MONDAY JAZZ MONDAY BLUES
21 February 2011
@ SOMEPLACE ELSE, The Park, Kolkata
9:00 pm onwards
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THE INDO-CANADIAN JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Featuring the world renowned:
♫ Alastair Kay on Trombone
with
♫ Jonathan Kay ON Saxophone
♫ Andrew Kay ON Saxophone
♫ Pradyumna ‘Paddy’ Monot ON Keys
♫ Mainak ‘Bumpy’ Nag Chowdhury ON Bass
♫ Jivraj Singh ON Drums
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ALASTAIR KAY on Trombone
ALASTAIR KAY (trombonist) is widely recognized as one of Canada’s
finest trombonists. Over the past three decades, he has performed with
some of the world’s best orchestras, entertainers, and jazz artists
including Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick
Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Phil Woods, Mel Torme, Renee
Rosnes, Diana Krall, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Bill Watrous and
many others. He played lead trombone with Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass
for 15 years and guested with the Rob McConnell Tentet on several
occasions. His virtuosity and versatility have made him a first-call
player for most of the studio, musical theatre, and jazz gigs in
Toronto. In the recording studios, he has played on more than a
thousand radio and television jingles and soundtracks, and on a
multiplicity of CDs, records, and feature film soundtracks. He has
been an integral part of Toronto’s musical theatre production scene
for many years, playing in long-running hit shows including “The Lion
King”, “Ragtime”, “Fosse”, “Crazy for You”, and “Chicago”. He is
highly respected as a classical musician, too, playing principal
trombone with many major regional orchestras, including seven seasons
with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Touring Orchestra. He has worked
frequently with the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, the Toronto
Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and in many
contemporary music ensembles. Al is also busy as a soloist, playing
standard classical and his own jazz repertoire with orchestras,
concert bands and brass bands across Canada. Al is also a dedicated
educator. In addition to the hundreds of clinics and master classes he
has given, and continues to give, he holds a full-time faculty
position as Head of the Brass Department at Humber College in Toronto
where his duties include teaching improvisation, brass master classes,
private lessons, leading several jazz combos and the brass choir
(small and large chamber ensembles).
Since becoming a Yamaha artist several years ago, he has performed in
and presented numerous Yamaha-sponsored brass clinics and concerts.
Travelling to Japan, he worked with Yamaha’s head instrument designers
on a new small-bore lead trombone, model YSL 697Z, an instrument which
has since received rave reviews from all who have tried it, and
quickly sold out in Canada. In 1997, Alastair Kay was honoured by Jazz
Report Magazine as Canada’s “Jazz Trombonist of the Year”.
Al was part of the highly successful Boss Brass reunion concerts in
December 2008
Awards:
1997 – named Jazz Report Magazine’s “Jazz Trombonist of the Year”.
JONATHAN KAY on Saxophone
One of contemporary music’s versatile woodwind musicians, Jonathan Kay
is leading the younger generation towards a truly original and
creative approach to improvisation and global music through his Tenor
and Soprano Saxophone.Based in Toronto, Canada, Jonathan has performed
alongside some of the world’s leading Jazz musicians including Phil
Woods, Dave Douglas and Ingrid Jensen. Graduating from the renowned
Humber College in Toronto with Honours, Jonathan spent this time under
the mentorship of Pat LaBarbera. He has also traveled to New York to
learn from Kenny Garrett, Seamus Blake, Lenny Pickett.His recent work
as Co-Director of Indo-Jazz band Monsoon and The Toronto Indo-Jazz
Festival, has received national recognition, bringing Jonathan to the
forefront among Canadian musicians.In 2006, when Jonathan was 26, he
traveled to Kolkata, India in search of understanding the Indian Raga
music concepts, and started training under Guru, Sri Shantanu
Bhattacharyya, one of India’s premier Classical vocalists. He
returned to India in 2008, with the goal togain a greater knowledge of
Hindusthani Raga Music through more intense riyaz, focusing on the
deeper spiritual connection of Raga music and how that can be
expressed on the soprano and tenor Saxophones. Through his devotion
in the pursuit of Nada Brahma and the study of Raga Consciousness,
Jonathan is experiencing higher ideals of creativity and expression
and its purest application to his western musically. His dedicated
Sadhana, has already help him emerge as a contributor to the evolution
of Raga music performance by rendering the entire Raga on Saxophone,
in both the vocal and instrumental styles, innovating certain
techniques hitherto not attempted.Throughout Jonathan’s travels in
India he has performed many concerts and been blessed to learn and
collaborate with some of India’s greatest maestros like Pandit Ajoy
Chakrabarty, Rashid Khan, Tejendra Majumdar, Bickram Ghosh, Dhruba
Ghosh, Nityanand Haldipur. This year, Jonathan was nationally
recognized by receiving a grant from the “Canada Council of the Arts”
to live in Kolkata and continue his taalim on Saxophone with
Shantanu-ji for the next 2 years. He is working towards releasing his
first Raga music album with his trio “Monsoon” soon.
