REMEMBERING
KORLA
This
page contains personal memories of Korla Pandit.
If
you have memories you'd like to share, please send them to these pages.
We
would love to hear from you!
I clearly
remember how I first "met" Korla. Some 15 years ago a friend played
me "Korla Pandit At The Pipe Organ" in an old house in the red light
district of Arnhem, a Dutch town near the German border. He was selling off
some of his records and I was invited to have a listen. At that time I was very
interested in experimental music, so we happily listened to albums filled with
weird noises, sound effects and scraping. To balance things, he put on the
Korla album, which immediately blew me away! I purchased the disc with a smile
on my face and in my heart. And so the Big Hunt for Korla Pandit music began,
which was pretty difficult in the pre-Internet and pre-Ebay days. Still, over
the last 15 odd years I collected a large number of his albums, singles and
memorabilia. I even wrote a letter to Korla, telling him how much his music
meant to me, but it was returned - I was a few months too late and Korla had
sadly passed on. Even though I have kept my love for experimental music, Korla
comfortably snugs in with albums by Nurse With Wound or Beequeen, proof of how
universal his music really is. I feel very privileged to have made friends with
Freek
Kinkelaar, www.korlapandit.com, The Netherlands
I drove to San
Francisco to see his tiki revival show. It was awesome. There I was in Bimbo's
nightclub, a San Francisco landmark from the past, watching Korla Pandit, a San
Francisco legend from the past. He looked the same, and most important, played
the same. The years seemed to melt away, as time stood still for me that night,
and for everybody who was there, a "full house". Thanks Korla, for
the memory!
Betty Hansan,
San Jose, CA.
Back in the
day, he was the most UNIQUE and INTRIGUING novelty ANYONE had ever seen or
heard on Television. And of course in THOSE days, what you now call
"lounge music" plus his "Indian" themes really tickled the
folk's ears and senses! Yes, those were the days, my friend......
Matthew B.,
Hayward, CA.
Every afternoon
my mother and I would sit down in front of the television and watch the
mysterious Hindu Korla Pandit, jewel dangling hypnotically, gaze into the
camera (we thought he was staring right at us!) and play some of the most
beautiful music we have ever heard. My mother has long since passed away, but
when I think of those times, and the music Korla brought into our lives, she is
alive again, vivid in my memory, and Korla Pandit is the one who enlivens my
imagination to this day.
Gary W.,
Seattle, WA.
People do
remember Korla after being told but this is mostly the older set. The last time
I saw Korla was great. After not seeing him for 10-15 years I had changed a great
deal, but when I went through the receiving line to see him , Korla looked me
right in the eye and before I could say a word he greeted me by name and
wondered aloud whether or not I would be there. How he could stand there
look at my face and tell this was the same person who used to be a little kid
marveling at his music I'll never know. It was a great moment, and he asked
about my mother, so that was special that he remembered her after all these
years.
Ron Coniper,
My name is Ron Redifer. I was good
friends with Shari Pandit and knew Korla Pandit in Los Angeles. Shari was
a member of my Doors band, Strange Daze from 1983 to 1986. The band
had huge success. Shari was one of the most likeable characters I've ever
met. We auditioned him and he lived with me before we toured extensively
around North America. He would stare into a woman's eyes and she would be
mesmerized by him. He was such a soulful man. He dated one of my
wife's friends for a short time. I dearly miss him. Korla came to my
wedding at the La Meridian Hotel in Newport Beach in 1993. There were
several older women and men there. They acted as though they had met Elvis
when they met him. Nobody could believe he was at the wedding. I
played drums with him on stage with the Hanley Page band and Shari. Shari
played the piano as we walked down the isle. I couldn't get Shari to go to
his room after the wedding he was having such a great time with
everyone. We played together again for a brief period before he left to
Canada. I will miss both of them.
Ron Redifer, Strange Daze Drummer,
I never saw him without the turban. He
really wasn't as strange as people might imagine. What you saw was there and it
was real. It was not an act. I loved his attitude toward the public. He was
very decent to them and never put them down in private. He wasn't that
complicated where he imagined himself to be something that he wasn't.
