Prasant Radhakrishnan | Blog

Photos from VidyA Live at SFSU Poetry Center. September 15, 2011.

2011-09-30T13:44:00.001-07:00

Had a great concert at SFSU as part of San Francisco State's Poetry Center. We had special guests Eric Vogler on bass and Howard Wiley on drums. They may have a video of the concert later. More pics and updates to come soon...

See the full gallery on Posterous

Healing Ragas: Revati

2011-06-17T16:44:00.001-07:00

http://healingragas.posterous.com/

Listen to this new series. Thanks.

Rainy concert at Yerba Buena Gardens

2011-05-28T15:17:00.001-07:00

We go on at 1pm. Hopefully the rain will surely subside!

Come on out with your umbrellas!

At Minneapolis airport...

2011-05-24T09:09:00.001-07:00

Creepy coffee...

Jacksonville Beach is beautiful this time of year.

2011-05-13T13:27:00.001-07:00

Enjoy Friday the 13th with Monk's Friday the 13th

2011-05-13T09:41:00.001-07:00

A list of my current Android apps

2011-05-07T23:48:00.001-07:00

I've been using Android for about 2 months since I got back from our long trip to China and India. So far it has been a mostly positive experience. The Android Market can be a little hairy for new users. It isn't very good at helping you find good apps. A good way to find useful apps are lists. So here is mine.

I might go into more detail with reviews, but for now here are the apps I currently have installed, some with mini reviews. Free unless otherwise noted. I hope this is useful if you do have an Android device. If you don't have Android, many of these apps are also available for iOS or Blackberry.

Also note that by going to settings --> manage applications, you can move many applications to your sd card so you will have more space. My phone has a pretty skimpy onboard storage.

Quick Settings - The first thing you should install. This utility lets you do a ton of useful things. I use it without thinking several times a day. It lets you manage all your phone's essentials like, wi-fi, 3g, volume, brightness, ringer settings, gps, bluetooth, sync settings, auto rotate. The kicker is that you can turn your phone into a wifi hotspot with the touch of a button, allowing you to have internet access on your laptop on the go if you really need it. Another nice touch is when it find a preferred wi-fi hotspot, it will turn off your 3g data for you automatically. Great and free.

Amazon App Store for Android - An alternative app store from Amazon that features a paid app for free every day. Some of them are excellent, some can be skipped. But its worthing taking a few seconds to check once a day to see what's new. App management is not as slick as the Android Market, but it's worth it for the free apps.

Advanced Task Killer - Do you feel the battery runs out too quickly due to background processes? Install this app and it will kill background processes and save battery. This wont affect crucial background processes like sync and uploading. This boosted my battery life to the point that I use the phone however much I want and it never runs out during the day. Go to the settings and set it on "crazy." Some people are adamant that you shouldn't use a task killer, but it works for me from a battery standpoint. Ad supported but they aren't loaded unless you open the app, which you rarely have to do. It also has a small little widget you can add to your home screen. Whenever you press it, it kills any apps you aren't using.

Amazon.com Offical App - Super useful. I'm a somewhat heavy Amazon user. I've found their prices are very competitive on a range of products. This is my go-to app for price checking while in a bricks and mortar store like Best Buy or Barnes & Noble. If I see a book or something that I'm interested in, I just fire up this app, scan the barcode and it shows me how much it would cost on Amazon. You can also access key Amazon stuff, like your wish list, account, search amazon, track packages and I guess the most important to them: you can buy directly on the phone. I tried it once and it worked without any problems.

Amazon MP3 - This is a decent app from Amazon, which recently got a huge boost with Amazon's Could service. Basically you get 5GB of storage in the cloud and it syncs over the air. You don't need to store that music on your phone - it will just stream it like Pandora. It works flawlessly for me. I'm not a heavy user, but I think its a good implementation. Also, if you buy any album on Amazon (I got one for 99 cents) you get 20gb of storage. Also any music you buy on Amazon doesn't count towards your storage quota. I think its great to foster competition with Apple and ultimately the consumer wins. The iOS music player app still feels more like home to me though.

Google Shopper - An app from Google that is useful for price comparisons. You can do voice search and scan by barcode etc. I was excited to install this, but find that I don't use it as much as I expected.

Google Docs - Google recently came out with a native Android app. It works well enough to access your documents and finally lets you edit, but that takes you to the mobile browser version. Needs more work, but it's worth installing.

Evernote - The famous cross platform capture app. If you haven't heard of Evernote, just sign up. It's free and amazing. Makes images searchable etc. The android app was recently updated and I think it's pretty great. It launches fast, syncs fast and works when I need it. A lesser known but cool feature is that you can geotag a note and later refer back to notes by location or by checking nearby. It's like have a personal location aware journal of your activities or notes.

Springpad - This is sort of a new-ish Evernote competitor in my mind but with a different angle. More geared towards lists, recipes and sharing. Definitely has potential. It has a nice web interface as well. Their back end is smart so when you feed it something like a movie name, it will look up movie timings, reviews and find where it is playing etc.

Skype - You know the drill. Works well over wifi. Save your minutes.

Google voice for Android - An absolute must have if you have a google voice number. If you don't, get one. Very useful. I don't hesitate to give my number out anymore, because you can block anyone from calling you (ie: telemarketers). The app includes a useful widget that lets you toggle using your google voice dailer or regular dialer with one tap.

Compass - Like a real compass. It also lets you also save places you have been via gps and refer back to them by location. I just used it when I was researching some Feng Shui and Vasthu stuff for my home, but I'm sure you could use it more adventurous ways. The developer, Catch, makes a few good Android apps, which I haven't had a chance to try yet.

Chrome to Phone - A companion app for the Google Chrome browser extension. It sends anything you are looking at in Chrome directly to your Android's notification bar. I mainly use it when I am out the door and I want to send a maps link or an article to take with me.

Skyfire - Another web browser that lets you play flash videos in the browser..for those times you are on the go and absolutely need to see a flash video or flash based site someone sent you. Also a good browser overall. I think its good to have an extra browser on hand. Also check out Opera and Miren Browser -- I've heard good things about those.

Angry Birds - It's hard to avoid hearing about this game now. I don't particularly like it, but I suppose it is worth mention. Sometimes Amazon has it for free.

Google Sky Map - Just drop dead amazing. Superimposes the solar system and stars on the sky when you point your phone using gps. It will amaze you and give you a "technology moment." Good for entertaining your friends/family, or yourself.

Yelp - Search reviews by location and 'check in' to places and get discounts. Find places nearby. You can't post reviews to Yelp though, only draft them.

Foursquare - The most prolific 'check in' app. Find your friends and then you can 'check in' anywhere you go and your friends will know if you want them to. Then people can follow you around and stalk you. Only no one actually will, so it's ok. Its like a game, you get points. You can also get discounts and occasionally free stuff at stores when you check in there. I used to think it was a silly thing to do, but now I use it sometimes. It's also useful for telling you what's nearby.

Gowalla - Foursquare competitor with a nice looking UI and a more "explore the area" kind of angle. Nice, but how many of these can a normal person really use?

Google Places/Maps/Latitude- Comes preinstalled on your phone, but technically has the functionality of Google Maps, Foursquare, Yelp to some extent in one, plus navigation. The whole maps suite is excellent on Android. Everything in the os just works together. The navigation is great to have too.

Dropbox - Works with the super useful and excellent Dropbox service. Access your Dropbox on your android phone.

Amazon Kindle for Android - Amazon's kindle reading app for android -- get old books free and of course buy them. It works well enough. Syncs your page place with other Kindle devices too.

Google books - Like kindle basically. Haven't really used it much.

Soundcloud - Android app for the Soundcloud service. It's a good start, but could definitely improve. I recently used it to get review comments from fellow musicians while I was in the studio mixing our new album.

Swiftkey - I got this free on Amazon App Store, but this app has really improved the typing experience on Android. My phone came with Swype, which lets you swipe your finger around the keyboard in one motion and type very fast, but in practice not all words are faster with this method. I ended up using a combination of two thumb iOS style typing and swipe technique. Between the switching back and forth and fixing incorrect words that come out it just ends up slowing things way down. Swiftkey is the best. It works just like a regular old touch keyboard, but it has a rich language database and also learns what you write and what you type. It predicts the words you will type next. The more you use it, the better it gets. You barely even have to type, and when you do its just a few letters. I would say if there is one app I would actually pay for again, it would be this one. At $1.99 it's reasonably priced and it will save you tons of time.

Soundhound - The fierce competitor to the mainstay of song recognition, Shazaam. Soundcloud has better UI and works faster at recognizing songs. The free version is just fine, but there is also a paid version. You can also check out Shazaam, it still works ok.

