Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh

What is the genre of music you might expect to hear in an album titled Mysterious Duality? Certainly not the veena, I’ll wager a bet. But that’s exactly what Jayanthi Kumaresh’s new album on the Earthsync catalogue is titled, and if the intriguing title doesn’t succeed in arousing your curiosity, the album description most certainly will. Each of the four tracks on the album feature compositions with multiple tracks played on the veena by the same artiste, Jayanthi Kumaresh. The album notes state that the artiste used seven different veenas for the album, making it primarily a recording project as in no other situation would it have been possible for the artiste to have played all the tracks simultaneously. While one of the tracks is labelled Traditional (India), two are composed by Abhishek Raghuram and one by violinist and composer R. Kumaresh of the acclaimed Ganesh-Kumaresh duo.
Also Read Shubha Mudgal’s previous Lounge columns

Exploration: Jayanthi Kumaresh experiments with the veena.
The sound of the veena is by far one of the most grand and majestic of all Indian instruments, and one that is often associated with temple ritual and ancient scriptures. But on the album Mysterious Duality you hear somewhat different and unfamiliar tones and textures of the veena. Lest anyone assume that I am joining the ranks of the supposedly “orthodox” who condemn any deviation from the conventional and traditional in one fell swoop, I must hasten to add that this unfamiliar use of the veena came as a very welcome surprise. I found it decidedly intriguing to hear the veena playing what sounded close to a bass line on one of the tracks, doing a pizzicato-like plucking on another, and at times, playing the same melodic lines in different octaves.
What I am wondering is whether Kumaresh intends to keep this experiment restricted to a recording project alone. And if not, how would she counter the challenges posed by the project? Would she invite other vainikas, or veena players, to join her on stage, or would she use a combination of recorded tracks over which she would play live? The launch of an album is usually followed by a series of live concerts, and it would be equally interesting to observe how Kumaresh will handle the repertoire she has recorded in a live performance situation. And being a practical sort, I’m also wondering how she is going to deal with the formidable task of travelling with so many veenas? Sadly, I was unable to speak to her in this regard, though I did try and schedule a chat a couple of times.
Earthsync albums are always tastefully designed and produced and Mysterious Duality is no exception. I’m just wondering whether it was at all necessary to insert a rather narcissistic subtitle proclaiming Just me into the album title. And if that subtitle was at all necessary, couldn’t it have been Just Veena? Perhaps, without the subtitle, the mysterious duality would have been heightened subtly.
- livemint.com

Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh has been enthralling audiences the world over with her graceful, emotive and expressive music for the last 25 years.
Born into a family where music has been the mainstay for the last seven generations, Jayanthi started playing the veena when she was barely three. Winning her way through several laurels and awards right from her childhood, Jayanthi was soon one of the youngest artistes in veena to receive A-top grading from All India Radio (the highest grade offered by the only grading body in India).
In recognition of her artistry, the Government of Tamil Nadu has honoured her with the title of Kalaimamani. She has also been the recipient of prestigious awards like the ‘Best Main Musician’, ‘Best Veena concert of the year’, ‘Sathyashree’, ‘Veena Nada Mani’ and the like.
Jayanthi has been invited by prestigious organisations across the world like Theatre de la Ville in Paris, the UN and World Music Centre in New York, Music Guimet in Paris, Woodstock in United States, Indo- German Societies, the Indian embassy at Sharjah and several such platforms to represent the National instrument of India – the Saraswathi Veena.
Apart from solo performances, Jayanthi has performed several jugalbandhis and has also collaborated with musicians from other types of music in her own World music band called Indian Spice. As a composer, Jayanthi has scored music for a host of dance productions and musicals that have premiered in India and abroad, including Krishna Bhakthi, Abbakarani and Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya. She has also composed for the National South Asian Youth orchestra of the UK.
Jayanthi is the disciple of her maternal aunt Padmavathy Ananthagopalan and veena maestro Dr. S. Balachander. Her maternal uncle, the violin legend Lalgudi Jayaraman is a great influence and inspiration for her.
Jayanthi has recorded several CDs for companies all over the world like Times Music, Music Today, Sense World, Earthsync, Navras, Home Records etc. She recently came out with an album called ‘Mysterious Duality’ in which for the first time one artiste and one instrument have created an orchestral effect. This album focuses on the multi-dimensional persona of the self. Mysterious duality is her tribute to the most majestic instrument that India has contributed to the world – the veena.
Jayanthi was awarded a Doctorate by the University of Mysore for her work on the subject “Analytical study of different banis and playing techniques of the Saraswathi Veena”. Jayanthi has evolved her own identity and style by making the veena her voice in expressing many a new musical thought to the audiences across the globe. She has today made the veena the focal point of musical essence and experience.