Saul Zaentz, Berkeley film producer and
owner of Fantasy Records
I just recently learned of the passing
of Korla Pandit. This has saddened me quite a bit, because his gift for music
brightned up many lives. Mr. Pandit was a major influence upon my way of
playing the keyboards. When I was a small boy, I used to watch his show, and
marveled at the way he worked the piano and the organ into the pieces he
played. Although I never consciously tried to imitate his style, the sounds of
his music stayed in my ear and mind. During the early 1970's I played the
keyboards and other instruments with a small group that worked in nightclubs
and pizza parlors in the Houston area. One of my friends and fans, Sheldon
Parks, told me one evening that when I played "Caravan," it reminded
him of a keyboard artist he'd heard a few years before. He had some albums by this
artist. It was, of course, Korla Pandit. I told Sheldon how I used to watch the
show on television. So, I ordered the albums from my local record supplier and
listened to them quite regularly, recalling those days when, as a child, I
would sit in front of the TV set, enraptured by the esoteric sounds he got from
those instruments. My wife also became a Korla Pandit fan. In late 1973, we
noticed that he was going to make an appearance at Evans Music City in Houston.
Sheldon and I decided we would attend the program.
About a week before his appearance at
Evans Music City, Sheldon and I were at a magician's convention in Arlington
Texas, where one of the speakers made the statement, "If you are going to
perform at a Halowe'en show, there is no better background music than Korla
Pandit's 'Tale of the Underwater Worshippers.' It sounds spooky, and provides
the necessary atmosphere." He continued, "Korla Pandit had the first
syndicated music show on television, but seems to have disappeared. Nobody I
have contacted knows how to find him." Excitedly, we approached the
presenter after the program and let him know that we planned to see Korla the
following week. This brings me to the real point of this story. When he made
his appearance, the bulk of the audience was older ladies. He played several
pieces, mostly pop tunes. Then he turned to the audience and said, "Now
it's time for a command performance. If you have a request, please let me know,
and if I know it, I'll play it." The four of us called out simultaneously,
"Tale of the Underwater Worshippers." He nearly fell off the bench!
You would have really liked the look on his face! He said, "Someone is
familiar with my work!" And he played a much longer version of the piece
than was on the original recording. We could not have been more pleased. After
the program, we approached him, thanked him profusely, and I told him how much
of an impression his music had left upon me. He was warm and friendly. It is so
seldom that one gets to meet a childhood idol and finds him to be such a nice,
friendly person. Thanks for putting up the web site. it is a fitting memorial
to a man whose music inspired, enlightened and entertained thousands, if not
millions of people.
Bill Palmer, M.I.M.C., KGC #14
I have a memory of Korla Pandit that I would like to
share. My husband and I were living in Irving, Texas a number of years ago and
found out that Korla Pandit was going to be down the street at a place that
sold Piano's and Organs, so I told my husband that I really want to go see him
because I remember seeing him as a child on our old black and white tv. He was
magical. The look and the music mesmerized me. I loved watching him and
listening to his music. Anyhow we went to see and hear him and he was just as I
remembered him. It's hard to believe that he didn't look any older than he had
when I was younger. We listened to him and I got a chance to talk to him after
he was done playing. I also got a record album with his autograph on it (which
I still have). He will be so missed. I loved his music. Rest in Peace Korla. You
will be missed.
Susan Watts
When I was around 4 or 5 years old when
we lived in Compton California. I remember seeing Korla on TV channel 5, and
several we moved to Yucaipa California.
in the mid 50s. I really enjoy seeing
and hearing him. Someone in the family
purchased the 4 singles set of Musical Gems.
In the early 60s he started playing concerts in the Inland Empire. The first that we were aware of and went to
was at the Steel Workers Union hall in Fontana.