Pandora - Internet radio. Pandora's official app. It works well enough, again ad supported. The trend seems to be that they keep adding more ads, but I usually just turn off the screen once the music starts playing. Works fine over 3g in the car too.

Tune In Radio - An excellent radio app that lets you get real radio stations for all around the world as well as web radio. You can also record the radio (pro version) and organize your stations. Got the paid version free on Amazon app store, but the free version is great as well - doesn't feel crippled in any way.

Tanpura Droid - Yes! A tambura app for Android! It's good to have in a pinch. It has decent sound, but not quite as good as the similar offering on iOS.

NY Times for android - Good app, but ad supported. I finally uninstalled it, but thought it deserved mention.

Feedly - A beautiful RSS reader that works with your Google Reader account. It loads very fast. The UI is well thought out and allows for a free flowing user experience. This replaced the google reader official app on my phone, which kept slowing down for some reason. I've also tried Pulse Reader, which was great, but Feedly is better right now.

Jewels - Free and addictive simple game.

Doodle Jump - 99 cents. It is one of my favorite games from iOS. Very simple, great for playing for just a few minutes. It used to be #1 until Angry Birds came along and sat on everyone's head until they downloaded it.

Twitter for Android - Twitter's official app. It's a decent app. My phone came with the highly rated Twidroyd app installed, but because Twitter decided to block out the 3rd party developer community, I can't even use the app, nor uninstall it. Phooey. So I am pretty much stuck with this one.

Facebook - You probably already have this...not as good as the iPhone/iOS version. Facebook is really missing an opportunity. This is not as good as many other free android apps from smaller companies and it's pretty slow to load. But right now, there isn't really any other way to get a native fb experience on Android. One thing that is done well is the contact sync with the Android contact app -- totally seamless and works behind the scenes.

Posterous - As you can see, I currently use Posterous for this blog. They have their own app. In real world use, I haven't found it essential for posting. Android's built in sharing is already so good. I still have it installed though. Note, this does not install to sd -- please fix this Posterous team! I would use this app more if it used the notification bar for upload progress. The interface feels a tad slow.

fxcamera - Lets you add effects and filters to your camera shots on the fly. Out of the free camera apps, I think fxcamera is among the best, if not the best.

IMDB - the imdb app. A must have when you want to find who that actor is. It's also worth mentioning that the IMDB mobile website is very good too.

Movies - By flixster and rotten tomatoes. Very nice UI and easy to use. Watch trailers, see ratings and box office info, find movies and see where they are playing near you. You can also buy tickets right in the app, but I haven't tried it. Though it is ad supported, the implementation is decent and doesn't hinder the experience too much.

Adobe Photoshop Express - Edit photos on your phone, works pretty well.

Picsay (Pro) - There is a free and paid version - both have good reviews on the market. This app is excellent for post processing of your photos. You can add filters and effects, color correction as well as fun captions. This one was also featured free on Amazon's app store.

QuickPic - This is a free alternative to the stock Android Gallery app. Apparently it is faster and leaner at loading up your photos. It is pretty fast, but since most camera functions hook directly in the stock gallery, I end up not using it as much.

Barcode Scanner - This simple, lightweight app lets you scan barcodes and QR codes. QR codes are those odd looking box shaped barcodes you see everywhere that carry info and url's. I don't use it that much but it's good to have on hand.

ES File Explorer - This app lets you browse your file system like you would on a desktop computer. Another one that you wont use much, but good to have on hand in case you want to copy, move, rename or delete files on your sd card. It has a ton of features if you dig in.

Youtube - Last but definitely not least. I like the current incarnation of the Android youtube app more than iOS. Along with Maps it is probably one of the best Android apps by Google. It is incredibly fast and the interface is slick and simple to use. All the important functions are easily exposed to the user. I like how you can glance through comments, related videos etc. while watching the video or choose to watch it full screen. It reflects the actual website while still having the focus of a mobile app on the small screen.

The only app I am really missing on Android is *any* app from 37 Signals to use with their suite. There are a couple third party apps that have abysmal reviews. Come on 37 Signals, give us one for Highrise and Basecamp at least!

At last, we are at the end! Well, that was long, but hopefully useful for some new users out there. Let me know what your experiences have been with these or other apps.

Don't bring your own menu..

2011-04-30T19:54:00.001-07:00

Says Mooji :

Mixing the new Vidya record. Day 1

2011-04-25T16:32:00.001-07:00

Going well so far...

VID_20110425_134728.3gp Watch on Posterous

See the full gallery on Posterous

Bird & Beckett's Concert Sunday Cancelled

2009-10-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

This is last minute, but I just wanted to put out a notice that my little concert at Bird & Beckett's Books in SF is canceled. I am really ill (and not in a good way) and can't make it nor do I want to make others ill. So....please do support this cool space by going and hanging out anyways and I will be playing there again sometime soon once I'm better.

Hope to see you soon!

Prasant

Jazz at Intersection presents VidyA at the De Young Museum

2009-09-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

This will be a special performance featuring a new commissioned composition on a piece in the De Young museum. I sincerely hope you can join us. Admission is free.

VidyA - Friday Nights at the de Young presents Jazz at Intersection

Fri, Sep 11 | 6:30pm - 8:30pm | FREE

With an almost telepathic interplay, VidyA merges the virtuosity of Jazz with the melodic and rhythmic nuance of South Indian classical (Carnatic) music.

Prasant Radhakrishnan – saxophone; Sameer Gupta – drums; and special guest Eric Vogler - bass

“Imagine ragas and American blues folded into a single moment.” - San Francisco Chronicle

“…when these patterns are played on saxophone, violin, string bass, and jazz drums, there is a build-up of emotional energy and intellectual complexity which seems to recreate the energy that was present at the birth of bebop in 1940s New York. In fact, if Charlie Parker or Dizzie Gillespie had heard VidyA at that time, I think it would have never have occurred to them that VidyA’s music was Indian. They would simply have wondered where these cats had found a sound that was so mercilessly free of the standard melodic and rhythmic clichés.” -Teed Rockwell, India Currents

http://www.vidyamusic.com

de Young - Inside Wilsey Court
Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, CA 94118

More Information here.

(415) 626-2787 x.109

VidyA at Cheeseboard August 15 for India Independence fun!

2009-08-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

Hi folks. It has been a great summer for VidyA playing concerts at San Jose Jazz, SFJazz and Yoshi's. Now we are doing a much more relaxed, and much longer appearance at the Cheeseboard co-op bakery in Berkeley.

Steve, one of the main folks at the co-op has told me that the pizza that they will serve that day will "change my life." So its probably best you don't miss the pizza August 15!

We are doing 2 sets: Saturday, August 15, 11:45 am-2:45 pm and 4:45 pm to 7:45 pm. 6 hours of Indian-themed pizza and VidyA music!

With guests Eric Vogler, Bass and Howard Wiley, Drums. It should be fun. Of course, its free.

More info here:

P.S. We are doing a concert September 11 at De Young Museum as part of Jazz at the Intersection series. More on that soon. Mark your calendars!

Branford Marsalis on music students today. So true it's scary.

2009-08-05T17:01:00.001-07:00

via youtube.com

I might need to write a longer post on this sometime. But yeah, its true in most cases.

Posted via web from Prasant's posterous

VidyA at SFJazz Stanford Photos

2009-07-17T14:16:00.001-07:00

The VidyA concert hosted by SFJazz at Stanford was a blast!
These photos are courtesy of a listener named Ron who was nice enough to approach me after the concert with copies.

Thanks, Ron!

Prasant Radhakrishnan: Saxophone
David Ewell: Bass
Sameer Gupta: Drums.

D.K. Pattammal has passed away

2009-07-16T09:50:00.001-07:00

Friends,

I'm very sad to recognize that one of the greatest Carnatic music figures of our history, D.K. Pattammal has passed away. There has been so much written about her so I will not attempt to bring that to the fore here. Needless to say, she was one of the most influential musicians in Carnatic music and also an instrumental force for bringing women to hold an equal space on the concert platform. The great pair of D.K. Pattammal and her younger brother D.K. Jayaraman make up two of my favorite musicians in Carnatic music.

I remember meeting her backstage at Naradha Ghana Sabha briefly some years back. She was in her wheelchair but she was so full of life and had an enormous aura of joy. She made sure to smile and meet everyone in the room even though she was to be on the stage any moment to receive an award. There are just too many good things to mention and it is yet another deeply saddening loss in the Carnatic music field.

Please read through an interview with D.K. Pattammal here. More info on Wikipedia. There are also many videos on youtube as you will find after a quick search.