Catch her live at the Third Edition of the Night to Dawn Overnight Classical Concerts on Independence Day Eve (August 14, 2012) @ University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad

all india radio, asian youth orchestra, concert, dance, german societies, indian spice, Jayanthi Kumaresh, music, new york music, scored music, seven generations, south asian youth, SPIC Macay, theatre, world music band, world music centre - Channel6.in

Kalaimamani Jayanthi Kumaresh’s music traverses a wide trajectory. A cultural ambassador and archivist with an ominous legacy on her shoulders, she is unarguably the most noted and versatile veena player in the country today.

Jayanthi’s music is remarkable for her nuanced expression of the microtones and quarter tones, characteristic of Carnatic music which transform into distinct characters in her recitals.

Born into a family where music has been the mainstay for the last seven generations, she started playing the veena at the tender age of three. Jayanthi is the disciple of her maternal aunt Padmavathy Ananthagopalan and Veena Maestro Dr S Balachander.

Her maternal uncle, the violin legend Lalgudi Jayaraman is also a great influence on her musical being. Jayanthi states, “Veena is an instrument in which it is easy to be an average player but very difficult to be an extraordinary player.

If the government and media play an active role in propagating its importance in the spectrum of Indian music, I guess, the awareness will return. Veena is also the best instrument to demonstrate or negotiate the gamaka and I have learnt all of these from my gurus.

Both Balachander and Lalgudi are radically different musicians but giants in their own right. It is difficult to find any practicing musician who is not influenced by them. My own guru Padmavathy Ananthagopalan, sister of Lalgudi, instilled in me the values of what is good and what is not so good in classical music.

That foundation is the basis of any success of mine.” Considered a celestial instrument, the Veena is always identified with goddess Saraswati. It is also believed to be the grand aunt of the sitar. Both belong to the lute family but Sitar is relatively of more recent origin.

For Jayanthi Kumaresh, the veena has become her voice to express many a new musical thought and it is the focal point of her musical essence and experience.

Credited for having brought a string instrument close to vocal music by mastering the gayaki ang, she avers, “When one plays on an instrument, the gayaki ang is only one part of the journey.

When one plays the kritihis one has to be faithful to its lyrical content and stick to the gayaki ang. One has to also explore the instrument itself for what it can produce - its tones, timbre, dynamics and its specialty.

If each instrument is only played like vocal, then why do we need instruments? Just to be clones of vocal music? No. To give what vocals can offer and even something more.

That extra special element is what each artiste achieves through their exploration of the instrument which is enriched by practice, experience and experimentation.” Jayanthi’s experimental pursuit is also defined by her unflinching regard for the traditional serenity of her instrument and musical discipline.

She further adds, “The journey of an artiste is full of surprises and twists and turns. No two years are alike in an artistes’ life. Musicians are inspired by different social, economical, regional and musical experiences.”
- Pune Mirror

Jayanthi Kumaresh is one of the most gifted veena artistes of today, innovating tradition with a musical vision. Married to violin maestro Kumaresh (of Ganesh-Kumaresh fame), she has been creating ripples in music circles with her rare insight, élan and multifaceted genre of music. Polite and down to earth, Jayanthi talks about her musical voyage….
Initiation and training

Many in my family are violinists; like my uncle Lalgudi Jayaraman, for instance. I was initiated into music by my mother at the age of three and thereafter studied under my aunt Padmavathy Anandagopalan. I moved to Chennai and did ‘Gurukula Vasam’ with her for 22 years. I also had the rare opportunity of learning under S. Balachander.

Bonding with the guru

I share a strong bond with my aunt. She was a strict disciplinarian and a tough teacher. But she let me develop my own style and did not impose her school of musical thoughts on me. She helped me find my own identity.

Husband and wife team

We play a veena combination called ‘Samvaada,’ which means conversation. I have also played in films for which Ganesh and Kumaresh have done the music.

Experimental music

Apart from Carnatic music, I have done quite a lot of projects with Hindustani musicians. In the fusion genre, I have a band called ‘Indian Spice’ where we do contemporary music with myriad western instruments. In Jugalbandhi, the musicians try to build a bridge. I believe in finding our identity together and it is beautiful when synchronised perfectly.

