Rukshan Perera Live in Concert – Simply spectacular!

With the Lionel Wendt packed to capacity with a spellbound audience, Rukshan Perera began with a poignant bluesy take on the traditional Sri Lankan kaviya, setting the stage for what was to be one of the most spectacular concerts Colombo has ever seen.Promising a repertoire of his original compositions worked on jazz, jazz fusion, pop and blues, Rukshan kept his ardent fans, music aficionados and even the curious musical enthusiast simply rapt.

By Savithri Rodrigo

This multi-instrumentalist and highly versatile musician, composer, arranger and singer excelled in each song – whether an instrumental or a vocal – opening a veritable box of musical treasures, from one song to the next.

Backed by Triloka with Eshantha Peiris on piano, Sarani Perera on guitar, Uvindu Perera on bass, Milan John on keyboards and Harshana Gallage on drums, the perfection that Rukshan demanded and expected was seen in this culmination of multiple rehearsals and coordination between numerous musicians and singers.

Having formed a band at the age of 10, arranged complex arrangements with multiple harmony by 11 and touring Asia and Europe from the age of 16 with bands like Super Golden Chimes, Esquire Set and Serendib, Rukshan’s launch here in Sri Lanka since his 30 year stint in the USA was simply extraordinary.

The perfect blend of arrangements, harmony and his very affable personality together with the coterie of some of Sri Lanka’s best singers and musicians who joined him on stage in complete support of him displays that Rukshan as a musician is not only recognised and revered by his own industry but is also a genuinely sincere and great friend to his friends and colleagues.

It’s challenging to entertain an entire audience for over two hours with never before heard originals but amazingly, this is a challenge that Rukshan overcame and exceeded in expectation.

Each of the songs had a story – like Coming Home to You which he composed in LA when he was packing his bags and heading homeward to Sri Lanka; the tribute to Michael Jackson that he also composed when he was moved by the untimely death of Jackson while in LA, using the titles of MJ songs and recorded across continents with his daughter Nadina in Bangladesh, son Sheehan in New York and brother Melantha, nephew Devshan and niece Mishi in Sri Lanka with the highlight being the presentation of the song to Jermaine Jackson (the entire family performed the tribute live at the concert).

So moved was he about the environment, that he composed Nature’s Calling for the ACCA Sustainability Reporting Awards and performed it with a full contingent of singers at this concert including the Little Sopranos and Natasha Ratnayake. The De Lanerolle Brothers joined Rukshan to sing You are Strong, a song Rukshan composed for the brothers to sing at a special event on International Drug Abuse Day.

Just For You was dedicated to his ever supportive wife and life’s partner Piyum; the Sunil Shantha staple Olu Nelala was truly a highlight of the evening with its jazz overtones and ethnic fusion blended to perfection; Nursery Rhapsody, a combination of well loved Sinhalese nursery rhymes with an undercurrent of Bohemian Rhapsody performed with a capella whiz kids Voice Print was another unexpected surprise as was an unusual medley of Hoiya, Kalu Kelle, Yakada Thalanna and Kandy Lamissi once again in a capella with the De Laneraolle Brothers and Mahen and Prashalini Peiris displaying immense musical prowess – and so the list went on and on and the plate of musical offerings continued to pile up.

Rukshan’s versatility was highlighted immensely when he demonstrated his unique harmony whistle, the piece de resistance of the evening – whistling through the chorus and verse of the Fiddler on the Roof favourite If I were a Rich Man – a stroke of genius that is undoubtedly rare and probably the only one of its kind in the world.

And then came the scatting – a skill which probably only Rukshan possesses in Sri Lanka to the fullest. The only exception to his original repertoire was his encore in which he put George Benson to shame with his rendition of On Broadway punctuated with some brilliant scatting and Santana’s guitar work which came to life in Black Magic Woman.

With Chrys Wikramanayake chipping in on keyboards, Gavin Senn on saxophone, Nuwan Balasuriya on flute and Alston Joachim and Benji Ranabahu on bass, Rukshan collated onto that stage some of Sri Lanka’s best musicians and singers.

One final word – the Perera family is undoubtedly very talented and this came to the fore when they all came on to support their father, brother and uncle. Melantha who plays with the band Mirage and his children Devshan (founder of the band Battery) and Mishi sang back up harmony, a feature that has to be executed to perfection given Rukshan’s complex arrangements.

And then there was Sheehan, Rukshan’s son who not only moon-walked with his cousin as a lark for the MJ tribute but also took on vocals, the drums and some amazing fretwork to keep the audience enthralled. A musician in his own right, Sheehan joined his father to sing his composition of Coming Back Home to You, the first song on Sheehan’s debut CD launched last year in New York.

Rukshan, whose magnanimity and true personality is reflected in the fact that he donated all proceeds of the concert to Samutthana – a charity affiliated to King’s College London, dealing with trauma, displacement and mental well-being for both children and adults in Sri Lanka, is a musician par excellence and brought in that ‘wow’ factor which is hard to come by in this present day of mediocrity on this one night only concert. Given what we have seen and heard – we hope for more, much more!

Pix by Upul Abayasekara