With the loss of many of the great trailblazers in the field during recent years, K.V. Narayanaswamy, Semmangudi Srinivas Iyer, M.S. Subbhalakshmi, Palghat Raghu, and now D.K. Pattammal, sometimes I wonder what we have left. I know the jazz community went through a period like that when John Coltrane died. It just felt like our guiding lights disappeared. But ultimately, we have to push forward and keep playing creative music that inspires people and ourselves. I believe that is what these great artists did. Yes, they upheld tradition with great humility. But it is where they took that tradition and the passion they had for creative music that lifted people up.

I think we, as young musicians, need to see that fire and intensity of purpose that the greats had and still have in their music, and use it as our guiding light today.

Posted via email from Prasant's posterous

VidyA at SFJazz Stanford Thursday July 16th

2009-07-15T12:54:00.001-07:00

Hi folks,

Thanks again for the amazing support at our Yoshi's concert. It was great. Now, we are giving a FREE concert at one of the really fun and prestigious jazz festivals in the Bay Area, SFJazz's Stanford series.

We are performing this Thursday, July 16 at 6:30pm at the Stanford Shopping center. It's outdoors. Join us!

View Larger Map

I also just finished an interview with Shri in his Stanford 90.1 FM radio show, Itsdiff. There might be some archives up soon at http://www.itsdiff.com/.

Also, if you haven't checked out the KPFA interview on Music of the World with Kutay Derin Kugay, check that out too.

See you soon!

Posted via email from Prasant's posterous

VidyA at Yoshi's Oakland Recap

2009-07-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

Our concert at Yoshi's in Oakland has finally come and gone. It was a memorable evening of music and so much support from our listeners. A special thank you goes out to every one of you who came out to not only listen to music but to support this art.

A few things to check out...

VidyA has a fan page on facebook. If you go there and click the big "become a fan" button, you can easily interact with us and other listeners as well as get updates as decided by you within facebook. You can even upload photos and videos you took at our concerts. It is also a great way to show your support for our music online. Check it out.

Online archive of my KPFA 94.1 interview with Kutay Derin Kugay on his Music of the World show. Audio expires 7/20.

A feature in the East Bay Express highlighting our concert as a critic's choice.

A feature on our Yoshi's concert in the Oakland Tribune.

Now for a few photos -- hopefully we will get some more soon. Full set on flickr as always.

Next up, we are performing at SFJazz Festival at Stanford July 16 at 6:30pm. It is free, and outdoors. We will be giving away free VidyA posters there, so come on down!

How I Started Meditation and Healing Raga Sessions

2009-06-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have received several e-mails and questions in general about this, so I thought I would just explain for everyone.

Earlier this year, I decided to try something a bit different from my usual concert format as an experiment.

I had studied a few different types of healing techniques under Guruji Sri Yogacharya Arun Kumarji in India some years back and had been practicing it ever since, though I must admit, not as regularly as I should have. It was quite by chance that I came into this study, but that is a story for another time. During my last visit, Guruji expressed that I should do more with combining this healing with music. At that time, I wasn't quite sure how to go about it, or whether I should. After all, Guruji had cured patients of all kinds of major chronic illnesses, but for me to claim anything myself would be a bit much. My mother is also an expert in these methods and has helped many.

That changed later, when I reminded myself that trying to do a little extra good in the world when you can -- even just a little, is better than not doing it at all. Music can be healing in nature even without imposing any specific healing techniques upon it. With the additional intent and technique of healing added, the music would act more as a conduit or path for the listener to engage further. It took me some time to put worries aside about what others may think and just do it. I feel music is a special source of joy and strength for myself, but it is equally important to share that with others. The meditative and healing aspect of music is one facet that draws people who seek nourishment from music. By developing a combination of energy healing with music that is already innately meditative, something potentially stronger or at least more helpful, could be formed.

The method of healing used cleanses all the major and minor chakras in the body. This is combined with rendering of various ragas to coincide with the healing process. In order to be able to focus on this process, while allowing for a relaxing and uninterrupted experience for listeners, I decided that the format should be simply solo with no accompaniment and no specific tala (time meter). I resolved to record and release a series of albums (the first of which will be released soon) to share this music with the world.

A little time passed and the thought dawned on me to also do this in person, live. I told my friend and creator of the Sangati Center, Gautam, about my idea over dinner one day. He readily agreed out of his openness to new ideas, though I'm sure he wondered what I would finally do.

I planned for a live session to last approximately one hour. We had done minimal publicity for the event and I had no idea what to expect. There was a small group of people at the start, which was encouraging. I gave a brief introduction of what I was about to do and explained that it wasn't a regular Carnatic concert, but more of a session. It's best for people to relax and just be themselves, if one doesn't want to meditate or close their eyes, it's ok.

I closed my eyes and began. Some ragas were planned, and others chosen on the fly as the session continued. Various patterns emerged including some thanam-like phrases and some like swara improvisations in addition to general raga elaborations. When I opened my eyes it had been about 1 hour and 15 minutes and to my surprise, the audience had multiplied. Most still had their eyes closed, while a good number of people were staring right at me, wondering what I would do next. After instructing people that it the session was over and everyone slowly stood up, I got a chance to talk to some people. I found out that many didn't know it would be a "session" and were expecting a regular concert, but still stayed. That was a good sign.

It was overall a good experience and Gautam, the director of the Sangati Center, and I have agreed to do schedule this monthly in addition to my regular Carnatic concerts. I would encourage you to check out this other type of music I am doing. If you have heard any of the raga elaborations in my Carnatic concerts and CD's, it wont be a big departure for you. Here is an example similar to what you will hear on the CD.

Bhairavi Ragam mp3

I hope that answers your questions, and if you have any others, just send me an e-mail or leave a comment. prasant at prasantmusic dot com.

Those of you who are listeners of VidyA and my Carnatic concerts, not to worry. This is in addition and my main vocation will still be behind those endeavors.

Who knows, at the very least, it is a great way to help your baby (or you) enjoy a relaxing moment -- maybe a little afternoon nap?

Please keep an eye on this blog and my calendar for future dates and information on the CD releases.

Take Care!

P.S. VidyA at San Jose Jazz, Yoshi's and SFJazz this summer!

New Podcast Episode 6: Kedaragowla: Deeper into the Compositions of VidyA

2009-06-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Right-click to download mp3

I'm happy to finally be able to bring you episode 6 of my podcast. It goes into some basic level of detail about "Kedaragowla," an original composition that is featured on the VidyA CD and goes a little further into the influence of the ethos of Carnatic music and its great artists. I hope you enjoy it! Kedaragowla is available on iTunes here, as well as other services online.

Also, take note, we are at Yoshi's Oakland July 6th, 2009! Come and join us.

You can subscribe to this podcast in iTunes, or right here!

Videos from UNC concert: Teliyaleru Rama

2009-05-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, it has been a busy two months with concerts on the both coasts. I haven't had a chance to recap the UNC Chapel Hill concert from March 29, 2009. The folks there sent me some video, so I am sharing some of it with you.

It was wonderful to play with Vittal Ramamurthy and Poovalur Sriji. I played again with Sriji just last weekend in Sacramento, which I will recap soon. Anyway, here are some pictures and video. You can always keep track of the latest pictures at flickr and the latest videos at my youtube channel.

Also, my podcast is still in effect at podcast.prasantmusic.com, and I promise to post a new episode very soon...

Also mark your calendars, VidyA is performing at the SFJazz Festival in Palo Alto July 16 and San Jose Jazz: Flavors of Jazz series June 23, but also Yoshi's Oakland on July 6th, 8 & 10pm shows! Enjoy.

Recap: Carnatic concerts at San Diego and Irvine, California

2009-04-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all doing well. I just thought I would start recapping some of the concerts. I am waiting on pics from UNC, and I will post those as soon as I get them.

The concert at the San Diego IFAASD Festival on April 4 went well. Thanks to the organizers including Shekar Viswanathan, V.V. Sundaram, Mr. Venkatachalam and others. Thanks to those of you who made it to the concert. It was a very warm audience of mostly Carnatic music listeners. The hall was very nice, and they attracted more people this year.

The artists included Nishanth Chandran on Violin, Kalyan Vaidyanathan on mridangam and Cleveland Balu on Kanjira. Mr. Balu has been heavily involved in the Cleveland Aradhana and has seen me since I first performed in Cleveland more than ten years ago. He graciously filled in for T.V. Vasan (ghatam) who was billed to play the concert, but could not make it due to a flight cancellation in New York.

The main raga was Saaramathi for Thyagaraja's Mokshamu. Here is a brief clip of some swara exchanges in an unusual ragam: Kantamani. A listener from the audience sent this in. Other ragams from the concert included, Gowrimanohari, Jaganmohini, Ananda Bhairavi, Kambodhi and a few more.

