Description

Underscore Records feels privileged to have joined hands with the Society of Record Collectors with a view to bring to musicians, students of music and music lovers, the rich musical treasure that remains recorded for posterity on 78 rpm records of yesteryears. This album is a restored version of diva Kesarbai Kerkar’s original recordings made by the Broadcast label, in approximately 1935 at the Blavatsky Lodge in Mumbai.

One of the foremost vocalists of her generation, Kesarbai Kerkar had an extremely successful performance career spanning almost four decades. Her music, voice projection and modulation, bore the stamp of her guru Alladiya Khan’s Jaipur-Atrauli style. Musically, they are of immense value, as they showcase Kesarbai Kerkar’s vocal style in the years immediately succeeding her intensive training with Alladiya Khan. They are equally important for being the earliest gramophone recordings of Kesarbai Kerkar.

The Broadcast label series was published by Jesinglal K. Mehta and his brother Kishorilal, diamond merchants from Mumbai under the aegis of their business enterprise The Musical Products Limited, Madras. They bought the rights for producing gramophone records from a British firm called Vocalian. These records were made out of shellac and pressed in 12 inch, 10 inch, 9 inch and 8 inch diameter size and were issued on the "Broadcast" label, between 1935 and 1938. These 78-rpm records were playable on both sides and had labels in different colours such as golden, blue, yellow and orange. The records could be played for 3-8 minutes per side. Approximately three hundred titles comprising mainly of North and South Indian vocal and instrumental music were issued on the Broadcast label. The discs were manufactured by "The Crystalate Gramophone Record Manufacturing Co. Ltd. London". The Musical Products Limited, Madras, ceased its activities by 1939 and was finally dissolved in 1944.