"I've been through several periods of jazz-avant-garde, straight ahead, rock, blues and smooth jazz. So what I play now is a collaboration of everything and I call it Ghallab Music," smiles Ghalib Ghallab, an American jazz artist whose life is much like something out of a Hollywood drama. He's gone from his early years of his mother teaching him to play the piano to becoming a star Las Vegas jazz performer.
Ghalib was introduced to jazz at the tender ages of two when his parents first began to groom him on the piano. He little realised that it was his true calling until he joined the US Air Force in the early 70's and formed his own jazz band which performed at Air Force parties. Once honourably discharged from the Air Force, Ghalib decided to pursue jazz in-depth, and began to study how to read music.
Since then he's made the leap to the big-time. Performing at many well known hotels in Las Vegas, including Caesar's Palace he's hobnobbed and played with some of the biggest names in the music industry such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, James Brown and BB King.
How did a popular Vegas jazz artist find his way to the sunny shores of Sri Lanka, is probably what you're wondering right about now. The answer is Vikram Singh.
While the actor was filming at Caesar's Palace, Ghalib and his band which is made up of his two sons, Jihad on drums and Kalid on bass, and Rick Arroyo on percussions, happened to be performing at the time. "Since then Vikram and I have been good friends. I would constantly ask him 'hey Vikram when will we get to perform in India' and he would always respond saying 'someday I will make that happen'," relates Ghalib.
"Recently, I was in India and Vikram asked me if we would like to perform in Sri Lanka," he says, adding that Vikram then got in touch with Harpo Gooneratne and set it all up.
Offering Lankan jazz aficionados a rare treat, Ghalib will be playing his last show at the Park Street Mews tonight- January 10. For more information call 2300133.
Viilage fair at Peter Weerasekera Children's Home
The Peter Weerasekera Children's Home which has been selected as one of the best-run children's homes in the country by the Department of Probation and Childcare will hold a Village Fair today at the home premises at Dambuwa, Buthpitiya.
The fair which was inaugurated yesterday by Sharmila Kanth, wife of the Indian High Commissioner, is being held to raise funds for the upkeep of the home.
The Peter Weerasekera Home cares for 82 children. Situated 21 miles from Colombo in a salubrious setting, the home has over the years expanded to meet various needs. Today it has nutrition centre for malnourished infants, a toddlers' home which cares for 30 children from 3-5 years of age, and a Montessori pre-school, which is also open to children of the village near by. The older children of the home attend leading schools in Gampaha and one bright senior girl who won a scholarship awarded by the Government of India, now holds an MBA.
The Peter Weerasekera Home was established in 1960 and is run by a Committee of Management.
Rasbora Wilpita: Clarification
In our Plus cover story last Sunday, it was erroneously stated that the Rasbora Wilpita was discovered by the Wildlife Conservation Society of Galle. The Rasbora wilpita was, in fact, discovered by Rohan Pethiyagoda in 1998. The error is regretted.
Virtually exploring the Berlin Wall
By Adilah Ismail
'ReConstructing the Wall' (Virtuelle Mauer) is a virtual reality art work created by multi-media artists Tamiko Thiel and Teresa Reuter, which explores the impact of the Berlin Wall which separated East and West Berlin for 28 years.
On August 13, 1961, the Berlin Wall was erected overnight while most Berliners were sound asleep in their beds. The heavily fortified wall, which was built right in the middle of a busy city, was erected to deter East Berliners escaping into West Berlin. With its mesh fencing, signal fencing, anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire, watch towers, bunkers and armed patrol men posted at regular distances, the wall was a source of fear in the residents of the city, who lived 'in the shadow of the wall'.
In this installation, users take an active role in exploring the Berlin Wall, enabling them to know what it was really like living with the Berlin Wall - now lost in metropolitan activity and a crumbling relic of the past. With the navigation of a joystick, users trace stories of everyday life and historical events through various scenes. Although the interactive three dimensional installation is set predominantly in the '80's, users are able to glimpse flashbacks as characters which stand at strategic points along the wall, reveal their stories when approached.
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| Tamiko Thiel |
The viewer is in essence, the protagonist of the story, and his actions and movements- whether he chooses to antagonize the patrol men at the checkpoint or speak to a German resident - decide the course of events.
