Natraj

Artist Information

Biography

Band Profile

Natraj seamlessly melds the classical music of India, traditional music from West Africa, and contemporary jazz to create its own unique and infectious style. Hard-driving African grooves and graceful Indian ragas meet in the band's expansive jazz conception. Hailed as Boston's Best Jazz Band by the Improper Bostonian and nominated Best World Music Act in the Boston Music Awards, Natraj captivates and excites audiences with its exotic textures, accessible melodies, and rhythmic energy.

Natraj has delighted listeners throughout the US, Canada, India, and West Africa since 1987. Appearances include India's JazzYatra and Prayojana International Music Festival; Ghana's PANAFEST; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; the Guelph Jazz Festival, Guelph, Canada; and The Boston Globe Jazz and Blues Festival. Arts International, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and Meet the Composer have awarded repeated grant support for Natraj's tours.

Natraj has performed with stalwarts of Indian classical music including Kadri Gopalnath, Chitravina N. Ravikiran, Ronu Majumdar, Shashak, and Trichy Sankaran. In addition, Natraj regularly performs with many other artists including Kathak dancer Gretchen Hayden, the West African folkloric Agbekor Society led by David Locke, South Indian guitarist Prasanna, bamboo-flute maestros V. K. Raman and Steve Gorn, violin master Tara Anand, tabla wizard Aditya Kalyanpur, Bharatha Natyam dancer Jayshree Rajamani, and Senegalese master drummer Lamine Toure.

Numerous radio and TV appearances include featured segments on the USA nationally syndicated program, The World (PRI/BBC/WGBH-FM); Doordarshan (Indian National TV); Maine Things Considered (Maine Public Radio, USA); South Asian Newsweek (CFMT-TV, Toronto); Radio Mid-Day (Mumbai, India); Here and Now (WBUR-FM, Boston); and It's All About Arts (BNN TV9, Boston).

Natraj generally performs its signature Indo-Afro-jazz style as a quintet. Other configurations, including solo, duo, trio, and quartet, are also available, depending on presenter's needs, venue size, and budget. Indian classical music is available. In addition to concert, festival, and club appearances, Natraj performs at functions, weddings, and corporate events.

Educational Offerings

Natraj offers educational workshops and residencies on Indian classical music, West African music, composition, and arranging. Natraj tailors workshops to the musical level and interests of your group or audience. They can focus on traditional Indian and African music. Your group can explore new frontiers in jazz — learning how to use elements of Indian and African musics in jazz composition, arranging, and improvisation. The workshops promote cultural awareness and understanding through the presentation of the musical perspectives of other cultures. These interactive programs are informative, entertaining, and engaging. Musical concepts are reinforced through participation: Audiences clap and recite rhythms from West Africa and India; they sing Indian ragas and songs; musicians improvise on new scales and melodic structures. Participants can take part in interactive, improvisational performances.

For more information, see websites listed under 'links' below.

Digital downloads: iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, Napster, eMusic, Amie Street, Spotify, Verizon

Join Natraj's email list today! Send a message to natraj-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit www.yahoogroups.com/list/natraj

Instrumentation

Phil Scarff - soprano saxophone
Mat Maneri - Viola
Mike Rivard - String Bass
Jerry Leake - Tabla, multipercussion
Bertram Lehmann - Drums, Percussion

Discography

Song of the Swan, Galloping Goat GGCD-3425
Deccan Dance, Galloping Goat GGCD-3424
Meet Me Anywhere, Dorian Discovery DIS-80119
The Goat Also Gallops, Accurate Records AC-3422; reissued by Dorian Discovery DIS-80124

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Indian classical music
• Video with Indian dancer Jayshree Rajamani
• CD Baby - purchase CDs
• Windjam - purchase CDs
• Join email list

Audio

• Song of the Swan
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• The Ride
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• Nectar of the Gods
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• Bageshri-Bageshwari
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• Miato Bebeviawo
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• Kale Nutsu
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• Ahir Bhairav, Alap
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• Ahir Bhairav, Mana Mohan ko Laaj na Aaye
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• Ahir Bhairav, Bega Bega Aawo Mandir
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Boston Globe - Deccan Dance review [+ Show ]
  

  “Natraj blends complex tempos and traditions with graceful, unforced virtuosity… a hypnotic, symbiot...“Natraj blends complex tempos and traditions with graceful, unforced virtuosity… a hypnotic, symbiotic tapestry. Fusion is rarely this deep and exotic yet accessible… discover a new world here.”

• Cadence - Deccan Dance review [+ Show ]
  

  “Technical excellence and sensitive musicianship transcend national and cultural boundaries, and the...“Technical excellence and sensitive musicianship transcend national and cultural boundaries, and there is clearly an abundance of both on this recording… Compares favorably with Shakti... Every performer displays both a melodic and technical flair… The performances on this album are everywhere excellent.”

• Jazziz - Meet Me Anywhere review [+ Show ]
  

  “[This] Boston group doesn’t simply draw on Indian influences some of the time—it specializes in a s...“[This] Boston group doesn’t simply draw on Indian influences some of the time—it specializes in a seamless blend of jazz and Indian music... [Natraj] embraces both Western and Indian instruments… delightfully unconventional.”

• JazzYatra Festival review [+ Show ]
  

  “We heard the future of jazz... we heard the future of world music... a spellbinding tapestry... a j...“We heard the future of jazz... we heard the future of world music... a spellbinding tapestry... a jazz hybrid of celebration and reflection.”

• WBUR [+ Show ]
  

  “East meets West and South in the music of the Boston-based band Natraj. The quintet plays contempo...“East meets West and South in the music of the Boston-based band Natraj. The quintet plays contemporary jazz with intoxicating Indian influences and entrancing African rhythms, hypnotically combining instruments from the three regions into eerie and original music.”

• JazzYatra Festival preview
  

  “Watch out for this energetic and wildly intelligent ensemble... formidable virtuosos.”

• Boston Globe Jazz Festival review [+ Show ]
  

  “Boston’s Best Jazz Band… These 10 hands speak with one voice in a way that falls somewhere between ...“Boston’s Best Jazz Band… These 10 hands speak with one voice in a way that falls somewhere between Roland Rahsaan Kirk and Vishnu… a Natraj set is guaranteed to be a magical musical tour.”

• Deccan Dance review [+ Show ]
  

  “Traditional Indian ragas and a West African traditional tune are part of the programme… Worth looki...“Traditional Indian ragas and a West African traditional tune are part of the programme… Worth looking for.”

• Meet Me Anywhere review [+ Show ]
  

  “Whether you come... from the perspective of jazz, the background of world music, or curiosity about...“Whether you come... from the perspective of jazz, the background of world music, or curiosity about a different sound... Natraj offers you new insights...”

• preview
  

  “An inimitably nimble world-jazz ensemble… some of the most sensitive players in town.”

Setlist

A typical Natraj set includes:
- Original compositions, most based a synthesis of the music of India and/or West Africa with contemporary jazz.
- Contemporary arrangements of Indian classical and West African traditional pieces.
- Indian influenced arrangements of pieces by jazz masters such as Coltrane and Ornette Coleman.

Basic Requirements

Calendar