<span style="color: #222222;">Padma Shri awardee and well known Saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath passed away today in Mangaluru after a brief illness. He was 69. He is survived by his wife and music director son Manikanth Kadri. His funeral rites will be held this evening in Mangaluru. <br />''</span><br />''An A grade artist in Akashwani, Gopalnath held concerts in different countries and recorded a number of CDs. He was considered as a pioneer in playing Carnatic ragas on his Saxophone. Together with jazz flautist James Newton, Gopalnath recorded Southern Brothers. His production East-West is a fusion of western and Indian music. Film Director K Balachander used Kadri Gopalnath saxophone for his Tamil film which has music composed by A R Rahman. <br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Apart from Padma Shree, Gopalnath was conferred with Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award, Karnataka Kalasri award among others. </span><br />