Paul Ponnudorai died the morning of July 7th, 2012, at age 51. I'll bet there's a huge bunch of ace musicians on the other side waiting to jam with him. Paul was undoubtedly an absolute phenomenon - a musician's musician, with an innate musicianship he honed to virtuoso heights. And yet he was always approachable, friendly and generous with his time.
We never really know how precious some lives and their unique gifts are - until they're gone.
Love you, bro.
[First posted 7 July 2012]
So sorry I didn't read the sad news at the bottom of your post, and I had even sent emails to some friends, proudly proclaiming 'and he is from Batu Gajah'. Then I logged into FB and read your post about his death. I never met him before but heard a lot about him.
ReplyDeleteI have known him for age, from Ipoh in fact. Didn't keep in touch lately but I do concur with everyone saying he was such a brilliant musician and a wonderful person. Will always remember him very fondly .
ReplyDeleteI blame the premature deaths of so many musicians on the unfortunate fact that they are forced to play in noisy pubs where they are paid a pittance in cash but offered all the beer they can drink. On top of that a bunch of well-meaning pickled brains keep plying them with more beers, thinking they're doing someone a favor. Folks, you want a spiritual high, you won't find it out of a bottle.
ReplyDeleteAs Chet Atkins said of Jerry Reed: "Something like that only comes down the river once".
ReplyDeleteArtiste, artist, writers and anyone with one foot in and one foot out the system will never be respected. These people are outlaws waiting to be dealt with. Paul was a great musician who did his homework. He left a footprint for many to follow. The key to becoming a great musician is dedication and studies in music. Paul, took no short cuts in doing so. He was generous with his time but a loner. Many of us walk the streets, greet each with a smile but all in all we have become isolated in the paths we took. People saw the outside of Paul, a shallow preview we understand of each other.
ReplyDelete