The artists waded through months of research, studied plans of buildings and interviewed contemporary witnesses in order to understand how the Wall's existence and the invariable escape attempts which occurred influenced the daily life of residents.
"The idea is to separate the information from the experience" says artist Tamiko Thiel speaking to The Sunday Times, explaining that while the information panels set up around the hall help the viewer absorb the historical significance of the wall, the virtual reality installation enables them to actually experience it themselves.
The exhibition which opened on January 8 continues until the 16th at the Goethe Institute, 39, Gregory's Road, Colombo 7. It is open Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Variety show by old Visakhians
The Visakha Vidyalaya Old Girls' Association will present a variety show titled "Visakhians in Concert 2010" on January 30 from 6.30 p.m. onwards at the Jeremias Dias Hall, Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo.
The show is being organized to raise funds for the refurbishment of the senior school library.
The programme includes dance items, both oriental and western, music both instrumental and vocal and drama by past pupils. Traditional Manipuri, bharatha natyam, folk and Kandyan, contemporary and Western dances will be performed by such skilled exponents in their fields as Jayawanthi Panibharatha, Priyadarshini Bandara, Sandya Bamunuwita, Visha de Silva, Upuli Wijewardena, Shonaka Ranatunga and twins Aloka Kumbukage and Anuradha Vithanage.
Music will be performed by vocalists such as Menaka Sahabandu, Visharadha Champa Kalhari, Sachini Pieris and Meena Kumari and instrumentalists such as Savithri Jayatilleka and her all cello orchestra, Geethika Chandrasiri, Nilupul Silva and Samadhi Tennakoon — a trio on piano, violin and congo drums and Helani Pieris on the davula and dole
A skit from the stage drama "Gajaman Puwath" with Rathmalie Gunasekera, a past Visakhian in the role of Gajaman Nona, is guaranteed to thrill drama buffs.
The icing on the cake would be the Visakha choir trained by Vajira Nanayakkara singing a medley of popular songs. The choir won many accolades at the recent Festival of Choirs.
Tickets priced at Rs. 1,000 (reserved), 750 & 500 are available at the school gate.
For more details contact Samiddhi Dewapura on tel: 0722427303 or Chayanika Padumadasa on 0714492911
Short story and poetry competition
The English Writers Cooperative of Sri Lanka (EWC) invites entries for its annual competition for short stories ( around 1500 words) and poems( no more than 30 lines) to be sent by January 31, 2010, as follows:
Short stories to be emailed to vijita@sltnet.lk or by registered post to Vijita Fernando, 16 Welikadawatte Road, Rajagiriya. Poems to be emailed to adriansena@yahoo.co.uk or sent by registered to
post to S. Senadhira, 95, Barnes Place, Colombo 07.
Modest prizes will be awarded to the best three in each section. These will be published in the next issue of the EWC journal "Channels" to be
published in the first quarter of 2010.
It’s time for EDEX 2010
The Royal College Union announced this week that EDEX 2010, the National Higher Education and Careers Expo will once again open its doors to aspiring youth in Sri Lanka from January 15 to 17 at the BMICH, Colombo. The Exhibition will continue in Kandy on January 19 and 20 at the Kandy City Centre.
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| HEAD TABLE (L-R): Indunil Liyanage - Assistant Vice President Marketing, NDB Bank PLC, Suren Amarasekera - CEO Mobitel PVT LTD, CL Attygalle - Deputy Principal, Royal College, Nazar Majeed - Director Marketing Singer’ Kamal Abeysinghe - Chairman EDEX 2010, Rizan Nazeer - Secretary Royal College Union, Dr. Dayan Rajapakse - CEO, Managing Director ESOFT, Punarjeeva Karunanayake - CEO, Executive Director ANC Education Holdings and Sujeewa Rajapakse - Vice President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka |
EDEX has been growing steadily since it was first held seven years ago and is expected to draw over 100,000 visitors this year from all over the island.
The exhibition will consist of over 300 stalls representing educational institutes from more than 23 countries giving young people a glimpse of the many choices and opportunities in education and training available to them.
"It is our belief that every child deserves a world class education and that has always been our philosophy," said Kamal Abeysinghe, Chairman EDEX 2010.
He also added that a nation with proper educational qualifications will be an advantage for the entire country and its economic growth.
More information on EDEX can be found at www.edex.lk |
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