Congo
Square JazzFest 2009
30th
January to 1st February 2009,
Dalhousie Institute
Congo Square Jazzfest 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
FunkyFingrs - A Tribute to the Late Paul D'Gama.
Paul D'Gama was an extra-ordinarily gifted musician alongside his day job several roles. From early beginnings with Bass and other guitars, he quickly moved over to the piano and electronic keyboards, cutting his teeth on nightclub jazz with the Anthony Fernandes Band at the Grand Hotel. Over two decades or more he played sessions music with several bands and soloists, notably Usha Uthup, the erstwhile Pop Secret, Skinny Alley, Blue Mist and several others too numerous to name.
Whether it was with the family band, the church choir, rock shows like the memorable Friends of High concert, all-night dances or just jazzing it up at parties - Paul loved to play. He experimented with arrangements and sounds. He dreamt of being a great music arranger and with his computer he put together several backing tracks for Rodney Rodrigues.
All the musicians he ever played with willingly agreed to play for free at a tribute concert the proceeds of which could be gifted to his wife and daughters. Some of those musicians are here today on stage, several are with us in the audience.
Paul lost the battle to cancer on November 23, 2008 at the age of 43. Till a few days before his death he made appointments with Tapan Desai of Congo Square to experiment with some forms of Jazz when he gets better. He never did. Today he is probably sitting up there working out alternative renditions of ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ and smiling down on us.
In the true spirit of Paul's love of music, any music, what you will hear will range from Rock to Blues to Jazz to music which has overtones of all that and more.
6:00 PM: HIP POCKET
Hip Pocket is essentially a band that plays what they like to call the classic rock of the Woodstock generation. Their renditions of the music of bands of that era range from being fairly faithful to the original works to having a distinct take of their own.
Sumith Ramachandran (lead guitar): He has been playing from the age of three or four. A prodigious virtuoso talent, he has long stints with Shiva and Usha Uthup before joining Hip Pocket. A master of virtually every style, he is a true professional with a great sense of the value of each moment on stage and is easily one of the best known guitarists in the country.
Samidh Mukerjee (bass and vocals): A founder member of the band and responsible for a tight and solid groove for the band to play over. Has been with the Bangla rock band Parash Pathar before joining Hip Pocket.
Rishi Chanda (guitar and vocals): Was also with Parash Pathar and along with Samidh does most of the singing. Their contrasting styles are the perfect foil for each other.
Som Dasgupta (keyboards and backing vocals): A rare example of a truly virtuoso keyboard player in a rock band, capable of taking some intense, high energy and technically very challenging solos.
Nondon Bagchi (drums and vocals): Started playing in December 1968, thus completing 40 years of playing professionally. The genre of Hip Pocket's music is his main strength but Nondon has also played a lot of pop and jazz with some of the leading musicians in the country.
7:00 PM: RODNEY RODRIGUES
Rodney Rodrigues has been singing songs of yesteryears across clubs, night clubs and concert events since he was knee-high. His backing tracks have been arranged and put together with Paul. He will do a few of Paul's favourite songs in tribute.
7:30 PM: SKINNY ALLEY
Jayashree Singh: Vocals
Amyt Datta: Guitars
Gyan Singh: Bass and Vocals
Jeffrey Menezes: Keyboards and Vocals
Jeffrey Rikh: Drums and Vocals
Skinny Alley is one of India's premier bands and is probably the only band in the country today that plays at corporate events, college campuses, football stadiums, smoky pubs and 5 star nightclubs with equal flair and ease.
The musicians in the band are amongst the most experienced and versatile in the country having played with prime bands over the years in a variety of situations. They are equally adept at several genres of music – pop, dance, funk, rhythm and blues, country, classic and contemporary rock, jazz-rock and progressive rock
The band has been touring the country for many years now and performing at just about every venue and kind of event imaginable – college fests, jazz concerts, disco marathons, rock festivals, corporate launches, formal dinner-dances, resort parties et al.
