The Origins
Through Ravi Shankar's appearance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival the Paust first came in touch with Indian classical music. In 1975 Paust left Germany and travelled overland to India by car. His purpose was initially to take sitar lessons, however he soon realised that the sitar was an immensely complex instrument. Nevertheless, inspired and enchanted by the music he had encountered, Paust decided to pursue a different avenue and upon his return to Europe he immediately began organising concerts and producing records to further popularise, and introduce others to the sounds of Indian music. In 1982, Paust founded the collective Music Ensemble of Benares with which he started his first European tour. From that point forth, this ensemble has performed regularly in Europe as a more or less open unit encompassing many different musicians and various instruments.
Since that time Paust has striven to bring new ideas and explore new facets of musical development. Besides presenting traditional raga and Kathak dance he has organised more experimental musical projects, most notably, between 1989 and 1994, the "Jazz meets India" sessions with jazz musicians from the USA: Paul Horn, John Handy, David Friensen et al.
His latest project, since 1994, fuses Northern Indian 'Kathak Dance' and Flamenco. These unique forms possess similar elements and it is the aim of this project to further extend and explore the common roots of the two cultures.
Read more about this topic: Music Ensemble Of Benares
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