A gypsy life for Anoushka Shankar

‘Anoushka Shankar looks set to be as important as her father’, declared one reviewer.

That’s high praise when you consider who the old man is - none other than Ravi Shankar, spiritual guru and sitar superstar.

The only artist trained solely by her father, the 30-year-old has emerged in recent years as one of the world’s great sitar players herself, earning Grammy nominations for her own recordings and making guest appearances on albums by Sting, Lenny Kravitz and Norah Jones, her half sister.

In 2002 she performed George Harrison’s The Inner Light and conducted a new composition written by her father which featured Eric Clapton at the Concert for George at the Royal Albert Hall in memory of Harrison and modelled after Shankar’s benefit concert with Harrison for Bangladesh in 1971. Shankar’s sixth and latest album, Traveller, combines the ardently blazing and hypnotic music of Spain with the dynamic and vivid Indian notes.

The album, which she’ll perform at the Usher Hall on Tuesday, accompanied by Indian and flamenco musicians on percussion, flute, shehnai and vocals, follows the gypsies’ journey from their roots in Rajasthan, across the continent to their new home in Spain.

“It is also a record of my journey of getting married and having a baby,” she says. “So sharing that with people has been extra-meaningful.”

Anoushka Shankar’s Gypsy Journey, Usher Hall, Lothian Road, Tuesday, 7.30pm, £18–£20, 0131-228 1155

GARY FLOCKHART