Ravi Shankar offspring hits high note

new delhi: for those who think ravi shankar’s musical dynasty begins and ends with the all-too-visible anoushka shankar, here’s a thought: the ever-busy sitarist has another daughter, 22-year-old, norah jones, who’s making waves abroad with her debut album, come away with me. ravi shankar, now 81, had norah with record producer sue cooper at the end of their nine-year relationship — they didn’t marry.though ravi shankar says he has no intention of performing with norah, as she’s a ‘‘western jazz musician’’, he’s attended her concert last year. in fact, he heard her album long before it was released and thinks it’s great. ‘‘she has a wonderful and unique voice that touches the heart immediately,’’ he says. though norah, who’s now based in new york, says she met her father only four years ago, ravi shankar says he’s been with her ‘‘off and on since she was born and until she was ten’’. ‘‘then we lost touch for almost eight years. for the last five years we have been very close and she even visited india in 2000, to spend time with anoushka, sukanya and myself,’’ he says. in fact, he’s very proud of both his daughters, even though norah likes to underplay her famous parentage. as she says: ‘‘i love my dad but i didn’t grow up with him and my music has nothing to do with him.’’ it is clear she wants to make it on her own. and she seems to be succeeding. the popular music magazine, rolling stone, has described her as one of 10 new artistes to watch, while the washington post has dubbed her a newcomer of note. that’s not all. the jazz singer and pianist has already been a guest on nbc’s highly rated the tonight show with jay leno. entertainment weekly said her voice was a cross between billie holliday and nina simone and called her album a mix of ‘‘jazz/folk/pop/country/cabaret’’. she performs with her three-member band: guitarist adam levy, drummer dan rieser and bassist and boyfriend lee alexander. the fact that her record label, blue note, got producing great arif mardin to work on her album — he’s collaborated with the likes of aretha franklin, dusty springfield and the bee gees — is a mark of how seriously they take her potential.