Your signature music

I combine vocal and instrumental music (a blend of Gayaki and Tantrakari). A musician’s style evolves. When I was 16 or 17 my style must have been robust. It must have matured now with a better sense of rhythm. And it will grow in my musical journey.

As a teacher

I teach both, vocal music and veena. My style is different from my guru’s. Learn and practise is the buzzword. One thing that bothers me is mediocrity. If you need to be a doctor, you take up 19 years of education, same is the case for engineers, et al. Only in music, after two or three years of learning, people want to be on stage. Like any other profession you have to toil a number of years. One should not be in a rush to perform on stage. That is my philosophy and piece of advice because mediocrity, according to me, is a sin.

Your inspiration

Both my gurus, parents, husband Kumaresh, and his brother Ganesh. And, of course, my uncle Lalgudi Jayaraman.

Mission

It is boom time for classical music. Indian music should not be categorised as ethnic music. It has to find a place in the world map of music. My mission is to popularise the veena and make people appreciate and develop a taste for Indian music.

MAITHRI SRIKANT - THE HINDU

Indian music lovers are in for a treat as two beautifully soft and melodic instruments, the veena and piano, are played together for the very first time in this special concert. The veena, an ancient stringed instrument from South India, is loved for its sweet resonating sound. India's foremost veena player, Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh, joins Anil Srinivasan, a pianist pushing the boundaries of Indian classical music, creating a new sound for Carnatic music. This combination throws open the doors of opportunity for future collaborations with Eastern and Western instruments.

Performers
Anil Srinivasan piano
Jayanthi Kumaresh veena
Kousic Sen tabla
Bhadrachaar Ravishankar mridangam - Southbank Centre

Jayanthi Kumaresh brings alive the multiple layers of different veenas in her solo album

It's cosmic, expensive and undeviatingly traditional. But the moment an austere alaap plays on the majestic veena in the meditative raga Shudha Sarang, layered tones and timbres emanate from the instrument. The bass veena is layered with notes from rudra veena and then vichitra veena is interspersed with saraswati veena to produce notes that gyrate up and down, creating an orchestral effect.

Following the head start, the instruments spin out nimble taans, creating complex scintillating tunes, giving the impression of different vainikas (veena players) playing together. "A traditional vainika has never attempted a recording using seven different veenas together. I wanted to showcase the sound of this instrument in all its purity, with movement-based and emotion-based compositions, since this is the only instrument that can execute the subtleties of the human voice," says Jayanthi Kumaresh, 40, whose album Mystical Duality (Earthsync, Rs 299) released last month.

The musician who believes that the multiple layers of her veenas are a reflection of the multiple layers of her personality, is unfazed by the announcement made by the government of India two years back, when it declared that the mythological musical instrument, veena, was a "dying instrument". "It was definitely a painful announcement, but I have grown up playing the instrument, and know that I could do things differently with it. I am optimistic. There are fewer people teaching the instrument now, but many youngsters are still interested in learning it. There are many takers for it abroad. However, the instrument is not as famous in North India," says Kumaresh, whose mother gave her a baby veena when she was only three. "The affair with the instrument has continued ever since," says Kumaresh, who grew up in a family of musicians and picked up the veena after she saw an idol of Goddess Saraswati holding it.
The four-track album opens with the title track in raga Shudha Sarang and is followed by Strings with no Ends in raga Bilawal. It concludes with Waiting at Dusk, a folk composition that opens with raga Pahadi and finishes with Bhairavi. "The beauty lies in hidden ragas that have been used in the various compositions," says the niece of eminent violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman, who has been making an effort to turn veena from a chamber instrument to a concert instrument. Unlike any other string instrument, like the sitar and the sarod, veena has no resonance strings.

Talking about the process of working on the album, Kumaresh says, "I first recorded one tune and then heard that on the headphone and layered a second one on it, with a different kind of veena and harmonised the two."

