Prasant Radhakrishnan & Kavita Shah

On this evening the Red Poppy Art House will present two full sets of music by different artists, bridging the worlds of South Indian Classical music and Jazz. Two concerts in one, the first being focused in traditional South Indian Carnatic music, and the second in jazz.

SET l

PRASANT RADHAKRISHNAN & ROHAN KRISHNAMURTHY

Prasant Radhakrishnan is a versatile saxophonist identified with both the South Indian Classical (Carnatic) and jazz disciplines. The unique vocal texture of his sound on saxophone, noted for its expressive complexity and rhythmic ingenuity, reflects Prasant’s continued study of tradition, constant innovation, and vast concert experience over the past fifteen years.

The foremost disciple of Carnatic saxophone pioneer, “Padmashri” Dr. Kadri Gopalnath, Prasant began developing his music over the course of nearly a decade of intensive musical training under his guru, much of which took place in the traditional gurukulam format of complete immersion. Waking at 5am each morning in his teacher’s home and practicing through the day under his guidance, Radhakrishnan was initiated into the world of Carnatic music in a format seldom available today in India, much less in his native Arizona. The rigor of this training, followed by the privilege of accompanying his teacher on stage in hundreds of concerts in subsequent years, fostered a deep understanding of Carnatic music.

Acclaimed an “international mridangam performer” by USA Today and “pride of India” by India’s leading newspaper, The Times of India, Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy is considered a musical ambassador. Having initially received mridangam training with Damodaran Srinivasan over the telephone in the U.S., he continued advanced training from maestro, Guruvayur Dorai, in India. Rohan has performed hundreds of concerts internationally since the age of nine as a distinguished soloist and collaborator in diverse music and dance ensembles.

Prasant Radhakrishnan – saxophone
Rohan Krishnamurthy – mridangam

prasantmusic.com
rohanrhythm.com

SET II

On tour from NYC, for one night only at the Poppy…

KAVITA SHAH – VISIONS

Hailed by Downbeat Magazine as the “Best Graduate Jazz Vocalist” (2012) and winner of the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award (2013), Kavita Shah is gaining a reputation as a visionary young singer, composer, and arranger. A native New Yorker of Indian origin fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and French, Ms. Shah incorporates elements of Indian, Brazilian, and Malian music into her jazz-based repertoire. Her debut CD “Visions” (Inner Circle Music)–produced by Benin-born jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke–combines the sounds of the traditional Indian tablas and West African kora with those of a jazz quintet.

“I haven’t been so excited about a project like this in a long time,” states Loueke. “Kavita is a real, true musician. She’s a great singer, but the way she writes music, she’s not really thinking just about the voice. It sounds like she could be a horn player, a sax player.” – Lionel Loueke

 

Shah has performed at Kennedy Center, Joe’s Pub, Vermont Jazz Center, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rubin Museum of Art, and Paris’ Sunset/Sunside Club. She has had the pleasure of collaborating with Sheila Jordan, Peter Eldridge, Steve Wilson, Lionel Loueke, Samir Chatterjee, Amir ElSaffar, Linda Oh, Rogerio Boccato, and Yacouba Sissoko.Shah holds an M.M. in Jazz Voice from Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor’s in Latin American Studies from Harvard.

Kavita Shah – vocals
Steve Newcomb – piano
Guilhem Flouzat – drums
TBA – bass

kavitashahmusic

Admission: $15-20. Doors at 7:00pm Show at 7:30.

Tickets will not be sold in advance for this event. Please arrive at the Red Poppy when doors open to purchase tickets.