The repertoire that the band possesses is huge and caters to a wide range of ages and musical tastes. They are perhaps the only national band today that can play to sixteen year olds and sixty year olds with the same skill and abandon! Also, because of their extensive repertoire we can entertain noisy, energetic teens, head banging college kids, smooth, sophisticated audiences, chilled-out resort guests … the list is endless!
Skinny Alley has released two CDs of original music, Escape the Roar on the Virgin EMI label, and Songs from the Moony Boom on the Counter Culture Records label.
8:15 PM: PINKNOISE
Jayashree Singh: Talk
Amyt Datta: Guitar
Gyan Singh: Bass
Jivraj Singh: Beats
PINKNOISE was formed in March 2006 to address an urgent need for fearlessness in the contemporary Indian music scene. The music PINKNOISE plays is exempt from categorization. They work like programmers. Their influences are the samples, the rehearsal room is their pro-tools. Everything else is left to chance. The sound of this music is imagined, assembled, designed and executed without care for genre or style, as long as it’s daringly quirky. Fusion has become just another misused f-word. So they call this music cookin’. The recipe: abstract weirdness + potent beats (served hot).
9:00 PM: FRIENDS OF PAUL
The show will be concluded by a group of musicians who had played with Paul D’Gama. The line up will feature Anjum Katiyal, Dababrata Mitra, Sumith Ramachandran, Willy Walters and others.
Congo Square Jazzfest 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
6:00 PM: NAAD
A coming together of different musical traditions from diverse human cultures has gained popularity as fusion music. This kind of music finds an echo in every heart, in those hearts that make the music as well as those that listen. When the world speaks of creating the global village, the links are best formed and forged together by music. Music is the universal language that can make even silence eloquent, evoking moods of togetherness effortlessly. Musical instruments, of any culture and tradition, of the West and the East, can blend their different sounds in a way that melts away differences. Fusion music was born with this in mind, a desire to do away with differences, to share and exchange ideas and concepts which could discover common ground across national borders.
Exchange has been occurring among musicians of various nations for years now. The newness that is in fusion music is the conscious effort to bring together cultural consciousness and sensibilities. A growing number of musicians are experimenting with new combination of world music styles.
World fusion music has become a standard term for this innovative music. It has become a passion and life's work for many musicians. So it is with Subrata Bhattacharya, tabla player and composer, whose creation is Naad (mellifluous sound).
Naad, an Indian fusion group, specializes in blending the evocative sounds of the eastern instruments with the stimulating notes of western instruments. The sounds of Indian classical and Western classical, Jazz, traditional and popular, fuse in one harmonious arrangement in the group's music.
The mind behind the group as well as its chief inspirer, Subrata is one of the leading tabla players in India today with a proficiency in the art which belies his age and humble approach to life. He has performed in various concerts in India and abroad. Subrata is an accompanist of choice of the best known musicians and is acknowledged as an accompanist and soloist who is able to combine knowledge with creativity. Music means much to him and it is this meaning which he wants to spread as a binding force among the youth. Together with him on this musical mission are equally talented young people who are musicians in their own right.
7:00 PM: Kendraka
Kendraka is the nucleus - the nucleus of creation of the three nascent minds, which willingly traverse beyond the boundaries of space, time and genre. It’s the spontaneous, contemporary Indian -Jazz – Fusion language that speaks through powerful expressions of human emotions, captivated in fluid rhythms and cross-planer melodies.
Kendraka promises an experience of the confluence of the different cultural influences (Hindustani & Carnatic classical, Jazz, Rock, Blues, R n B, Afro- Cuban, Afro - Brazilian) set to the backdrop of the modern complex urban thematic metamorphosis with emphasis on spontaneity and improvisation.
