Kadri Gopalnath was an Indian alto saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Carnatic music for that instrument.
Born in Sajeepa Mooda village in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada to Taniyappa (a Naadaswara vidwan) and Gangamma, Gopalnath was inspired to learn the saxophone as a child after hearing it played by the Mysore Palace band set, although he took nearly 20 years to master the complexities of the western wind instrument. He was eventually crowned the “Saxophone Chakravarthy”.
Gopalnath learned to play Carnatic music on the saxophone from N. Gopalakrishna Iyer of Kalaniketan, Mangalore. Gopalnath has participated in the Jazz Festival in Prague, the Berlin Jazz Festival, the International Cervantino Festival in Mexico, the Music Hall Festival in Paris, the BBC Promenade concert in 1994 in London, and has toured all over the world.
He cut many albums and recorded a number of cassettes and CDs. Together with jazz flutist James Newton, he recorded Southern Brothers. In 2005, Gopalnath began a collaboration with American saxophonist and composer Rudresh Mahanthappa, which resulted in the 2008 album Kinsmen (Pi Recordings) and a supporting US tour.
Gopalnath died on 11 October 2019 due to cardiac arrest at the age of 69 at a private hospital in Mangalore.
Gopalnath was presented with the Sangeet Natak Academy Award for Carnatic Music – Instrumental (Saxophone), by President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in New Delhi on 26 October 2004.
Many titles and honors had come his way, the most cherished being the Asthana Vidwan of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Sringeri Sharadha Peetam, Sri Ahobila Mutt, and Sri Pillayarpatti Temple. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004.
Gopalnath had the distinction of being the first Carnatic musician to be invited to the BBC Promenade concert in 1994, in the Royal Albert Hall in London. The Asian Music Circuit, U.K., sponsored his recital.
Among his other distinctions are: Saxophone Charkravarthy, Saxophone Samrat, Ganakala Shree, Nadapasana Brahma, Sunada Prakashika, Nada Kalarathna, Nada Kalanidhi, Sangeetha Vadya Rathna, Karnataka Kalashree in 1996, Vocational Excellency Award from the Rotary of Madras, Tamil Nadu State Award “Kalaimamani” and Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 1998.
He received an honorary doctorate from Bangalore University in 2004. The 2008 album Blue Rhizome by the New Quartet features a tribute to the saxophonist called “Gopalnath” (composed by Karl E. H. Seigfried).
He received the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani Award for the year 2013 given by The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. He received the Kamban Pugazh Award for the year 2018 given by All Ceylon Kamban Society, Sri Lanka.
Picture Credits – https://pirecordings.com/artists/kadri-gopalnath/