It was also a pleasure to meet Thiravarur Krishnan and his wife there. They shared some fun anecdotes about traveling with Vikku Vinayakaram, V.V. Subramaniam and Trichy Shankaran in the old days. Upon receiving the special award, veena artist Geetha Bennett gave a moving speech about her father, the great S. Ramanathan and also her husband, Frank Bennett. To be honest, I was almost moved to tears. It reminded everyone that the concert stage is just the tip of a much larger mass of deep relationships and interactions that creates the music we cherish.

Here are some photos from the concert, more on flickr.

The Irvine concert the next day on April 5 was also very nice, with Ektaa Center's extremely intimate setting to contrast a larger hall setting. It was not only a concert, but also an interactive event. Basically that means I talked more than usual and took questions after the concert. The artists included Nishanth Chandran again on Violin and Shubha Chandramouli on mridangam, one of Poovalur Sriji's disciples. All performed admirably. It was a pleasure to play at Ektaa Center, and I will be returning there often for other such events.

I was glad to see a good crowd of listeners despite the last minute arrangement of the event, and the listeners were from a mix of backgrounds. They had some very good questions, and it made me think that I should do more events like this. Thanks to Mr. Murthy for arranging the event. More photos on flickr.

Nishanth, Me and Shubha.

Goodbye Solo, a beautiful film

2009-04-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

Usually, I just post about what I am doing with music, but I thought it would be nice to include some other things as well.

I am in Boston for a concert at the LearnQuest Festival. It went very well, by the way. More on that later.

These days I leave many movies unsatisfied because the production values are so amazing, but I was never drawn in to the story and plot nor cared for the characters. Not the case here.

As a layman in the world of film, I really enjoyed Goodbye Solo. The shots, the tight direction, excellent performances meld with a touching and airtight story that brings you in with every scene. It appears to be slow-moving, and towards the end, I wondered if the film could have been shorter. In retrospect, it was very well crafted, and the actual story moves rather quickly. From the Q&A session, it was apparent that Bahrani is an extremely well-planned, methodical and intellectual filmmaker.

He referred to Hollywood and some mainstream independent films with some detached criticisms, and was careful not to slam them too hard. It somewhat reminded me of the way I refer to certain phenomena in the field of music in public.

I also loved the cultural references that slowly came out through the characters without being overt.

Definitely check out Goodbye Solo when it comes out in your neighborhood. The "spirit of Solo" portrayed by Souleymane Sy Savane as Bahrani mentioned in his talk, is definitely infectious and memorable. He really made the film for me. Here are some things to take you further.

Goodbye Solo on IMDB

Here is a trailer

By the way, I am not referring to a Korean drama by the same name...

Getting back to things

2009-04-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a while since my last post and podcast episode. Things have been busy, but I suppose that is a good thing.

After a month of personal and family time (hint: wedding), I came back to a busy month ahead. I just got back from a Carnatic concert at UNC Chapel Hill with Vittal Ramamurthy on Violin and Poovalur Sriji on mridangam. It was nice, and I will probably write another post on that once I find some pictures/video of the concert. I had my share of time at the airport of course...

4:30 am in Raleigh airport...I think.

I will be in San Diego and Irvine this weekend for concerts, so if you are in the area, come and say hello. Nishanth Chandran on Violin for both concerts, Kalyan Vaidyanathan and Shuba Chandramouli (Poovalur Sriji's disciple) on mridangam for each concert respectively.

Many exciting things ahead, so check the concert calendar, and keep in mind there are a few more even more exciting things that are not officially on the calendar yet. So keep your eyes open!

Here is a beautiful video of D.K. Jayaraman singing one of my current favorites (the audio quality is not great though).

By the way, the classic film 12 Angry Men, is a great movie. Watch it.

Talk soon...

Nefasha Ayer at Brava Theater Pictures

2009-02-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. So far things have been going pretty well at the start of 2009, despite all the gloom surrounding the economy. We just need to stay positive I suppose...

We had a blast performing at the Brava Theater on February 6th and 7th. Both shows were packed. It was fun playing with such a diverse group. It included:

Meklit Hadero: vocals
Todd Brown: Guitar
Prasant Radhakrishnan: Tenor Saxophone
Keenan Webster: Balafon/Mbira/Kora and more
Abdi Jibril: Conga/Cahon and others (sad to see Abdi moving to Kenya, this was his last show in the states before moving.)
Mohini Rustagi: Drums
Lalo Izquierdo : Cajon
Gabriel Teodros: Spoken word hip-hop
Michael Warr: Poetry
Marcus Shelby: Bass
Howard Wiley: Tenor Saxophone
Adrian Arias: Poetry

Hope I didn't miss anyone. There was every type of song in there, from poetry with James Brown-esque grooves, mbira and vocal duets with audience sitting on the stage, to "tenor battles" with Howard and I. Of course, it really was more like a complimentary duet than a battle. I still need to get Howard recorded on the podcast. Hopefully in a couple weeks, if not earlier! Overall, it was unique and definitely fun experience.

Here are some pictures. Go to my flickr stream to see all the pictures.

...and lastly, the stage moment, taken from my cell phone behind the stage...

Some live VidyA videos

2009-01-30T23:06:00.001-08:00

Footprints (Wayne Shorter composition)

Paavanaguru

You can subscribe to videos on youtube, both Carnatic classical and VidyA videos at the official youtube channel.

New Podcast. Episode 5: Lost Tales: Deeper into the compositions of VidyA.

2009-01-18T22:33:00.001-08:00

Right-click to download mp3

Happy new year! In the first episode of 2009, I talk a little about the whole Carnatic and Jazz thing before getting into a more in-depth discussion of the composition Lost Tales from the VidyA album.

Actually, it has to do with the Ramayana. Well, sort of. Listen to find out what its all about.

Its a start of a series of shows where I will do a similar dissection and discussion of other VidyA compositions.

Until next time...

Kiravani: A Live Experience. Now available.

2009-01-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

Kiravani: A Live Experience. Available now at http://prasantmusic.com/store.

After over three years, I am happy to release this full concert recording featuring Kiravani as the main raga. Here are the details of the album.

Artists:
Prasant Radhakrishnan: Saxophone
B.U. Ganeshprasad: Violin
Poovalur Srinivasan: Mridangam

Recorded in August 2005.

Tracks. Total Length: 1:51:48.

Siddhi Vinayakam. 13:13
Rama Nee Pai. 4:31
Charukesi Ragam - Saxophone. 6:06
Charukesi Ragam - Violin. 4:34
Kripaya Palaya. 13:26
Dasharatha Nandana. 3:40
Kiravani Ragam - Saxophone. 8:11
Kiravani Ragam - Violin. 5:26
Thanam - Kiravani. 9:17
Pallavi - Kiravani. 24:09
Tani Avartanam (Percussion Solo). 11.10
Korai Onrum Illai. 4:23
Bagyadhe Lakshmi. 3:48

Listen now on Last.fm

Listen now on iLike

This is being released as a digital download exclusively from the prasantmusic.com store, but may be available as a 2-disc set in limited quantities later this year. It is currently available for $15.

I hope you enjoy this recording. Here are some videos to check out.

Promo on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzpzK8Kmt3g

Video clip from the Pallavi (track 10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2BwXm0YkGI

Kiravani...live concert digital release. It's almost here!

2009-01-05T00:19:00.000-08:00

Live concert featuring a Ragam Thanam Pallavi (3 part composition) in ragam Kiravani. Watch out for it this week at http://prasantmusic.com/store!

Recorded in August 2005.

Prasant Radhakrishnan - Saxophone
B.U. Ganeshprasad - Violin
Poovalur Srinivasan - Mridangam

Episode 4: Dasharatha Nandana live clip

2008-12-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

Right-click to download mp3

Happy Holidays!

It has been about a month since I would have normally posted a new episode... a substantial delay. But I finally put together a new episode to keep you company during those long holiday flights, baggage check-in lines, long drives and what have you.

It is a somewhat short episode, so make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you can listen to them all!

This one has a live clip from an older concert with B.U. Ganeshprasad (violin) and Poovalur Srinivasan (mridangam). I also address a couple questions.

Enjoy!

Recent Pictures, Nefasha

2008-12-04T23:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

I hope you are all having a great year and managing through the chilly weather. Here are some pictures from some recent concerts:

At Stanford. Blur.

VidyA at Stanford, November 2008. For the ASHA V Charity concert.

Guest drummer Jaz Sawyer

With Keenan Webster and Balafo at the Nike Marathon.

VidyA at LIMN Gallery for a Obama Fundraiser, with Eric Vogler and Howard Wiley.

I got to spend some time with my dad over the Thanksgiving here in the Bay Area. Here is a pic of Sausalito I snapped with my new phone.

He also got to see a Nefasha Ayer concert, and took a few photos. Here is one.

Go to http://flickr.com/prasantmusic to see my photostream and subscribe!

Speaking of Nefasha Ayer, we are going in to the studio to record a new album tomorrow! More news to come.

