The Sixth Annual Indo-Jazz Festival, the only one of its kind in Canada, was designed to spread the Indo-jazz influence around the world, and is one of the initiatives of Toronto power collective, Monsoon-Music. -
Monsoon-Music proudly presents THE SIXTH ANNUAL INDO-JAZZ FESTIVAL featuring some of North America’s finest jazz and world musicians. On Saturday, November 8th at the intimate Small World Music Center in the heart of Toronto’s Queen West, is the Indian Classical Raga Evening double bill, with THE MONSOON TRIO, followed by a bansuri (Indian bamboo flute) recital by expert STEVE GORN of New York City. The following weekend on Saturday, November 15th, the full band MONSOON will release their new CD MANDALA at the prestigious Glenn Gould Studio, with special guest producer and bassist GEORGE KOLLER. Joining them for both events is virtuoso tabla player RAVI NAIMPALLY.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH – Indian Classical Raga Evening
7:00-10:00 pm – Indian Classical Raga – The Monsoon Trio followed by bansuri recital by Steve Gorn
At The Small World Music Space in Artscape Youngplace, 180 Shaw St. Toronto, ON
Tickets: Adults $20 / Students $10 or online HERE.
The Monsoon Trio will open the evening with a recital of Indian Classical Raga Music on saxophones and bass veena accompanied by Toronto’s own Ravi Naimpally on tabla. Learning the illustrious art form of Indian classical music and applying it to their native western instruments, brothers Jonathan and Andrew Kay and bassist Justin Gray, are collectively forging a unique path of cross-cultural musical synthesis. Having spent the greater part of the last five years living in Kolkata, India, the Kay brothers have been performing this traditional music on tenor, alto and soprano saxophones. Justin Gray performs on the bass veena; a hybrid east-west electric bass he co-designed with Canadian luthier Les Godfrey. Having toured all across India, the Monsoon Trio has made waves in the Indian classical music community for their sincere and dedicated efforts to assimilate the language of the ragas, and master the traditional expression through their western instruments. The brothers will be returning to India this December to tour, marking this year’s Indian Classical Raga Evening the last chance to experience this trio’s powerful vibrations.
The feature recital of the evening will be performed by NYC’s bansuri virtuoso Steve Gorn, also accompanied by Ravi Naimpally on the tabla. Featured on the 2011 Grammy-winning recording, Miho – Journey to the Mountain, with Dhruba Ghosh and the Paul Winter Consort, as well as in the Academy Award-winning documentary film, Born into Brothels, Gorn has performed Indian classical music and new American music on the bansuri bamboo flute throughout the world. His gurus are the late bansuri master Sri Gour Goswami, of Kolkata, and Pt. Raghunath Seth of Mumbai, who he often accompanies in concert. He has numerous recordings and often performed in India, appearing at Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, Habitat Center and Triveni Hall in New Delhi, The Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata, and more. His performance with Pandit Ravi Shankar’s disciple, Barun Kumar Pal, at Kolkata’s Rama Krishna Mission, was televised throughout India. In 2013, he was awarded the Pandit Jasraj Rotary Club of Hyderabad Award for Cross Cultural Achievement.
For more information, please click HERE.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH – Monsoon CD Release of Mandala
7:00-10:00 pm – Monsoon CD release of MANDALA
At Glenn Gould Studio, 250 Front St. Toronto, ON
Tickets: Adults $25, $40 w/ CD – Students $15, $30 w/ CD or online HERE.
For the past eight years Monsoon’s original Indo-Jazz fusion has evolved into a musically innovative tapestry that deftly captures the sounds and colours of India, and has been a conduit for spreading that culturally rich influence across the globe. Co-bandleaders Jonathan Kay, Andrew Kay, and Justin Gray have gathered a vast array of experiences during their time exploring the lands of the East; internalizing many styles of Indian music and then seamlessly weaving them with jazz harmonies and earthy grooves of the western world. Their collaboration in Monsoon has sparked a new world of East meets West music. The debut album Mandala is a genre-defying collection of compositions that take the listener on a creative, mystical and transcendental journey deep into the heart and soul.
Monsoon is comprised of Jonathan Kay (bansuri, saxophones and woodwinds), Andrew Kay (saxophone, woodwinds, Tibetan singing bowls and percussion), Justin Gray (electric bass, upright bass and bass veena), Ravi Naimpally (tabla and udu), Adam Teixeira (drums and percussion), Todd Pentney (keyboards), and Derek Gray (drums and percussion). Joining the band for the CD release concert is the album’s producer and multi-instrumentalist George Koller.
The band is currently pre-selling the album Mandala via Kickstarter at www.monsoonmandala.com , where you can both help support the band in this release and get tickets to the CD release event in a package deal.
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