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Dazzling.

We’re not sure she’d call herself a “wallah,” but regardless of labels, Jai-Jagdeesh is a rising star in the chant world.  Her music is firmly rooted in the Sikh/Kundalini tradition of Gurmukhi-language chants (the tradition of Snatam Kaur, most famously), but with a modern edge that gives her music almost a pop-inspired feel.  And she’s not above breaking out in an old favorite — like she did at Sat Nam Fest with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s luscious Hallelujah…

 

Nothing Sikh about that, and the hard-core kundalini yogis at the festival ate it up.

Which, as an aside, proves a point about Sat Nam Fest that maybe some of us — including this writer, until I went to the festival — don’t completely get:  it’s not ALL hard-core kundalini yoga, and you don’t have to be a hard-core kundalini yogi (whatever that is) to love this festival.  I’m not, and I did.  (Of course, there is plenty of hard-core yoga on the bill — you wouldn’t believe how long Gurmukh had those yogis holding tree pose! I, of course, needed to take pictures…ahem.)

Jai-Jagdeesh, with Tripp Dudley on percussion and Leonardo Har Prakash on sitar

One of the highlights for this SNF newbie was, without doubt, Jai-Jagdeesh’s set on Saturday morning (it started at 8:30, which was like, lunchtime for some of the hard cores who had been up since 4 a.m. for morning prayers). 

Now, we may have been biased going into it, because GuruGanesha Singh, the founder (and now minority owner) of Spirit Voyage, the record label that produces all of the Sat Nam Fest artists, had singled out Jai-Jagdeesh as someone not to miss.  He called her style “a little bit more eclectic” in comparison to the stalwart of the label, Snatam Kaur, or Nirinjan Kaur, a young Sikh artist Singh also proclaimed “up-and-coming.”   (Both Snatam and Nirinjan, Singh said in his inimitable style, are “like, realllly ‘Sikh-y’.”)

Nirinjan Kaur, also rising...

Sat Nam Fest, Singh pointed out, has been a boon to young artists like Jai-Jagdeesh and Nirinjan, because it gives them an opportunity to “get out in front of a bigger audience.” In the case of Jai-Jagdeesh, who debuted on the festival schedule last year, “it was a real confidence-builder.  People responded really favorably to her.”

We can vouch for that reaction at this year’s East Coast fest (in Waynesboro, Penn. Sept. 13-16).  The crowd loved her.  They cheered when the curtain first drew back to reveal her at her harmonium, percussionist Tripp Dudley on her right and sitar player Leonardo Har Prakash on her left.  They applauded long and strong after each song.  They whistled and hooted when she stood up to offer a Bollywood-inspired classical Indian dance piece (you’ll see why in the video below). 

It’s clear this young woman, steeped in yogic tradition and Indian music since she was a child, hardened up on the streets of L.A. pursuing an acting career, then resoftened perhaps as sacred music reclaimed the forefront of her life, is a favorite daughter of the kundalini crowd — and beyond. 

Just look at what she does with her neck…

How does she do that?

Jai-Jagdeesh’s debut album, I Am Thine, has reportedly been one of Spirit Voyage’s top sellers in recent months.  No wonder; it’s a luscious mix of traditional Gurmukhi chants and love-infused English lyrics, backed up by the exquisite musicianship of Krishan on piano, guitar and gentle percussion and Hans Christian on cello, sitara, sarangi and nickelharpa.  She recently launched an ambitious tour in the Eastern U.S. and Canada that wraps up Oct. 13 in Vienna, Va.

For more, also see:
www.spiritvoyage.com/Jai-Jagdeesh
www.satnamfest.com

 

Additional Coverage from The Bhakti Beat’s Big Bhavalicious Adventure to Omega Chant, Bhakti Fest West and Sat Nam Fest East:
 
Bringing Home The Bhav: Bhakti-Fried Bliss-Chaser Faces ‘The Laundry’ of Life (Video)
With Deva’s Miten, Krishna Das Does Dylan and Shyamdas Does the Blues (Videos)
‘It Is Not Dying:’ Geoffrey Gordon (1952-2012) Remembered in Bhakti Fest Tributes and Haunting Video
Photo Journals from all 3 festivals on our facebook page.
Check our YouTube channel for the latest video uploads.
 
Stay tuned to this site for more coverage coming soon! Subscribe here.
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In the final shows of their inaugural tour, The GuruGanesha Band will be joined by Professor Paramjeet Singh, a scholar, raga historian, and master of classical Indian music who was GuruGanesha Singh’s own raga teacher.

