Guest article by Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati original) & Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation)
(V Balsara was an extremely talented musician encompassing proficiency in all the links in the vertical chain of producing music – instrumentalist to arranger to music director. He was a master of many instruments. He was also a rare exception for a non-Bengali to make a reverse migration from Mumbai to Kolkata and made a mark in Bengali music scene. We are grateful that our guest authors Piyush M Pandya and Ashok M Vaishnav, continuing the series on Arrangers and Musicians, now cover one of the well-known musicians V Balsara. He had the unique talent of creating piano accordion sound with harmonium in many landmark songs. Thank you Piyush ji and Ashok ji for another excellent article on the sculptors of film songs who were not adequately credited. – AK)
V(istasp Ardeshir) Balsara (B: 22 June 1922 – D: 24 March 2005) was a musician of trinity of talents – as an instrumentalist, arranger and music director. He was considered uncrowned wizard of instrumental orchestration. A master keyboardist, he was an ace player of instruments like harmonium, organ, piano, piano accordion, melodica and univox. He is considered instrumental in popularising these instruments in the recording industry. Rich in the knowledge of Indian and Western classical music, he has left behind a legacy of his recorded albums of Indian and Western music and the fusion of both these schools. He has also composed music for around 12 Hindi films and 32 Bengali films and several timeless non-film compositions.READ THE FULL ARTICLE