Kendraka are:
Mainak “Bumpy” Nag Chowdhury: Bass guitar, Compositions
Mainak “Bumpy” Nag Chowdhury has worked extensively as a globe trotting bass player and music producer. In the years of his professional playing in studio and live sessions, he has played various styles ranging from Latin(Afro–Cuban, Afro-Brazilian), Pop, Rock ,World music, World fusion, Progressive rock and Jazz, with some of the most sought after performers of the country and abroad ,with the likes of Tanmoy Bose (Pandit Ravi Shankar's tabla player's project Taaltantra), Taufiq Qureshi, Pt Debashish Bhattacharya, Amit Heri, Dhruv Ghanekar, Vikramjit “Tuki” Banerjee, Matthias Mueller (Germany), Tilmann Dehnhard (Germany) , Brian Melvin (U.S.A), Amit Chaudhuri's “This is not Fusion”, to his own duo pop-rock chart-buster vernacular album with Rupam (Titled "RnB"), Time Travil (Indo-U.S.A project), Kesivan Naidu Project(Indo-South Africa), The Orient Express , Krosswindz, Summit Attempt, Yatakas, Art of Living Band ,Urban Reflections ,Tilmann Dehnhard Quartet(Indo-German),Mueller-Dehndard Quartet (Indo-German) to name a few. He contributes to this project as a songwriter/composer and bass player doubled up.
Sanjay Gupta: Drums & Percussion
Sanjay Gupta, the drummer, the backbone of the band, is a veteran in the Calcutta music scenario. He has unleashed his radical spontaneity with bands and artists like D for Brother, The Orient Express, Los Amigos, Chandrobindoo, Tantra, Shahar, Chaturthi, Shilajit, Abraham Majumdar, Raw , Jenny Saigal, Kem Trivedi (Silk Route), Sonam Sherpa (Parikrama),Valentine Shipley, Lush, Müeller Denhardt Quartet etc. He is one of the most highly acclaimed drummer/ percussionists in the live and studio circuit in Calcutta, and his playing styles address different genres like, rock (classic and alternative), pop, vernacular, Afro - Cuban , Afro- Brazilian , r ’n’ b and jazz. He is also trained as a santoor player in the Hindustani classical genre, which has taken him to countries like the U.K, U.S.A, Canada & Germany. Sanjay is also a member of National Drum association, New York.
Bodhisattwa Ghosh: Guitars
Bodhisattwa Ghosh is the face of the generation-next guitar players in Calcutta who mean only business! Bodhisattwa clearly depicts the influences he draws from his guitar gurus across different genres - he is the one laying down the meandering melodies over the foundation of bass and drums. He often engages his axe into a powerful display of the deepest of human emotions, through a riot of colors splashed off the fret-board. After being widely acclaimed as the guitar player –composer of bands like Insomnia and Crystal Grass, this is Bodhi’s maiden venture into the world of spontaneous, improvisational original music, as a guitar player-arranger. Kendraka is a project, a dream, a coming together of the forces of creation and arrangements of these three musicians of Calcutta. It’s a platform for the synthesis of ideas, experiential knowledge, emotions and influences.
This project also features national and international artists from time to time. For this year’s tour, Kendraka will have German virtuoso Matthias Müller as a featured soloist.
Matthias Müller – Guitar - is one of the most sought after guitar players from Munich, Germany. He is a Guitar Player, Composer, and Arranger.
He is the guest soloist performing with Kendraka from January to March 2009.
Matthias’s biography : 1984-87 College of Music Sulzbach-Rosenberg Study of Classical Guitar, Ensemble and choir Conducting Diploma awarded 1988-90 Munich Guitar Institute ( MGI )Diploma awarded 1991-92 Grove School of Music, Los Angeles, C.A., USA Study of Jazz and Fusion with Jeff Richman, Joe Daversa and Wayne Johnson Composing and Arranging with Dick Grove Diploma awarded 1994-95 Study of Carnatic Music in Madras, India with Veena Rajeswari Padmanabhan 6 weeks Course at the College of Music, Hamburg 1985-90 Numerous Concerts with classical guitar trios, duos, solo and with choir Studio theater Munich Guitarist at Leonce and Lena 1991-92 Many Studio sessions and Recordings in Los Angeles 1993 Composer and musical Director of " Nightshift Radio Mystery "Jazz and Poetry, Lyrics By P. Eichhammer CD Production with the Band " Ruiz Says " 1995-97 Bar music in different Hotels in Hamburg (Crown Plaza, SAS etc.) Guitar Teacher at the Music School Lippstadt Recordings and Concerts with Edgar Nuenning (Guitar) Composer of a String Quartet for the Radio play “The Broken Heart" (1999). Matthias is also a founder member of AHIMSA, (along with violinist Neyveli S. Radhakrishna). Ahimsa released two CDs, one in 1999, the other in 2003.