And as Kumaresh sits in a yogi's position, holding the majestic instrument and pulls the strings with the plectrums, it becomes vibrantly alive with each raga. "Notes are not separate. They are connected to a reality that lies beyond perception. This is my tribute to the oldest and the most majestic instrument that India has contributed to the world," says Kumaresh. We are all set to tune in. - The Indian Express

Interview with brilliant and versatile veena player Jayanthi Kumaresh
I think this is great, an interview in three parts with brilliant and versatile veena-player Jayanthi Kumaresh, a carnatic artist whose work I’ve been following for years. I hugely admire her playing and I really hope to meet and interview her one day. - www.tonalties.nl

Carnatic music with a modern twist, an absence of vocals allows the Veena to shine with every pick and pluck.
Mysterious Duality: Just Me: Jayanthi Kumaresh

Label: EARTHSYNC

Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh, a native of Tamil Nadu, India, is a skilled performer on the veena, a plucked stringed instrument (similar to the sitar) used in southern Indian classical music known as Carnatic music. In Mysterious Duality: Just Me, Dr. Kumaresh produces a varied and more pronounced sound on the four compositions by overlaying Veena recordings. Carnatic music with a modern twist, an absence of vocals allows the Veena to shine with every pick and pluck. A relatively short running time of 42 minutes may be a deterrent for some, but this is an example of quality winning over quantity.
- Verge Magazine

JAYANTHI KUMARESH MUSICIAN
JAYANTHI KUMARESH

For the first time at the Théâtre de la Ville.

Now in her prime, Jayanthi Kumaresh is indisputably the most highly prized veena player in India. She is the great-niece of legendary violinist Lalgudi Jayaraman with whom she played in trios, and she began to study this large traditional lute from the age of four with a great performer of the instrument, Padmavathy Ananthagopalan, her great-aunt. She also ranks among the very few disciples of S. Balachander, who brilliantly reformed the veena known as sarasvati, which young girls from a good background have to master before they get married.
The tremendous variety of Jayanthi’s style gives intense life to this domestic instrument, which is too often neglected in festivals where vocals have the best share. Thanks to her restrained intensity, she guides the audience towards the delights of dreams. Thanks to her incredible mastery, she brings to a climax the excitement of swinging Carnatic rhythms.


Christian Ledoux. - Theatre de la Ville

“Learning, practising and performing a fine art is a great way to increase physical and mental wellbeing”, says noted veena player Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh and mentor of Indian National Orchestra (INO). The Indian National Orchestra consists of performing musicians in their prime both from North and South India, who can jointly perform Indian music together and represent the country in international concerts.
So INO came to shape early this year with able guidance from Girish Gopalakrishnan, a gen X music director, and gave their very first performance in Chennai on June 25 at the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha. Subsequent performances of the INO in all the major cities of India and abroad will be held in the coming days, she says.
"The INO consists of extraordinary talents from all across India covering both North Indian and South Indian classical music forms. This combined collaboration can be called as Shastriya Sangeeth, which is both Carnatic and Hindustani music, but with a contemporary feel. Hence the music presented by INO will truly reflect India, as it is today-diverse in texture and variety, but united in spirit and purpose," she says.
Jayanthi has been enthralling audiences the world over with her graceful, emotive and expressive music for the last two-and-a-half decades.
"It brings together about 22 artistes from both North and South Indian classical music on a common platform. The INO would try and showcase the best of Indian music at national and international level and also seek to achieve unity among Indians through music", she adds.

Background
Born into a family where music has been the mainstay for the last seven generations, Jayanthi started playing the Veena when she was just three year old. Winning her way through several laurels and awards right from her childhood, Jayanthi was soon one of the youngest artistes in Veena to receive A-top grading from All India Radio (the highest grade offered by the only grading body in India).
Apart from solo performances, Jayanthi has performed several jugalbandhis and has also collaborated with musicians from other types of music in her own world music band called Indian Spice. As a composer, she has scored music for a host of dance productions and musicals that have premiered in India and abroad, including Krishna Bhakthi, Abbakarani and Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya. She has also composed for the National South Asian Youth orchestra of the UK.
Jayanthi is the disciple of her maternal aunt Padmavathy Ananthagopalan and Veena Maestro Dr S Balachander.
In recognition of her artistry, the Government of Tamil Nadu has honoured her with the title of Kalaimamani. She has also been the recipient of prestigious awards like the Best Main Musician, Best Veena concert of the year, Sathyashree, Veena Nada Mani and the like.
There's more to her credit. She has been invited by prestigious organisations across the world like Theatre de la Ville in Paris, the UN and World Music Centre in New York, Music Guimet in Paris, Woodstock in the United States, Indo-German Societies, the Indian embassy at Sharjah and several such platforms to represent the National instrument of India - the Saraswathi Veena.
She recently came out with an album called 'Mysterious Duality' in which for the first time one artiste and one instrument have created an orchestral effect. This album focuses on the multi-dimensional persona of the self. Mysterious duality is her tribute to the most majestic instrument that India has contributed to the world - the Veena.
Jayanthi was awarded a Doctorate by the University of Mysore for her work on the subject "Analytical Study of Different Banis and Playing techniques of the Saraswathi Veena".
Apart from this, she also writes English poetry. - Jagran City plus