ANDREW KAY on Saxophone
Andrew Kay is a professional musician from Toronto, Canada;
practicing, composing, performing, and teaching music in various
different styles and genres. Thoroughly schooled on the Soprano,
Alto, and Tenor Saxophones, as well as the Flute, Bb and Bass
Clarinets, Piano, and other auxiliary instruments, Andrew has studied
music for the past 12 years and received his formal education in
Contemporary Music/Jazz Performance at the Humber Institute of
Advanced Learning. Studying under saxophonists Pat LaBarbera, Kirk
MacDonald and Jack Zaza, Andrew has refined his technique and approach
to develop a truly unique sound. Andrew has performed throughout
Canada, the U.S.A., Europe and India in various different ensembles
and settings; performing music ranging from Modern Jazz, to Classical,
to Hip-Hop, to Funk/R&B, to Indian Classical Music. He has had the
great opportunity to work and perform with some highly recognized Jazz
musicians such as Dave Liebman, Dave Douglas, Kurt Elling, Ingrid
Jensen, Dave Grusin, and Mike Stern. Currently, Andrew is studying
Northern Indian Classical music in Kolkata, India, being imparted
Taalim by Guru Sri Shantanu Bhattacharyya. He has embarked on this
adventure, since four years now, in search of the spiritual
consciousness of Eastern Raga music emulated through his western
saxophone. Having travelled twice to Kolkata and now currently living
there, Andrew is continually developing a new approach to this ancient
music while paying fullest respect to the traditions that have
cultivated this timeless artform. He has performed extensively with
Shantanu Bhattacharyya, Sudhir Ghorai, and other respected Tabliyas in
Kolkata, New Delhi, Madras, Banglore and Pondicherry. He is currently
working on projects with Bickram Ghosh, Subankar Banerjee, and Ustad
Rashid Khan.
Andrew is a co-creator and member of the Canadian Indo-Jazz group
Monsoon, a group dedicated to composing and performing a fusion of
music from the East and the West. Created alongside Monsoon the
group, is the organization Monsoon-Music which hosts and organizes the
annual Toronto Indo-Jazz Festival in tandem with the Bhakti Music
Charity; a scholarship dedicated to supporting under privileged
children in India who are pursuing the study of music.
Andrew also has many years of experience in private music lessons,
teaching children and adults from all skill levels and backgrounds on
various different instruments. He has developed a thorough yet unique
approach to teaching music and has presented clinics both in Canada
and India on Western Music and Raga Music.
MAINAK “BUMPY” NAG CHOWDHURY on Bass
Mainak is a disciple of Mridangist, Pt s. Shekhar of Kolkata and also
singer and music composer, Kalaimammani Awardee from the Govt of
India, late. R . Visweswaran of Chennai and Pratyush Banerjee,
renowned Sarod player of Kolkata. Mainak Nag Chowdhury, also known as
‘Bumpy’ in the national and international music scene, has worked
extensively as a bass player and music producer in countries like
China, Belgium, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Indonesia, United
Kingdom, United States and United Arab Emirates apart from performing
across the length and breadth of India. Of some of his performance
venues are the internationally acclaimed venues of Palace De Bozar
(Brussels), The Vortex (London), La Prato (Lille), Trubador (London),
The British Museum (London), University of East Anglia (Norwich),
Puskin Room (London), Lincoln Room (USIS kolkata), A trane (Berlin),
Someplace Else (Kolkata), The Blue Frog (Mumbai), Olive beach
(Bangalore), B flat ( Bangalore), Sheehsa (Pune), Indian Habitat
Centre (New Delhi), San Jose McEnery Convention Center (San Jose), B
flat (Berlin), Indian Embassy (Berlin), The Pasaraya Convention Centre
(Jakarta), Cafe Morrison (New Delhi), Hard Rock Cafe (Mumbai),
ICIF2010, (Shenzhen), Opus (Pune), NCPA (Mumbai), Bandung Jazz
Festival (Bandung), Convention Centre (Jogyakarta) to name a few.
He has shared stage with the likes of Grammy Nominee Pt Tanmoy Bose
(Pandit Ravi Shankar’s tabla player’s project Taaltantra), Taufiq
Qurashi, Grammy Nominee Pt Debashish Bhattacharya, Pt Chitresh das,
Jason Samuel Smith (USA), Amit Heri, Dhruv Ghanekar ,Grammy Nominee Pt
Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Brian Melvin (U.S.A/Estonia), Amit
Chaudhuri’s This is not Fusion, and has his own duo pop-rock
chart-buster vernacular album with Rupam (Titled “RnB”) and much
acclaimed folk project MNCFE (Mainak Nag Chowdhury Folk Ensemble)
JIVRAJ SINGH on Drums
The brightest of young stars of the Indian drumming circuit, Jivraj
Singh brings his beats to stage as one of the most versatile drummers
in the city. His talent and stage presence is felt often as he plays
with the avant-garde outfits PINKNOISE and Skinny Alley.
PRADYUMNA “PADDY” MANOT on Keys
PRADYUMNA SINGH MANOT a.k.a. PADDY started his life in music on the
piano at the age of six. Since that time time he has been extensively
studying Western Classical, Jazz and traditional Indian music. In
Western Classical music he has given numerous solo recitals and
ensemble performances including playing piano concertos with the A
telier de Musique Orchestra and Mr. Abraham Mazumdar. He was a part of
the Saturday Night Blues Band and performed with them for more than a
year at the famous pub Someplace Else. In the world of jazz he is the
co-founder of the Latin Jazz band LOS AMIGOS. He has a jazz quartet
with Sumith Ramachandran. More recently he has been touring with the
world famous tap dancer Jason Samuel Smith. He works with numerous
dancers and composes music for them. He has performed with kathak
dancer Pt. Chitresh Das and also is collaborating on dance and music
with modern contemporary dancer Leah Curtis from New York. Through his
studies of Indian music and Jazz music he has given many concerts with
musicians like grammy winner Pt. Viswa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Sabir Khan,
Pt. Vikku Vinayakram, Taufique Quereshi, Ustad Shujaat Khan, and Pt.
Tarun Bhattacharya among others. He is currently collaborating with
Ustad Raza Ali Khan on the deeper levels of fusion between western and
eastern music. He also taught piano and keyboards for five years at
the Birla High School for Boys, Kolkata.
______________________________________________________________
(Pub rules apply)
Infolines :
033-40049000 (Someplace Else)
9748195596 (Murshed – Littlei)
