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Kadri Gopalnath, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

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Hometown: Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Age: 69 Years
Wife: Sarojini

 

Kadri Goapnath

Bio/Wiki
ProfessionSaxophonist
Physical Stats & More
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourBlack (semi bald)
Career
DebutLive Performance: All India Radio, Mangaluru, 1978 [1]
Commercial Performance: Jazz Festival Bombay, 1980
Awards, Honours, Achievements 1996: Karnataka Kalashree
1998: Tamil Nadu State Award-Kalaimamani
1998: Karnataka Rajyotsava Award
2004: Padman shri by the Government Of India.
Kadri Gopalnath receiving Padma Shri by the President Dr. A. P. J Abdul Kalam
2004: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Carnatic Music - Instrumental (Saxophone)
2013: Sangeetha Kalasikhamani award by The Indian Fine arts Society, Chennai.
2018: Kamban Pugazh award by All Ceylon Kamban Society, Sri Lanka.
Other awards include: Saxophone Charkravarthy, Saxophone Samrat, Ganakala Shree, Nadapasana Brahma, Sunada Prakashika, Nada Kalarathna, Nada Kalanidhi, Sangeetha Vadya Rathna
Discography1985: Sri Thyagaraja's Utsava Sampradaya Krithis on Saxophone
1994: Jugalbandi: Classical Confluence
1995: A Tribute to Adolphe Sax
1997: Saxophone Indian Style
1999: Southern Brothers
2000: Gem Tones
2006: Dream Journey, Vol. 1, Dream Journey, Vol. 2
2006: Pranamamyaham
2007: Sri Tyagaraja Pancharatna Kritis
Personal Life
Date of Birth6 December 1949
BirthplaceBantwal taluk, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India
Date of Death11 October 2019
Place of DeathMangalore, Karnataka, India
Age (at the time of death) 69 Years
Death CauseCardiac arrest
Zodiac signSagittarius
Nationality Indian
HometownMangalore, Karnataka, India
School Sharadha High School, Pane, Mangalore.
College/UniversityReceived an honorary doctorate from Bangalore University in 2004. [2]
Educational QualificationS.S.L.C. (10th Std.) [3]
Family
Wife/SpouseSarojini
ChildrenSon: Manikanth Kadri
Manikanth Kadri

Son: Guruprasad Kadri
Kadri Gopalnath's son

Daughter: Ambika Mohan
ParentsFather: Thaniappa
Mother: Gangamma
SiblingsBrother(s): Chandranath, Ganeshnath Rameshnath
Sister(s): Radha, Parvathy, Saradha, Shyamala

Kadri Gopalnath

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kadri Gopalnath

  • N. Gopalakrishna Iyer of Kalaniketan, Mangalore taught him how to play carnatic music on saxophone which helped him to become one of the pioneers in carnatic music.
  • Later in Madras, Gopalnath met with the vocalist and mridangist guru Tripunithura Viswanathan Gopalakrishnan a.k.a T.V. Gopalkrishnan, who identified the youngster’s potential and tutored him.
  • It took him 20 years to master the instrument. To suit his western saxophone for Indian classcial music, Gopalnath modified his instrument himself.
K. Balachander , Kadri Gopalnath and A.R. Rehman

K. Balachander , Kadri Gopalnath and A.R. Rehman

  • In 1980, a Californian musician John Handy heard him play at the Bombay Jazz Festival and invited him to join in the US. As a result, Gopalnath was able to blend carnatic music with jazz.
  • Gopalnath was the first ever carnatic artist to be invited by the BBC promenade concert in 1994, in the Royal Albert Hall at London.
  • He is the epitome of a true musician as he has used various techniques to blend and innovate carnatic music and compose unique renditions of Hamsadhwani, Pantuvarali, Kalyana, Vasantha and Brinshavani Ragas.

  • His commercial collaborations have been very fruitful and widely renowned and he has worked with international artists like James Newton and American Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. Gopalnath recorded two albums with them – Southern Brothers(1999) and Kinsmen(2008).

  • Film director K. Balachander wanted Gopalnath to play saxophone for his Tamil film “Duet”. A.R. Rehman composed the background score for the film in which Gopalnath did all the saxophonic instrumentation in rag Kalyanavasantam which was very well received and he became popular after that.
 K. Balachander's film Duet for which Gopalnath played saxophone.

K. Balachander’s film Duet for which Gopalnath played saxophone.

  • Gopalnath is known for his unconventional technique of integrating compositions of classical musicians from India like Thyagaraja to western composers like Beethoven on the Saxophone.
  • He was very well received when he performed at the Jazz Festival in Prague, The Berlin Jazz Festival, The International Cervantino Festival in Mexico and The Music Hall Festival in Paris.