Excited and grateful for our 44th president, Barack Obama

2008-11-04T22:51:00.001-08:00

image courtesy of barackobama.com

This is an unprecedented moment in the history of our country, as everyone knows. I am incredibly moved and excited at the fact that this country has embraced our power to elicit change.

Obama stated in a speech towards the end of his campaign that he had done all he could and that it was up to us -- the next president elect depended on who wanted it more -- and I think the majority of Americans just wanted change that much. I appreciated JohnMcCain's concession speech and believe he had a real respect for the choice people finally made.

Obama's acceptance speech was not just moving, but done with great humility as much of the viewers fought back tears. It was about what WE could do as a people, not about an individual. I admire his addressing those in other parts of the world tuning in to his speech. I had always wondered about the place of the U.S. in the world and felt deeply troubled at the way things had been going the last eight years, as I am sure many have. As a citizen, I feel that with Barack Obama as president, we may actually restore the image and message of our country on the international stage.

This is the first time that I think I have ever been proud of a president being elected in our country.

Podcast: Episode 3. Saxophone-morsing duet and conclusion of discussion with B. Rajashekar

2008-11-02T22:18:00.000-08:00

Right-click to download mp3

Enjoy!

Feel free to subscribe to the podcast! You can subscribe in iTunes too.

New podcast episode: A discussion with Morsing master B. Rajashekar

2008-10-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say I was actually able to bring you another episode within my prescribed time span of two weeks! I am very excited to share this discussion with you.

I had a special guest who is a mentor and dear friend, Sri Bangalore B. Rajashekar, who happens to be finishing up a tour of the U.S. with a percussion ensemble. As my title states, he is a master of his instrument, the morsing (also referred to around the world as "Jew's Harp.") It is one of the three main auxiliary percussion instruments used in Carnatic music aside from ghatam and kanjira.

In action (taken from the stage a few years ago in India)

Together with my guru a some years back.

To keep things digestible, I have broken our discussion into two parts. The second one will be released in the next episode.

In case for some reason you are contemplating whether or not to check this out, there is quite a bit of him actually playing and at the end of our discussion we do a short duet together (you can find that in the next episode). The whole thing was really memorable and fun.

We also got to spend some time together:

Download it here:
http://podcast.prasantmusic.com/2008/10/discussion-with-morsing-master-b.html

Once you are there, click the icons to the right to subscribe to the podcast! Now you can subscribe in iTunes too.

VidyA at Hillside Club Recap and Photos

2008-10-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, September 19, 2008, we performed at the Hillside Club in Berkeley, CA. It was great to play in the beautiful hall they have there. Despite the presidential debates, we had a receptive audience. We had a special guest on bass, Eric Vogler, filling in for David Ewell. Aside from playing bass, Eric is a genius at programming music through his computer.

Here are some pictures. View the whole set on flickr.

It was a fun two concerts -- for YBCA at the Red Poppy and Hillside Club in Berkeley. Sameer has gone back to New York. We should all be getting together and playing again soon. In mean time, you can support us by checking out our new album if you have not already.

Podcast Launch: Indian Classical Jazz Saxophone Set!

2008-10-03T00:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, that's a mouthful. Its a long title, but it was the easiest way to convey what this new show would be about. Yes, I actually decided to start a "podcast." Its basically like a radio show that is online. I decided to refer to it as a "set," because I hope that there will be a good dose of music in the show itself as well -- kind of like going to a concert.

You can subscribe to the show here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/prasantmusicpodcast. You can also check on updates at http://podcast.prasantmusic.com.

The show should be on itunes shortly, if it is not there already. The first episode briefly discusses why I decided to start the show and is followed by a clip of Bhairavi ragam on the saxophone. I actually had entertained the idea a couple years ago, but finally decided to take the plunge now for a few reasons. I will give more details soon.

Without further ado, hit the link to listen to the show (or right-click to download).

Listen Now!

A live clip from Friday's VidyA concert

2008-09-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

I have finally done it. At long last. I actually brought my recorder with me and recorded last Friday's VidyA concert that took place at the Red Poppy Art House as part of YBCA (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts) Bay Area Now series. The recorder was actually placed behind us, because there was no other place to put it, but you can still hear everything pretty well.

I felt the concert went quite well musically and I think its mainly a result of trying to keep the songs fresh every time and take chances with the compositions.

I decided to make a part of it available online for you to download and enjoy. This is the first part of the 2nd set. A new ragamalika (multiple raga) exploration that segways into Kauveri, which happens to be another song with multiple ragas. Click the link below to download (right-click to save it).

Nine / Kauveri (VidyA live 9/19/08)

VidyA concerts Fri 9/19 and Fri 9/26

2008-09-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder -- a couple great VidyA concerts coming up.

Friday, September 19, 2008. 8pm.

VidyA at Yerba Buena Bay Area Now series. San Francisco, CA.
Located at 2698 Folsom St at the Red Poppy Art House (23rd and Folsom).
More info here.

Friday, September 26, 08 - VidyA at Hillside Club. Berkeley, CA. This is a beautiful venue in the East Bay. If you haven't been, make sure to come! This will feature Eric Vogler as a guest on bass.

2286 Cedar Street
Berkeley 94709
Info: (510) 845-1350
More Info here.

Here are some pictures to leave you with.

Take care,

Prasant

Interview in "The Score" Magazine

2008-09-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Remember the other interview I hadn't seen yet? Well, the person who interviewed me, Vanipriya, just sent me a copy of the interview.

Interview with "The Score" music magazine August 08: Online | PDF | Photo (jpg)

Vanipriya, as it turns out, studies Carnatic music with violinist Delhi P. Sunderrajan, a great violinist who played with me on my Duality album.

The interview was for a new magazine in India called "The Score." When I saw the magazine, I was pretty amazed because I had never seen a magazine cover such a wide range of genres. It had everything from Alicia Keys, to Chennai indie rock bands, to Carnatic music and everything in between.

Picture L-R: Trichur Narendran, V. Suresh, Prasant, B.U. Ganeshprasad

The article briefly covers the concert I did in Chennai at Sri Muthu Venkata Subba Rao Hall and then
has some quick Q & A. If you didn't catch reviews and other stuff on that concert, see this post.

New VidyA Photos

2008-09-04T12:07:00.000-07:00

To coincide with our new VidyA CD release, we finally got some photos taken by a great Bay Area photographer, Nate Keck (who also happens to be a friend of the Red Poppy).

I think we were able to get a few nice shots -- the whole thing was natural with very limited actual posing for the pictures. That was great for me, because posing is not my forte. I think David has it down though.

Anyways, I uploaded all the color pictures to flickr, so please check them out and tell us your favorites in the comments or via e-mail. It hard to decide looking at so many pictures of ourselves. We eventually have to choose two or three that would be used for most purposes.

View the pictures here.

Here is my favorite: L-R: Sameer Gupta, David Ewell, Prasant Radhakrishnan.

Thoughts?

If you are in the Bay Area, make to sure to check out two exciting concerts we have this month! Info here.

Blog finally unites with the website

2008-08-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

I usually wouldn't want to post about anything too technical when it comes to the website, but I thought I will mention this, in case someone out there is interested. If not, just skip over this post to get to the next musically-related or otherwise more interesting post.

If you have visited this blog recently, you might have noticed that it went from a somewhat generic theme to complete integration with my prasantmusic.com website.

I actually happened upon this while contemplating a switch over to a self-hosted blog using Wordpress. I had already installed Wordpress on my server, imported my old blogger posts and was playing around with it when I realized that it would take me way too long to figure things out and and potentially make it work with my site. It definitely has much better features as everyone else says on the web, but I'm a musician, not a techie (even though I have often stay up late staring bleary-eyed at the computer, testing little changes in coding), and I just don't want to spend too much time/effort starting out from scratch.

I am a ravenous Googler, like I think everyone has now become, and I found a nifty tutorial on how to integrate an existing hosted Blogger into a normal website. Since I'm familiar with the guts of Blogger template code, I was able to do the integration in a very short time.

Anyways, there are a few shortcomings to keeping my old ftp Blogger setup.

1. Archive features are bad. It is very cumbersome to navigate posts through the archives and there is no "older posts" link at the bottom of each page, so navigating the archives is inevitable.
2. No integrated search. ** Well a little bit of tweaking and I got a nifty search box for the blog using Google Custom Domain Search, so that is fixed and appears to work well, I might add.
3. No tags, categories etc. There are labels, but no dynamic way to display them.
4. No dynamic "related posts" or "recent posts" features.

Of course I could switch over the Google hosted blogspot and get some of these features, but I would really rather host it myself to protect my data, and I would have to use one of the generic themes again.

I guess the main thing is that I don't think too many of you would miss these features too much -- would you? Check out the new setup, and let me know if there is anything you find to be too much of a pain or difficult to use. Or perhaps, you have an idea or a feature you would like to see. Let me know!

