Gopalnath learnt to play Carnatic music on the saxophone from N. Gopalakrishna Iyer of Kalaniketan,
Mangalore. He presented his first concert in the All India Radio, Mangaluru in 1978. In
Madras, Gopalnath came in contact with the vocalist and
mridangist guru
T.V. Gopalkrishnan, who identified the youngster's potential and tutored him. Gopalnath had to make certain modifications to the conventional
alto saxophone to play
Carnatic music. So successful was this adaptation that the great musician
Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, the
doyen of
Carnatic music, acknowledged Kadri Gopalnath as a true Carnatic music genius. His maiden live performance was for the
Chembai Memorial Trust. The 1980 Bombay
Jazz Festival was a turning point for Gopalnath.
John Handy, a jazz musician from California was present at the festival. Hearing Gopalnath play, Handy asked if he could go on stage and perform alongside him. So well did the two mesh, Handy in the jazz style and Gopalnath in the Carnatic style, that it became an instant hit with the audience. Gopalnath has participated in the Jazz Festival in Prague, the
Berlin Jazz Festival, the
International Cervantino Festival in Mexico, the Music Hall Festival in Paris, the BBC Promenade concert in 1994 at London, and has toured all over the world. He cut many albums and recorded a number of cassettes and CDs. Together with jazz flautist
James Newton, he recorded
Southern Brothers. His production called 'East-West' is an audio-video presentation that, as the title suggests, is a fusion of Western and Indian music. This album took 6 months to produce and has compositions from
Saint Tyagaraja,
Beethoven and the like. In 2005, Gopalnath began a collaboration with American saxophonist and composer
Rudresh Mahanthappa, which resulted in the 2008 album
Kinsmen (
Pi Recordings) and supporting US tour. Gopalnath was also a famed teacher, having taught many prominent saxophonists around the world. ==Death==