ganavya

“among modern music’s most compelling vocalists” – Wall Street Journal

Vocalist ganavya’s latest recording, 2024’s Daughter of a Temple, came out of what she describes as “a gathering in and for devotion”. She drew on studies of the musico- philosophies of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda. Furthermore, she’d even promised herself she’d invite anyone who brought up Turiyasangitananda’s name around her. “You really shouldn’t do that,” she chuckles. “It turns out a lot of people talk about her!””

Thus, the album brings the Hindu tradition of harikatha into the 21st century. Additionally, it draws upon a vast cast of contributors across multiple disciplines, among them esperanza spalding, Vijay Iyer, and Shabaka Hutchings. Also, she includes Immanuel Wilkins, Peter Sellars, Rajna Swaminathan, Charlotte Braithwaite, Chris Sholar, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Bindhumalini Narayanswamy. Her mother even helped cook for participants. The results are an innovative and deeply moving blend of spiritual jazz and South Asian devotional music.

She is, after all, a woman whose path has led from a childhood spent dancing and singing on the pilgrimage trail to earning four degrees – including at Berklee College of Music, UCLA and Harvard, to whom she was recommended by Quincy Jones – and on to 2024’s like the sky I’ve been too quiet, her most recent album.

Kavyesh Kaviraj imbues his life and stories into his music, carefully weaving his influences into a boundary-breaking modern jazz outfit. He is well-known in the Twin Cities and beyond as a pianist, composer and arranger. Primarily a jazz pianist, he is a sought-after musician in many genres. He has performed with internationally renowned artists like Wynton Marsalis, David Sanchez, Justin Robinson, Roosevelt Collier, Steve Cole and others.

Recommended for fans of Alice Coltrane, Arooj Aftab, Zakir Hussain and Anoushka Shankar.

LEARN MORE: https://www.ganavya.com/home

📸: Carlos Cruz