Now, back to listening to Madurai Somu...oh, it just changed to Rage Against the Machine.

These shuffle playlists are crazy!

VidyA CD available all over the web

2008-08-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I would let you know when the new VidyA CD would be available at major retailers online.

Well, its a bit delayed, but here are the links you might have been waiting for.

Some independent music stores like Amoeba, Rasputin, Aquariu etc., will also carry it. If you don't see it, ask for it! There are also other online services that have it as well.

India Trip Round Up

2008-08-26T23:34:00.000-07:00

Well, after over a month's absence posting here, I finally decided to put together a brief round up of my trip to India. The trip went very well. I had a good mix of personal practice time and concerts among other things. I even got to catch the latest Batman film, "Dark Knight" a couple days before I left. Definitely a dark and chilling film.

I was very happy to spend some quality time with my guru, Dr. Kadri Gopalnath. I was also able to catch up with some friends, mentors and other musicians who I usually spend time with, such as T.R. Subramaniam, A. Kanyakumari, Guruvayur Dorai, V. Suresh, Ganeshprasad among others. This time, it was a treat to perform with B.U. Ganeshprasad (violin), Trichur Narendran (mridangam), Phalgun (mridangam), and V. Suresh during my concerts among others.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, my first concert of the trip was at Rameswaram. Rameswaram has an interesting history, mainly because of the religious background. Myself, Ganeshprasad and Phalgun did a morning concert there after a long a night train. It was a part of a three day Gurupurnima event. A video was taken, but as usual, I never find time to upload. I will do it soon enough. Here is a screen grab from the video I have...

After Rameswaram and Thiruvunamalai, I had a concert at a new hall in Chennai called Sri Muthu Venkata Subba Rao Memorial Hall. Quite a long name. I can say that I was extremely impressed with the hall. I think it is the best hall in Chennai. The concert was curated by the hall's programming director and sponsored by a company there called Gatsby. It was definitely a crowd different from the usual Carnatic listeners, but the response was very good and it was a pleasure to play in a quality environment and ambience focused purely on the music. The whole thing was recorded, both audio and video, so hopefully I will share some of that with you soon. That concert had myself on saxophone, B.U. Ganeshprasad, Trichur Narendran on mridangam and V. Suresh on ghatam.

The concert brought with it a number of press articles of all types. I haven't received a copy of them all, but here are some links to the ones I heard about so far. If you want to get the latest, probably check back on my press page. If you find anything that is not there yet, let me know.

"Strict Adherence to Classicism" - Concert review in The Hindu by Lalitha Krishnan
"When East Meets West" - An article in a The Hindu supplement called "NXG"
"Carnatic Music Gets a Saxy Makeover" - Article in a Hindu magazine called "Ergo."
"Unchained Melody" - Article in India Today magazine: Online Version | E-Magazine Version
Interview in "The Score" music magazine: Online | PDF | Photo (jpg)

There was also a TV interview, but I lost track of that one. Some of these articles have a slightly odd interpretation of what I had said during interviews, but I have learned that it is unavoidable.

Anyways, that is about all I can cover right now. The other concerts were memorable as well, but I don't think I will go over everything here. I will try my best to post some videos or other media soon.

By the way, I just added a little feed of my latest photos from flickr to the left of the blog. Hope you like it. Between that and my Twitter updates (feel free to "follow" me), you can easily see what I'm up to just by looking at the sidebar, even if I don't have a chance to update the blog.

Just finished listening to the 1967 Lalgudi Jayaraman concert at Krishna Ghana Sabha...again. Never gets old!

Take care, and keep listening!

Concert at Sir Mutha Hall, Chennai, India. July 27, 2008

2008-07-22T01:14:00.000-07:00

As you probably already know, I am writing to you from India. So far the trip has been great. I just got back from a trip to Rameswaram, where I did a concert and then Thiruvunamalai. The concert was with B.U. Ganeshprasad on Violin and P. Phalgun on Mridangam. Here is a picture from the Rameswaram Temple.

This Sunday, I am performing a Carnatic concert at a newly opened hall in Chennai called Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Memorial Hall. The concert starts at 7pm sharp and is open to the public.

The lineup will include:

Prasant Radhakrishnan: Saxophone
B.U. Ganeshprasad: Violin
Trichur Narendran: Mridangam
V. Suresh: Ghatam

You can get complimentary passes:

Contact the sponsor of the event: info@gatsby.in with number of tickets required. Or call (044) 28331677. You can also get passes at the Raymonds outlet in Nungambakkam.
Contact the hall at info@sirmuthamemorial.com

The hall is located at:

Shenston Park, 13/1 Harrington Road
Chetput, Chennai 600031 Tamil Nadu

It is on the Lady Andal School premises. If you know anyone in Chennai, tell them to come!

Fun with Air Travel (not a music post)

2008-07-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

Please note: This post has nothing to do with music. With that out of the way...

I am writing from Changi Airport in Singapore. I am on my way to India for a five week trip for some intensive practice/study and also some concerts around South India. I think I've been to this airport countless times now. I am in the unfortunate position of having over an eight hour layover in the middle of the night Singapore time. With the transit hotels overbooked, there really was nothing to do here except wait and endure the 40 minutes bad music that loops over the airport speakers.

Anyways, this flight was especially long. Over 11 hours to stop in Seoul, Korea. The usual antics ensued, beginning with some Berkeley students wanting me to switch seats so they could be together. I soon found myself in the middle seat of the middle section, you know, the worst seat on the entire plane, next to some kids gyrating nonstop and calling for their mommy in an extremely high decibel level.

Due to lack of sleep I watched more movies than I ever have in a given period...such as Warlords, Juno, Horton Hears A Who and even Japanese film "Smilers," a heartwarming tale about an over enthusiastic tap dancer with a degree in child psychology who must lead a junior league hockey team in Hokkaido to the championships in order the win his girflfriend's hand in marriage (with a good dose of McDonald's product placement). There were other movies too, but I wont get into it.

There was a 90 minute layover in Seoul. In the airport I noticed a funny trend. Nearly all of the younger Korean couples had coordinated or sometimes exactly matching outfits. I spotted at least five such couples at the same gate. I am not one to notice clothing, but it was so glaringly obvious, and actually a bit hilarious. I wonder if that trend will ever make it the U.S.? Matching couples clothes! Anyways, I'm probably the last person to notice this...

I spent some time in a small Korea Culture Museum they had there. Not bad.

I'll leave you with two thoughts:

1. Why is it that the majority of passengers jump up and stand in a line before boarding even when its not yet time to board and it wont help them get on the plane faster anyway?

2. Singapore "Changi" airport advertises all over that they have FREE wireless surfing. Well, from what I could see its not free -- you need to have one of those airport wireless providers to login. I might be wrong, but you will need to use the ethernet stations located around the airport.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Recap of May 3rd concert at Sangati Center

2008-07-02T23:40:00.000-07:00

This almost two months overdue, but I thought I would give you a quick post about a concert at Sangati Center on May 3rd, 2008.

The concert featured myself on saxophone, Ajay Narasimha on Violin and Anantha R. Krishnan on Mridungam. It was great to play with both of these artists. I had played with Ajay before and it was the first time playing with Anantha, who in case you did not know, is the grandson of the legendary mridangam vidwan Palghat Raghu. As he jokingly said before the concert, "that doesn't mean I play well." But of course, he played wonderfully, and we all had a good time.

I am looking forward to performing together again.

Here are a couple photos and excerpt videos from the concert, with more to come. Full photoset on flickr here.

I still have news to tell you about VidyA. I am off to India for some personal practice time and a few concerts. I will try to get in a few posts while I am there.

VidyA CD Release Concert Tonight!/ Radio Play / Record Stores

2008-05-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hi!
That is me right this moment...not sure why I decided to include this picture.

Today we will be performing at the Red Poppy Art House to celebrate the release of the new CD!

It is extra special, because today is my dad's birthday (mom, myself, dad below).
Happy Birthday!

We will also be doing a photo shoot with Bay Area photographer Nate Keck, so you can finally expect to see some updated photos of the group for press purposes and otherwise. Here is a random (and blurry) shot of us playing, just for kicks.

Today the new album was played on KPFA's Music of the World show with David McBurnie. I believe they played "Lost Tales," the track based on Bhairavi ragam. They also gave away a couple sets of tickets for the concert.

The latest development is that the new album is now available at Ameoba Music in Berkeley and Rasputin in Berkeley, with other locations following soon, like Aquarius in SF (they have East Facing right now). Some of my Indian Classical albums are there also. If you can't find it there, ask for it and be persistent!

I will post more info as I find out.