Matthias has played with some of the top Indian musicians of our generation,
such as; Dr. L. Subramaniam, Sivamani, Salil Bhatt and Tanmoy Bose along with many others. Recently, Matthias has recorded a new guitar trio album with Grammy Award Indian guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
8:30 PM: AHIMSA
Ahimsa is a four-piece ensemble based in India and Germany. Their music is a captivating fusion of Indian Carnatic music and jazz, played on guitar, violin and North and South Indian percussion instruments.
Ahimsa is a brilliant combination of musicians; South Indian violin star Neyveli S. Radhakrishna and German jazz guitarist Matthias Muller accompanied by masters of percussion from both Southern Carnatic and Northern Hindustani India, R. Yogaraja on Mrudangam and Ganjira and Udai Mazumdar on Tabla.
Ahimsa resulted in 1999 from a chance meeting between guitarist Matthias Muller and violinist S. Radhakrishna, which then blossomed into friendship, mutual admiration, and musical partnership. With the addition of two percussionists of R. Yogaraja, A. S. Shankar and Armin Metz on Bass; Ahimsa recorded their first CD 2000 in Germany ‘Seven steps to liberty-step one’, released at earslovemusic-rec., which received world wide critical acclaim. The second CD ‘What is the nature of spirit?’ recorded 2003 is released at acoustis-music-rec. Later Udai Mazumdar replaced A. S. Shankar on Percussion.
In Ahimsa’s fierce compositions, the complex rhythmic structures and raga improvisations are balanced with the harmonic diversity of western classical music and the unlimited expression of jazz. Their forte presents enchanting and daring improvisational music played with such virtuosity that it is reminiscent of the group “Shakti” and at the same time gives a fresh and innovative impetus and is unique to Ahimsa.
The Sanskrit word Ahimsa denotes non-violence, compassion, love and reverence for all beings and all forms of life.
The Musicians
Radha has played the violin since he was 8 years old. He studied with the violin-maestro Dr. M. Chandrasekaran and later graduated from the Annamalai University in India. At the age of thirteen he won first price in a national Indian Violin competition and also won the ‘Krishna Gana Shabha-Award’ in South India for young performing artists.
Recently he was honored with the ‘Kanchi Kama Koti Peeta Asthanam’ award
which is a prestigious honor for musicians in south India. Radha is well-versed, playing classical Indian music as well as contemporary styles such as Jazz and Fusion. He plays a unique double neck ten stringed violin. His captivating, unusual style and improvisational skills have led him to play with some of the worlds greatest, such us: Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Jonas Hellborg and V. Selvaganesh to name a few. He also played in the album ‘Soukha’ with John McLaughlin, Ustad Zakir Hussain and mandolin wizard U. Srinivas.
In addition to appearances on Indian radio and television, Radha extensively tours the world. He has played in many festivals and in the world’s most prestigious halls such as the Carnegie-Hall, NY, Disney-Hall, LA, among others.
Matthias Müller – Guitarist, Composer, Arranger
Matthias is a music graduate from the ‘College of Music Sulzbach-Rosenberg’, ‘Munich Guitar Institute’ and the ‘Grove School of Music’ in Los Angeles. He studied Classical & Jazz Guitars, as well as conducting, composing and arranging.
During his long carrier as a musician and composer Matthias has played concerts all around the world in wide variety of styles, including Classical, Jazz and Fusion. He has composed for film & theatre and played guitar in many recording sessions.
Matthias strong interest in Indian classical music has led him to study the Carnatic Music (South Indian style) from some of the best Indian musicians. Ahimsa was created by both Matthias and Radha from their strong passion to mix and blend the Indian classical music with western influences, such as Jazz and Fusion.