He played at the Colton High Scholl both at school Assemblies and a
night time concert that we attended. He
always played a Hammond CV, C3 or sometimes a B3, and of course the grand
piano. I purchased more albums on the
Fantasy label, some on the Hammond and some of the Whitney Studios Robert
Morton, which I also liked. He had many
other concerts in the area. I saw him at
the Swing Auditorium at the National Orange Show grounds, however he started
playing the Conn theatre style organ. I
didn't like the sound as much as I did the Hammond Organ. It tried to sound like a theatre pipe organ,
but not close enough. He played at a
Christmas party at the Palm Springs resident of Bonnie Creata on a 2-10
Wurlitzer pipe organ. Beryl and his two
sons were there. In the 80s he played a
concert at the California Theatre in San Bernardino. This was an organ that I had done some
restoration work on prior. This was the
last time I saw Korla. I have most of
his 33 rpm albums, some Fantasy, some of his own labels. I have a VHS of the Snader 15 minute shows,
and the DVD by Encores, as well as the VHS of the Phantom of the Opera. I more recently purchased the Remembering,
Buried Treasure/Jaun Rolondo, and Odessey.
I sure miss seeing Korla. He was
very gracious and would always autograph albums or other memorabila. Thank you and Verne for keeping up the web
site.
Tom Ziech
When I was in the fifth grade, my Mom
and Grandma took me to see Korla Pandit at the old West Seattle Organ
Loft. This was in the seventies, when playing the organ was not chic.
I had recently learned to play the When I was in the fifth grade, my
Mom and Grandma took me to see Korla Pandit at the old West Seattle Organ
Loft. This was in the seventies, when playing the organ was not chic.
I had recently learned to play organ, and I was pretty good at it,
and my Gramma thought this would be a wonderful experience for me.
My Dad of course, had an attitude about it, and was actually jealous of Mr.
Pandit, as my mom had a crush on him when she ws younger, and had kept a
signed photo of him, from a personal appearance at a music store. My Dad
grabbed it and crumpled it up. My Mom straightened it out. It was a
warm evening in May, and we stepped inside this very small theater with velvet
drapes. Korla Pandit rose out of the depths on his beautiful organ bench
with the beautiful, gold and white three manual organ, in a white suit, with
his turban, I think it had a green jewel in it. He was a little bit
older, than the photo, but he was brown and warm looking and smiled the entire
time he played. I was dazzled. He made that instrument sing, and it
seemed that he was really enjoying himself. I remember his accent,
anouncing the song "The Rose of Denscanso" then he made the organ
sound like birds, and then it was over too soon. My Grandma
introduced me to him, and he was very kind, and he smiled and I still remember
it. My Mom bought an album, that showed him in his younger years, and I
played it over and over. There were songs like "Trance Dance"
which sounded like snake charmers. There was the "English Music Hall
Theme" which I learned to play by ear, as I did most of his songs. I
used to entertain the relatives when they came, and I learned to do that gaze
he had!! I really think that a lot of my style and showmanship, came from
watching him. He really was wonderful. I will have to
tell my Mom about the website. She adored him!! So thank you,
Korla, for encouraging a skinny legged little girl to play music!!
Lynell Robertson
Just
wondering if you have a recollection of the above? Because as child living
there in the late 50's and early 60's, I remember gazing at a small compact
organ on a raised podium in a department store probably one Saturday afternoon,
standing side by side with my younger sister. And the organ was unoccupied, so
we stared at it and wondered who was going to play. Then I even went up and sat
down to marvel at the keys and gadgets. And I really thought I was sitting next
to something miraculous. Yet I didn't know how to make it work. Then as I left
the seat of the organ to gaze upon it once more by my sister's side, a man
appeared, dressed in all white apparrel with a turban on his head. And I felt
that he was from some foreign land. As from India. And he stood so gently by my
side, probably seeing how interested I was in his organ. And I believe I said
something to him. Are you going to play? And his voice was a whisper. And I'm
really not sure what he said. Just very calm and peaceful. With kindess. And
from there he went to the organ and played. It was the sound of an organ. With
no particular melody. Only music that filled the moment. So again, was this
Korla Pandit?
T.
Gudz
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