Thanks to everyone for your support. There has been so much activity leading up to this album, but I wouldn't even call it "work" because I have been so lucky to have many great people to work with and great listeners.

Have a great long weekend.

VidyA CD unboxing, packaging preview

2008-05-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

I just received the first shipment of the new VidyA CD, which we will be releasing at the Red Poppy this Friday. It was an exciting moment, so I thought I might as well share it with everyone. Here are some pictures of it so you can imagine what it will look like in your own hands...

Of course, it was just made available online for download at http://prasantmusic.com/store. Soon it will be available on CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon, etc.

See you soon!

VidyA Album Release!

2008-05-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yes! The time has finally come for our first full-length CD. It has been about two and a half years since members of VidyA first met. During that time we performed quite a bit, made a good amount of friends, released a preview EP, changed our configuration a bit, and now, finally, can present an audio music package that we are excited to share with our listeners.

The new album features eleven tracks, all of which we have performed extensively live. We recorded the album at N.I. Recording, thanks to Eli Crews and Rich, who helped make it all happen. We were extremely fortunate to have Sebastien Richard do an excellent job mixing our music. It was great working with him and I'm looking forward to the next project to work with him again. Also, thanks to Michael Romanowski who did an amazing job mastering our CD. Everything is finished...we just have to wait for the CD's to show up at my doorstep.

So when/how can you get the CD?? Well there are a few phases.

1. May 17, 2008 at 12am PST - The VidyA album releases on the new Prasant Radhakrishnan and VidyA Online Store, exclusively as an immediate high quality MP3 download. Pre-orders for the physical CD can also be taken (note that these orders include the immediate download of the MP3 version). If the online store thing is news to you or you want to know more about how it works, check out the previous post.

2. May 23, 2008 at 8 pm - CD Release Concert at Red Poppy Art House, San Francisco. The actual CD will be available for purchase at this concert, so if you are in the SF Bay Area, and you can wait an extra week, come on down, enjoy the show and pick up a copy. Pre-orders from the online store will be shipped on May 23rd, 2008.

3. May 24 onwards - The new VidyA album will be rolled out to major retailers starting with CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon etc., with select availability at regular stores like Aquarius Records, Amoeba Records, Rasputin (?), Borders, Barnes & Noble etc. I can't guarantee any specific release dates for these places, just that it will be there eventually.

My advice is to purchase it at the online store, or through one of the smaller retailers.

We are really looking forward to sharing this with you. Hope to see you at the concert!

Online Digital Download Store Launch!

2008-05-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

This is an exciting period as quite a few things are happening. I hope everyone is doing well and is in good health. The weather has been great here in Oakland, California.

So....a few big announcements, the first being the subject of this post. There will be a few more quick posts, so make sure to check them all out!

Prasant Radhakrishnan and VidyA Online Store Launches today!

There is now a fully functional online store native to www.prasantmusic.com.

Currently East Facing and Duality are available, but on May 17, 2008 at 12am PST, the new VidyA album will become available as a digital download exclusively available at the store.

Why, you may ask, would I want to have my own online store, when my music is already available at most of the major online retailers like iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, Rhapsody etc etc...?

Here is why:

1. Exclusive content and control over timing.

With my own store, I can release special exclusive content such as live concerts, DVD's, and other things for you at a price that I set. This, is many cases, may be extremely affordable or even $0!

To me, this is huge. This allows you, who have taken an interest in this music, to see many other facets of it publicly than were ever available before. Not just the regular stuff like shirts, but exclusive videos, or perhaps an old concert that was never released, or maybe even a lecture demonstration on a useful topic that I had given recently.

2. DRM-Free. No restrictions.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the dreaded handcuff of the music industry on our digital music. It basically locks you into confusing rules that dictate what you can do with digital audio files that you purchased. In more cases than not, DRM has left me with unplayable files OR getting stuck with one online retailer or another. As a constant music listener, I can vouch for that being both frustrating and unpleasant. I just found that image above on the internet. Pretty funny, but sadly true in a way.

Everything you purchase from the prasantmusic.com digital store is completely free of any restrictions. You purchased it, you own it, you can do what you like with it. I am a firm believer that people who love music and care about art and culture in this world will support the people who make it.

3. I try to present a good thing for everyone. CD + MP3 = Joy.

I can't tell you how much it has upset me that CD's are SO extremely expensive these days. If you go into a regular retail store, a CD by a jazz musician is $18.99. Why?? I am a musician, and naturally a voracious listener. But I have to think twice, maybe three or four times whether or not to buy a CD that I really like because of the cost. Plus, that artist is probably getting $0.02 from that transaction.

In the new store, you can order a physical CD with shipping to your door included (no one likes getting to the checkout and suddenly seeing $5 added for shipping!). No CD is over $15. You get a link to immediate downloads of high quality (256kb LAME encoded) DRM-free MP3's included as well. This has been done by some other well known musicians, and I think its a great idea. It lets you order online without having to wait for the CD to arrive to listen, and saves you the trouble of ripping the CD to your hard drive if you were to buy a CD normally elsewhere. It lets you "have your cake and eat it too." But why would you have cake if you were not going to eat it? Exactly.

http://www.prasantmusic.com/store

VidyA album releases May 17, digital, physical CD pre-orders OK. Physical CD release May 23, 2008

P.S.: If any of you feel like you would like to have FLAC, 24-bit WAV, Apple Lossless etc., let me know and I may consider adding it to the store if enough people request it.

KPFA April 18th: Early Radio Performance

2008-04-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Archive of the show can be found here.

I will be performing on the radio in extra early hours of the morning on Friday, April 18th with host Joanna Manqueros.

It will be broadcase on KPFA 94.1, a listener supported station here in the SF Bay Area at 5 AM...!

Yes, I know its really early, but those of you with an early commute can check it out. I will be performing just ragas alone on saxophone -- no percussion or other accompaniment as of now.

This is a bit of foreshadowing, as I am planning on a series of solo saxophone albums that will be of this nature: just saxophone elaborating Indian Classical ragas. It tends to have a relaxing/meditative quality.

Enjoy!

Better prices on East Facing and Duality on CDBABY!

2008-04-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that two of my albums, Duality and East Facing are now $12.97 on CDBABY. That makes it only $15.22 after shipping within the U.S.!

The changes may not be reflected on Amazon for some time...

The new VidyA CD is coming out next month! More info soon.

How to all of you feel about cd prices? Feel free to drop me a line here.

Boston Trip: Brandeis University and Wellesley College

2008-04-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

Back in my comfortable chair at home, I thought it would be a good to time to catch up with you on my recent trip to Boston. It was definitely cold, but not snowy at least.

The events on the trip were:

March 26, 2008 - Concert with Phil Scarff and Natraj at Brandeis University, MA. 6pm.
April 4, 2008 - Guest interactive lecture at Wellesley College (Music of the Sphere MUS101). 1:30pm.
April 5, 2008 - Indian classical saxophone concert and morning Discussion panel. "Evolving Traditions." B.U. Ganeshprasad: Violin, Rohan Krishnamurthy: Mridungam. Wellesley College, MA. 3pm.

First, the Brandeis concert. It was a first for me, as I was performing as a guest with Phil Scarff's group Natraj. The group consisted of Phil Scarff on soprano saxophone, Michael Rivard on Bass, Bertram Lehmann on Drums and Jerry Leake on Tabla. The group combines Indian Classical and other influences with jazz. The approach is very different from what I do with VidyA, but it was fun to play with them and I think the show went pretty well. We did mostly songs from their repertoire , which included a small pallavi in Mohana raga by my guru Kadri Gopalnath, and a song in Saraswathi raga called "River" by Chitravina N. Ravikiran. We also did "Lost Tales" from the VidyA song list, the song will be on the new VidyA CD coming out soon. Here is a picture from the event courtesy of Brandeis.
My time at Wellesley was fun. The lecture on Friday, though short, seemed to go well. It was mostly interactive with a little history thrown in. I also demonstrated various ragas and the students became familiar with the basics of keeping talam (the time meter) to the music. Thanks to Professor Gurminder Bhogal for having me in the class.

The actual concert was on Saturday. The morning had an interesting discussion panel where we talked about the topic of preservation vs change...the ongoing discussion in any art. The discussion was lively and everyone brought up interesting points, which I wont discuss here in detail. Malini Srinivasan and the Jayamangala troup performed a wonderful bharatanatyam program. The varnam in Kambodhi was fanatastic.

After that, myself, B.U. Ganeshprasad on Violin and Rohan Krishnamurthy on Mridangam took the stage. I debuted a masterpiece composition by Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Sri Dakshinamurthe in raga Shankarabaranam raga, Misra Jhampe (10 beats) talam. It is the first time it has been performed on saxophone. It was definitely enjoyable to finally play such a wonderful composition and favorite of mine, on this instrument. I just hope I did it justice!