Matthias has played with some of the top Indian musicians of our generation,
such as; Dr. L. Subramaniam, Sivamani, Salil Bhatt and Tanmoy Bose along with many others. Recently, Matthias has recorded a new guitar trio album with Grammy Award Indian guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
Udai hails from a family of fine musicians of Allahabad (north India). His father, the Late Partho Sarathy Mazumdar is among the first-generation of Indian Classical guitarists. At 6 years old Udai started his vocal training in classical Indian music and a year later he picked up and started to play the Tabla (most popular Hindustani/North Indian percussion instrument).
In 1989 Udai moved to Delhi to further his musical experience and he became one of the six disciples of Pandit Ravi Shankar. He lived with this world-renowned Sitar Maestro and learned directly from him the intricate art of Tabla accompaniment.
Udai is a skilled musician with a sensitive approach. His evocative and expressive melodic and rhythmic playing as well as his dedication and commitment to the classical music genre has made him equally sought after as both a soloist and an accompanist. He has played with some of the most noteworthy Indian masters such as; Pandit Ravi Shankar (performing before the Royal Families of England and Sweden), with Ustad Zakir Hussain (in a concert to mark Pt. Ravi Shankar’s 75th birthday), with Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shiv Kumar Sharma and Ustad Ashish Khan to name a few. Udai also played with western musicians such as Paul Giger, Massimo Marcelli, Carlo Bocardo among others. He has also been featured in many Radio & TV’s station around the world, including the Radio DRS, Switzerland, Radio France and the BBC. He participated in many recordings and performed in many festivals all around the world.
Currently he is based in Basel, Switzerland, engaging in performances, composing and teaching; and he continues to spend time and learn with Pandit Ravi Shankar during his regular visits to New Delhi.
R. Yogaraja – Multi percussion, Mrudangam, Ganjira, Morsing
At a very young age, Yoga was trained in Mrudangam (main South Indian Carnatic drum comparable to Tabla) by his father, the Master A.S. Ramanathan.
To further his education he studied at the ‘Annamalai University’ in Chidambaram. During that time he adopted and mastered his technique with other percussion instruments such as the Kanjira (small hand-drum with a huge range of pitches), Ghatam (Clay pot), Morsing (traditional south Indian mouth harp), as well as Tabla, African and Latin American percussion instruments.
His diversity and unique playing style attracted some of the world’s greatest musicians. Yoga has accompanied many famous musicians including maestro Yehudi Menuhin, Stephan Grapelli and Dr. L. Subramaniam. He has played all around the world in major halls and events with such as the London Philharmonic and he has appeared in many Indian Radio and TV-Station.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
6:00 PM: Osmosiz: a guitar duet featuring Sanjay Divecha & Amit Heri
Sanjay Divecha: Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Vocals, Composer
Sanjay has crossed many borders, both physical and cultural in pursuit of his vision - a vision of a world community, expressed through music. A native of Bombay, India, Sanjay was surrounded at home by both Indian and western classical music, British rock and Indian movie scores. Having discovered at an early age the beauty of eclecticism, he began his formal musical training on the tabla at age eight. However fascinated by stringed instruments, when given the opportunity, he chose instead to study the sitar. He took up the guitar at age sixteen and that has been his main instrument sins.
By age eighteen, Sanjay was actively involved in the local club seen and was playing the college and university circuit fronting his own rock band. Fascinated by Jazz, he had the opportunity to study and play with some of Bombay’s top musicians and in 1986 performed with his own band at the annual Jazz India festival along with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz.
In 1987, he moved to Los Angeles to study at the Musicians Institute. He graduated from MI in march 1989 with honors. At his stay in MI, Sanjay had the opportunity to study with Scott Henderson, Joe Diorio and Frank Gambale.
Sanjay has toured and recorded with Anjelique Kidjo, Dumazz, Katia Moraes & Sambaguru, Dirk Fisher big band, Mark Maxwell, Freddy Ravel, Rique Pantoja, Jean Sidwell, David Foster, Prince Eyango & the Cameroon All Stars, B Sharp Jazz Quartet, The Underground Railroad, Sonia Santos & Anna Gazzolla and Dave Weckl.