“People are in for a treat,” GuruGanesha told The Bhakti Beat.  “He is an amazing vocalist with a five-octave range.”

GuruGanesha said Professor Paramjeet composed “a good portion” of the music for Aval Allah, a track on GuruGanesha’s latest solo CD, Kundalini Surjhee.  The song is based around a classical Indian raga called Bhairavi, he said, to which GuruGanesha added an intro and bridges that showcase the band’s virtuosity in strings and vocals.

When we heard The GuruGanesha Band play Aval Allah live at their June 2 concert, we were mesmerized.  It had a primal feel — almost tribal — that resonated deeply.  GuruGanesha told us that Middle Eastern/Northern African sound comes from a flatted second, sixth and seventh in the scale. (Music buffs know what he’s talking about, right?)  All we know is this was a prayer for the senses.  Rich layers of musical tapestry enveloped the ancient lyrics, punctuated by the very modern twang of GuruGanesha’s smokin’ electric guitar work, Michelle Hurtado’s soaring vocals, and the almost unearthly wails of Hans Christian’s cuticle-shredding fingerwork on the saranghi (just watch the pained expressions on his face in the video below).

Hans Christian shredding cuticles on the saranghi.

Turns out it was the first time in quite awhile that the band has played this song live, GuruGanesha told us afterward.  “It felt like it really clicked.”

Um, yeah.  The crowd at the historic little town hall in Shelburne, Vt. — many of whom were experiencing “mantra music” for the first time ever — were apparently as riveted as we were.  They exploded with applause at the song’s end.

See for yourself in the video below.  And if you’re anywhere near Toronto or London, Ontario June 8-10, go see The GuruGanesha Band with special guest Paramjeet Singh.  We have it on good advice that they’ll be playing Aval Allah…

Also see:

The GuruGanesha Band: Making Its Mark on Mantra Music

The GuruGanesha Band Photo Album on Facebook

www.guruganesha.com

www.professorparamjeet.com

 

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Where’s the Bhav This Weekend? 3/30-4/1

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What’s ahead: Mike Cohen with Brenda McMorrow in Toronto; Wah! and Deepak & Breath of Life Tribe in Santa Monica; SRI Kirtan rocks the Bhajan Belt; GuruGanesha, Girish and the Kirtaniyas converge on the Bay area, and David Newman hits the Midwest.

If you like the bhav blog, please share it.  We’ll love you for it!

Five for the Bhav

Toronto Melds Kirtan with Yoga

Photo by The Bhakti Beat, Bhakti Fest '11

We have a personal beef about how some yoga conferences eschew kirtan concerts altogether, so we rejoice whenever chanting gets featured billing at a yoga gathering.  Like the Toronto Yoga Conference, where MIKE COHEN will be joined by a high-powered chorus of musicians that includes BRENDA MCMORROW, LEA LONGO, LANA SUGARMAN, KEVAN McKENZIE (drum kit) and CHRIS GARTNER (electric bass) for the weekend’s main event on Friday night 3/30.  Also at the conference, Cohen is leading a workshop on integrating kirtan into yoga practice and teaching on Saturday 3/31, which promises to “demystify” kirtan for yogis interested in expanding their repertoire.

Cohen has just announced his latest CD, Soul Contact (officially available April 2), which he says was “profoundly influenced” by his travels to holy sites in South Indian and was crafted during a two-year kirtan tour across North America.  With guest vocalists JONI ALLEN and ALLIE STRINGER (that would be DAVE STRINGER’S niece), he describes the disc as “an invitation to sing, dance, clap and play with Divine Energy within a contemporary Western context.” Here’s a sample track from it, a sublime version of the Gayatri mantra featuring Allie Stringer’s vocal magic.

by The Bhakti Beat

From Toronto, BRENDA McMORROW heads to Buffalo, NY for a concert Saturday 3/31, kicking off a new Northeast tour for the Guelph, Ontario artist, who is literally taking off as a world-class chantress.  She will hit New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Indiana and Ohio before heading back to her home province.  Northeast tour details here.

Double-Dose at the Shala

Santa Monica’s kirtan temple strikes again this weekend .  WAH! brings her bhav to Bhakti Yoga Shala on Friday 3/30 before heading to Encinitas for a concert Saturday 3/31 and afternoon workshop on Sunday 4/1 at Jyoti Mandir. (Wah! schedule here.)  On Saturday night the Shala hosts DEEPAK RAMAPRIYAN and BREATH OF LIFE TRIBE for what is sure to be a bhakti-rocking night.  Both events are part of the pre-Bhakti Fest build-up.  Need more?  There’s more.  GOVIND DAS, Bhakti Yoga Shala’s co-founder and head bhakta, will be leading a brand new Monday Night Community Kirtan on, yeah, Monday night.  The Shala’s website has the deets for the whole weekend, and don’t forget to check out what’s coming up.