A Multitude in Solitude: Master Indian Classical Musician Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh Channels the Multifaceted Voices of the Veena on Mysterious Duality

Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh picked up the phone one day and had an epiphany. “I heard myself responding to different calls differently, using multiple voices and personalities,” the world-class veena player explains. “When you talk to your son, husband, teacher, colleague, or your student, with each role, your intonation changes so much. So I thought, ‘Why not make the veena do this?’”

Jayanthi’s moment of insight became Mysterious Duality: Just Me (EarthSync; March 8, 2011), an elegant, powerful exploration of the many sides of India’s national instrument, with its overtones, unique resonances, and dozens of strings. A seventh-generation musician with decades of training, performing, and recording of Carnatic (South Indian) classical music to her credit, Jayanthi was perfectly poised to create a set of pieces that allowed the veena’s multiple qualities to emerge.

The urge to show the veena in a new light came when Jayanthi played a festival in France several years ago. The promoter, new to Indian music, listened to a CD of Jayanthi accompanied by traditional percussion and was delighted—but confused. “He said, ‘The music is awesome. Now, which one’s the veena again?’” Jayanthi recalls with a chuckle. “I could relate to where he was coming from. The sitar and tabla have been presented in many beautiful ways, and people worldwide recognize their sound. I knew I needed to present the veena’s grandeur of tone in all its purity. I needed to make an album with just veena.”

Jayanthi understood that a solo veena album would not capture the full breadth of her instrument’s expressive and sonic possibilities—its rich bass, percussive facets, sympathetic strings, and delicate upper range. So she headed to the studio, telling the engineer to brace himself as she laid down track after track of different rhythmic and melodic elements, turning to the two dozen veenas she owns to find just the right sound.

After seven overdubs, she found the perfect balance between the elements, and the process suggested what material she should explore using her newfound approach: “Once I had the formula right, I had to figure out what to play.”

The pieces that emerged once Jayanthi found her footing move from contemplative layered arpeggios to energetic, complex melodies, from percussive bass grooves to dancing, shimmering tones (“Multiple Duality”). The effect is welcoming to the listener unfamiliar with Indian classical music, yet strikingly appropriate to fans of straightforward classical performance.

Jayanthi’s music resonates beautifully in multiple ways thanks to her long experience. “My background helped me approach these pieces with poise and dignity,” she relates. “I didn’t want to rush anything, especially on tracks like ‘Wandering in Dimensions,’ and took them step by step.”

The tracks draw on her deep knowledge of Carnatic music’s system of rhythmic cycles (tala) and melodic patterns (raga). “Indian music has this treasure house of melodies, or ragas that are created using a particular set of notes in particular order. Scales don’t become ragas until they have life breathed into them,” Jayanthi notes. “But that creativity has a boundary, as well as a particular emotion. It’s as if you have three colors to use in a painting. You can still paint anything you want, even if you only use three colors.”

This bounded creativity shines in pieces like “Strings with No Ends,” a slowly accelerating tanam, or improvised work that’s “melodically rhythmic and rhythmically melodic,” as Kumaresh puts it. Or in pieces composed by Jayanthi’s youthful nephew Abhishek Raghuram or by her violinist husband R. Kumaresh. Both work primarily on other instruments, bringing an exciting freshness and challenge to her endeavors. “If I’d had composed everything myself, I would have focused solely on what might sound nice on the veena,” she reflects. “Abishek, for example, composed melodies without thinking at all about my instrument.”

The process of recording also revealed new facets of the veena, something that Jayanthi has relished bringing to her live classical performances. The high-quality recording and mastering uncovered microtones and resonances Jayanthi had never heard so distinctly before, elements she now plays with in concert.

It also brought out a bolder dimension of Jayanthi’s musical personality. “Before this album, I would wonder when I played the bass strings in a particular way if I was sounding too much like an electric guitar,” she muses. “I always felt a bit shy. After making this album, though, I found it was very cool. Now I love it.” - Flipswitch