician I played jazz and pop music–I’ve always loved a variety of instruments, and I’ve spent time on clarinet, drums, guitar, and electric bass. At a certain point, Indian music began calling me and I started listening to the music more and more. It felt very familiar to me, even though I didn’t know the structure of the music at all. It motivated me to purchase a sitar. I had no idea how I would learn the music other than listening to recordings. But there’s an expression, “When the student is ready, the teacher will come,” and that became a reality. I met my first sitar teacher quite unexpectedly and studied with him for about seven years.
In more recent years, I’ve been privileged to study shehnai with my ustadji, Fateh Ali Khan, in Banares.
What and how many instruments do you play? Sitar and shehnai keep me very busy all year, but I also work regularly as an electric bass player; I have an endorsement deal with the Hofner instrument company. They’ve been Paul McCartney’s supplier of bass guitars since 1961. In addition to those, I also play guitar, drums, and keyboard; and I sing, too.
After playing sitar for 14 years, a colleague who knew that I played clarinet suggested that I give shehnai a try. Easier said than done. Though they are both wind/reed instruments, the techniques are very different and finding a shehnai that is remotely playable is impossible outside of India. I am blessed to have a shehnai from my ustadji’s family that is over 30 years old and has a wonderful tone.
Why did you choose to focus on the wedding market? I love to perform and I found that the wedding market offered many opportunities to perform in a variety of settings and locations, and for a wide variety of people.
There is a great satisfaction being a part of a wedding, and in the case of Indian weddings it’s very gratifying and humbling to have the guests come over and pay their respects after hearing me play. I am grateful for my gurus (for sitar) and my ustad (for shehnai) every day.
Do you travel for weddings? I’ve had the honor to be flown to California many times, which from New York City would be the furthest. In addition, I’ve had clients fly me to Florida, Texas, New Orleans, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Pittsburgh and North Carolina.
And for those of your readers who live outside of the USA, please know that I have a valid passport and would love to add some new stamps to it!
Where do you see yourself in the future? My hope is that I will be playing music until there is no longer a breath in my body! The best current example of this is Pandit Ravi Shankar, who at 92 is still performing! Western classical musicians Arthur Rubenstein, Yasha Heifitz and Yehudi Menuhin continued performing well into their eighties, and I aspire to do the same.
In the near future, I plan to make some new recordings of some favorite ragas and to perform more formal concerts.
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