Bhakti Rock in the Bhajan Belt

Photo by Ganagaram (Patrick Finn)

Back East in the Hudson Valley’s Bhajan Belt, SRI KIRTAN (aka SRUTI RAM and ISHWARI) are back from India and at their home ‘hood studio of Euphoria Yoga in Woodstock on Saturday 3/31, rocking the local bhaktas with their inimitable blend of genre-bending bhajans.  KC SOLARIS will join on tabla.  In India, this dynamic duo opened the evening chants at the annual Festival of Flowers at RADHANATH SWAMI’s Radhagopinath temple in Mumbai, and got covered in a few million loose flower petals that rained down from the heavens.  After reading their blog post recounting the story, we’re adding the Festival of Flowers to our bucket list.  Wow.

Bhav Around the Bay

Northern California’s Bay Area gets a triple-shot of bhakti love this weekend: GURUGANESHA BAND (with special guest JAI UTTAL!), THE KIRTANIYAS and GIRISH all have gigs this weekend in Berkeley and San Francisco.

GURUGANESHA SINGH and his band of troubadours (including HANS CHRISTIAN, MICHELLE HURTADO, DANIEL PAUL, SAT KATAR SINGH and GURUSANGHAT SINGH) hit the Rudramandir Temple in Berkeley Friday night for one last California gig — and word is that JAI UTTAL will be joining the fun.  (Do you think he’ll have gotten the day-glo colors out of his hair yet, after last weekend’s Holi Fest?) The GGB has collaborated its way up the coast of Cali, playing along the way with KARNAMRITA DASI, THOMAS BARQUEE, clarinetist RAM DASS KHALSA, and more.  Saturday the band heads north for a string of concerts in Oregon and British Columbia before the West Coast leg of this national tour culminates in SAT NAM FEST in Joshua Tree April 12-14.  East Coasters will get their chance soon enough: that leg begins in Virginia May 18.  See the full tour here.

There might be some residual Holi Fest colors found at Purusha in San Francisco Friday night as well, when the KIRTANIYAS bring their Krishna love back from Utah to rock Bay bhaktas.  The Kirtaniyas — VIJAY KRSNA, SARASVATI NUGENT, RASIKA COVIN, NITAI PREMO — will be joined by Jai Uttal’s long-time vocal accompanist, PRAJNA VIEIRA (whose debut CD will be out later this Spring).  They all head to San Raphael Saturday 3/31 and Los Gatos on Sunday 4/1Details for all three shows here.

Also on Friday, GIRISH is back in NoCal and playing for yoga with ANNIKA WILLIAMS at Yoga Tree Mission in San Francisco.  We stumbled upon a yoga class at BHAKTI FEST where Girish, YVETTE OM and ALVIN YOUNG  (of the WILD LOTUS BAND) were jamming, so we understand why so many people want Girish playing at their yoga class.  (In fact you can get three days of Girish-infused yoga next weekend, 4/5-7 at the Breathe Yoga Retreat, happening at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center aka the home of Bhakti Fest and Sat Nam Fest 2012.)  On Saturday 3/31, Girish heads south for concerts in Santa Barbara, followed by Avila Beach Sunday 4/1, continuing a breathless North American Diamonds in the Sun tour.  We hope he gets to breathe at the Breathe retreat… Tour details here.

Mantras in the Midwest

More wanderlust from DAVID NEWMAN aka DURGA DAS, who is in the midwest this weekend with concerts in Chicago Friday 3/30 and Oshkosh, Wisc. Saturday 3/31. On Sunday 4/1 Newman pulls double-shift at Inner Sun Yoga in Oshkosh, presenting his Inner Fire workshop from 10-noon plus a live-music yoga jam later in the afternoon.  All details here.

And because everyone knows Midwesterners can’t get enough kirtan, three local bhakta bands in the Minnepolis area are joining forces for a mini-encore of the recent Milwaukee Kirtan FestTULSI DAS, PASCALE LAPOINT and OM BOLO reconvene the kirtan on Saturday 3/31 from noon to 4 p.m.  Details here.

Those are our top five spots for the bhav this weekend.  Where will you be chanting?

Don’t forget to post your events to The Bhakti Beat’s facebook page or tweet us with them.  Thanks!

 

 

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