Amit Heri: Acoustic and Electric Guitars / Composer
One among the few Indian musicians to perform at major at international Music festivals & Clubs, Amit Heri’s unique sound is a result of his ongoing study & experience in both western and Indian forms of music. He studied in the scholarship at the world renowned Berklee College of Music, Boston, USA and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell & is presently studying Carnatic and Hindustani music in Bangalore, India. The International Association of Jazz Educators in 1996 gave him the outstanding musicianship award. Amit has recorded, performed and toured with various internationally renowned artistes in India, America, Europe & Africa (playing at festivals and clubs) including Zakir Hussain, Trilok Gurtu, Robert Miles, Charlie Mariano, Salif Keita, Anjelique Kidjo, Matthew Garrison, Louis Banks, R. A. Ramamani, Ranjit Barot, Shankar Mahadevan & Karl Peters. He recently recorded at Trilok Gurtu’s album ‘Beat of Love’ and has toured worldwide with the Trilok Gurtu group.
Amit has shared the stage with artistes like Chick Corea, Sting, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Bob Dylan, Alanis Morissette, Cheb Mami, Run DMC, Living Colour, Milton Nascimento, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Amit Heri’s performances include the Berlin Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Victoria Jazz Festival (Canada), Paris Jazz Festival, Rome World Music Festival, WOMAD Festival (UK), WOMAD Festival (Singapore), Kennedy Centre (Washington DC), Moers International New Jazz Festival (Germany), International Festival D’ete (Quebec), Joy of Jazz Festival (Johannesburg), Hannover Expo (Germany), Lugano Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Queens Hall (Edinburgh), Bottomline (New York) and Jazz Yatra (India).
7:00 PM: MMS Trio
MMS Trio is a contemporary jazz trio featuring three well known musicians on the Indian jazz scene, saxophonist Maarten Visser, Bassist Mishko M'Ba and drummer Suresh Bascara. The group will play a dynamic and exciting mixture of post bop standards and originals.
Maarten Visser: Tenor Saxophone
Maarten Visser studied music at the 'Brabant’s Conservatorium’ in Netherlands. During his studies he composed and played his own material with various bands Trinome, Moiré, Dudes Doo Dance.
After finishing his western studies, he went to Chennai (India) and studied Carnatic music. He played in bands such as: MadraZ, Funky Bodhi while working as a session-musician for the film-music industry. Since the year 2000 he collaborates with choreographer Padmini Chettur, composing music for several of her contemporary dance-productions which have been internationally successful.
Suresh Bascara: Drums
Suresh studied tabla and Indian classical music in Calcutta with Pandit Shankar Ghosh as well as various styles of drumming in Paris with Christian Nicolas. Through many years of performing in India and international jazz and Indian drums, Suresh have combined to create a unique style and new possibilities. He lives and teaches in Auroville since 1999.
Mishko M'Ba: Electric Bass
Mishko M'Ba is a highly respected French bass player, having worked with renowned musicians such as Ray Charles, Barbara Hendrix and Didier Lockwood. He studied western classical music at Toulouse and focused later on jazz and rock. He is permanent member of the Reunion band Zishkakan and the Paris ensemble Elexir with Raoul de Souza. He lives partly in Reunion, partly in Pondicherry
8:30 PM: BARBARA JUNGFER & HOLGER JETTER PROJECT
The two musicians conceptualized their Indian tour in June 2008 in Munich and started to work on compositions right away. They will not only perform original tunes and improvised pieces, but also enchant us with a couple of well known melodies, touching the experienced listener and the jazz newcomer alike. Their sound ranges from sleek and sparce to fat and rocky and makes this show a great listening experience for young and old.
This event is for everyone who loves to witness music in the making.
Barbara Jungfer: Guitar
Originally from Berlin (west), where she learned to play first blues, then jazz at jam sessions and from local musicians, she studied jazz guitar at the Hochschule für Musik, Köln (Cologne). She participated in various international jazz workshops, with jazz greats such as Enrico Rava, David Liebman, Kenny Werner, Kenny Wheeler and John Stowell.
A versatile musician in various styles such as bebop, modern jazz, blues, funk, fusion, latin, she also engages herself in experimental and free music playing with like John Tchicai, Helmut Brandt Mainstream Orchestra, Schäl Sick Brass Band, Berlin Big Band, Christof Griese’Affinities, Tobias Schmidt-Relenberg, Joachim Gies, Silke Eberhard. She also accompanied the singers Hattie St. John, Karen Gallinger and Elisabeth Tuchmann.
- Worked as theatre musician at Saarlaendisches Staatstheater/Saarbruck
- Accompanied readings of different authors and topics
- Performed with the Georg Pfister Quartet at the Theatre Festival in Avignon, France.
- Played in Dakar/Senegal in clubs with musicians from Berlin and Dakar
- Lead jazz workshops at the Ècole Nationale Des Arts.
- She won the Studio Contest of the Berliner Senat in an experimental duo with tubist Pauline Boeykens, playing music to the writings of Gertrud Stein.
- Australia-Tour with guitarist Peter O'Mara
- Played on Helmut Brandt's last CD "The Final Session".
- Invited by the Goethe-Institut to play at the international “Festival des Instruments a Cordes” in Morocco.
- She recorded albums with two of her own bands "Vitamin B3"- (2001) yvp-music, "Berlin Spirits" – (2005) minormusic and played with them at clubs and festivals around Germany.
Barbara has been active as a teacher for jazz guitar and as a workshop leader at various schools all across Germany for many years. She recently moved to Munich and is currently teaching at the MGI (Munich Guitar Institute).
Holger Jetter: Electric Violin
Violinist/composer Holger Jetter studied western classical music at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg/ Austria. He is co-founder of the renowned Modern String Quartet, playing Jazz and own compositions in over 1000 live concerts. He has accompanied Joan Baez, Mercedes Sosa and Konstantin Wecker and recorded and played with excellent Jazz musician such as Charlie Mariano. His broad stylistic and artistic interest subsequently moved him from the bluegrass band „Flying Spoon Acoustic Band“ via the Argentinean tango ensemble „Quartetto Tango“ and klezmer music at the “Theater der Jugend“ in Munich to the Clowns duo “Conelli”.
During the last decade Holger has mainly focused on jazz and Indian fusion music. His jazz fusion trio “Three Raags” - combined Indian elements and Jazz with an emphasis on improvised music. He has been touring internationally with several of his groups.
Presently Holger travels in India, Europe and the United States, working in different set-ups with renowned musicians of the local jazz scenes. His latest international projects he is presently working on include a duo album with Steve Rudolph (Harrisburg, U.S.A.), a recording with a quartet from Berlin (Germany), a recording of an Indian fusion album with Indian classical artists from Kolkata and the multimedia solo program “Soul Spaces”.
 Keith Peters: Bass
A musician synonymous with the instrument he plays, Keith Peters is one of India’s leading bass players. Though working extensively with A.R Rehman, Keith has, over the years, brought his diverse musical styles and signature sound to projects with Dr. L Subramaniam, Zakir Hussain, U Srinivas, Charlie Mariano, Billy Cobham, Derico Watson, Ranjit Barot, Louis Banks, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ganesh Kumaresh, Kadri Gopalnath, Rama Mani, Sivamani and Amit Heri.
With a string of live commitments and hectic studio schedules, Keith Peters is one of busiest artistes on the Indian music scene.
Jeoraj George: Drums
Jeoraj was trained at DrumTech, an institute for drummers in the UK. Having gigged considerably at many clubs, Jeoraj is adept at various forms of percussion, especially jazz. His influences include the famous Latin jazz drummer Horacio Hernandez and the funk-styled Dennis Chambers. Jeoraj, who teaches at his institute in Chennai, is collaborating with jazz, funk and fusion bands all around India.
Following his passion for jazz he drums for the Southern Jazz Quartet, an India based international jazz formation - playing modern jazz with originals of the Dutch saxophonist Maarten Visser and the German violonist Holger Jetter.
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