Of course, it was great to play with Ganeshprasad and Rohan again. Hopefully, we can do it again soon. We also got to spend some time together after the concert. Check out the full flickr set for more pics.

View the full photoset on Flickr.

Photos by Ganesh Ramachandran.

Concert at San Diego IFAASD, March 15, 2008

2008-03-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

I am writing from Boston today. I am here for a couple concerts. I just finished one yesterday, which went well at Brandeis University. I performed with Phil Scarff and his Indian-Jazz-West African group Natraj.

A couple weeks ago, I performed at San Diego for the inaugural Music and Dance festival there. It was organized well, especially considering it was the first year. I enjoyed playing for the San Diego audience, who were very warm and receptive. .

View the full photoset on flickr

San Francisco Chronicle Datebook features Prasant Radhakrishnan and VidyA, Indian classical music and Jazz

2008-03-05T19:41:00.001-08:00

Last week's San Francisco Chronicle featured myself and VidyA in a well written article on the front page of the Datebook section.

Here is a link to the article online: San Francisco Chronicle Datebook.

The article is informative and good introduction to what I am doing with my music. One thing I want to point out, is a minor inaccuracy: The article states that I slept on a bare cot behind my guru's house. This is not really true.

I actually had a special room for me that was attached to the house, and of course there was a cot in that room. The point that I wanted to make with the questions regarding my "gurukulam" or time spent with my guru studying music in India was this: I felt extremely blessed to be taken in by my guru to study the music and he treated me literally like I was his own son. The rigorous training he gave me was like that he would give his own child. In fact, I spent quite a few classes learning along with his younger son, Manikanth (who is now a popular music director in India).

The writer, Andrew Tolve, did a good job of highlighting one of the other aspects, which was that concept of "gurukulam" was not just about classes, but about living with, spending time with and absorbing everything one could from the guru regardless of whether the student was in a "lesson" or not. I feel that I benefited greatly from this aspect of my learning with Padmashri Kadri Gopalnath.

I also want to thank my dear friends and artists Howard Wiley (friend and saxophonist) and Todd Brown (of the Red Poppy and Nefasha Ayer) for saying nice things that ended up in the article.

I am pleased that this article came into being, because it shows that Carnatic music and new directions in Carnatic music are ready for a larger audience in not only the Bay Area, but this country.

Back from Barbados...

2008-01-27T22:46:00.000-08:00

So I got back from Barbados a few days ago. Unfortunately, I caught a terrible sore throat and I am still recovering. Anyways, the trip went well. We performed a couple times and it was a privilege to meet so many interesting people.

Even though I was only there for a week, I think I got a sense of the lifestyle in Barbados, not to mention enjoy the beaches.

I attended the Barbados Jazz Festival twice while I was there. Unfortunately, I felt the people that played the festival when I went were not jazz at all. I did get to see the Afro Cuban Jazz All Stars, which had Yosvany Terry -- a great alto player. Granted Kenny Garrett played, but I didn't get a chance to catch him.

Check out my flickr set from the trip here. There pictures of Barbados in general and of the concert I did with Meklit Hadero and Todd Brown as part of the Nefasha Ayer project. Here is a slideshow:

Next week, I will be in Michigan and Chicago for concerts...hopefully my coughing will subside by then.

Enjoying Barbados...

2008-01-21T22:28:00.001-08:00

Accra Beach
Originally uploaded by prasantmusic

Here is a relaxing scene I experienced the other day at Accra Beach, here in Barbados. I have been enjoying my stay so far here. The weather is great and the surroundings relaxing. We got to meet quite a few interesting people as well as perform and take in the Barbados Jazz Festival.

I will post more on my time here soon. Tomorrow evening we will be performing here before we leave on Thursday.

Trip to Barbados, the VidyA CD, and other happenings...

2008-01-16T00:32:00.000-08:00

Well, yet again it has been a while since my last post. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Mine was spent in Florida with family -- a definite change from my usual trip to India for the music season. It was nice though, I got to see some dolphins and even alligators in the Everglades...(a blurry shot from my cell phone below...)

Anyways...some updates on the latest news. I am glad to report that the new VidyA cd has finally been recorded! We are still in the rough mix stage, which means it wont be out for a few more months, but we are all very excited about it and even more excited to share it with everyone when it is finally ready. Check out my site and also www.vidyamusic.com for updates as usual. You can expect some special concerts to accompany the cd release in March/April, so be on the lookout!

Our next concert is on Tuesday, February 26th at the Climate Theater in San Francisco. Click this to add this to your calendar:

Eventually, I will have a little button so you can get all of the concerts like this and it will be even easier to remember all those concert dates!

In other news, I am off to Barbados in a couple days to do some performing there as part of the Nefasha Ayer project (which I had described in an earlier post). I have never been there before, so it should be fun.

Early February brings me back to some Carnatic performances/lecturing in Michigan and U Chicago in the first week. I will be doing those performances with a talented mridungam player named Rohan Krishnamurthy, who you may have heard of, or seen me play with many years ago. If you have any friends out in Michigan or Chicago, tell them to come and listen.

Also come check out a Carnatic saxophone performance at the Sangati Center in San Francisco on February 17th. I would like to mention that this great space that is providing a necessary service to the area needs your support.

So, there you have it:

End of January: Barbados
Feb 4-10: Concerts/lectures at WMU, Kalamazoo College and U Chicago
Feb 17: Sangati Center
Feb 26: VidyA at Climate Theater!

I promise, I will try to post more in the future.

Recap of concert at Ektaa Center, Irvine, CA

2007-10-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

This is a bit overdue, but I thought I would do a quick recap of a concert from August 2007 at the Ektaa Center in Irvine, California. Personnel included myself on saxophone, Ajay Narasimha on Violin and Poovalur Srinivasan on Mridungam. It was the first time playing with Ajay, and had been quite a while since I had played with Poovalur Srinivasan.

I had played a concert with Howard Wiley, David Ewell and Sameer Gupta the night before at the Red Poppy in San Francisco. That was a great show, which I will elaborate upon later. So I drove down directly to the concert hall from the bay area.

The hall was very intimate and I was actually able to do the concert without a microphone. There was a good connection between the three of us musically. Ajay did a nice job and of course Poovalur sir provided seamless and beautiful mridungam playing as usual.

I was fortunate to get most of the concert on video. Here are a few clips from the concert. The first is the timeless Swati Tirunal composition "Deva Deva." The other is the beginning of the ragam in the Ragam Thanam Pallavi (main piece of the concert).

Deva Deva

Lathangi Ragam

I will post more from this concert soon.

Some pictures from this concert and the Boston concert here.

Nefasha Ayer project: "The Wind That Travels”

2007-10-22T23:34:00.001-07:00

I have recently become involved in a project here in the Bay Area called "Nefasha Ayer."

A bit about the project according the Nefasha Ayer myspace page:

Nefasha Ayer, loosely translated from Amharic as “the wind that travels”, explores a transcontinental odyssey of multiple characters who find themselves caught between national identities, cultures, and politics. The project joins together the talented song-writing capacity of Meklit Hadero with guitarist/composer-arranger, Todd Brown, South-Indian Carnatic Jazz composer/saxophonist, Prasant Radhakrishnan, drummer/tablaist, Sameer Gupta, composer/bassist/flautist, Eliyahu Sills, and Ethiopian born hip-hop artist, Gabriel Teodros. Nefasha Ayer weaves together Ethiopian and South Indian melodies/rhythms against a varying backdrop of North American jazz, while Hadero’s voice and song, as the wind that travels, serve as the narrator. Nefasha Ayer weaves together Ethiopian and South Indian melodies/rhythms against a varying backdrop of North American jazz, while Hadero’s voice and song, as the wind that travels, serve as the narrator.

Through its tones and colors, poetic texts and trans-cultural melodic scores, Nefasha Ayer joins the continents of Africa, South Asia, and America to explore the most essential and universal qualities shared among individuals worldwide whose identity no longer fits within the boundaries of one country, culture, or tradition. Whereas one would expect the content of such a project to focus on the social/cultural context of its characters, Nefasha Ayer builds on the internal: the subjective yet universal human desire for home. For these characters, “home” is no longer an external place – for some it never was. Home has taken shape instead as a longing within. This is “the space of in-between.”

The space of in-between indeed. It is a space I have long identified with as have many in my position -- being of another ethnicity/culture but brought up here in the U.S. I wont go into that right now...

The project is really the brainchild of Todd and Meklit, the heads of the Red Poppy Art House, where VidyA had its first concert. The Nefasha project recently was recognized with a grant from the San Francisco Foundation. As part of this endeavor, I will be helping a bit with composing and of course playing. Todd, Meklit and I meet somewhat regularly to hang out at the Red Poppy and work on this music.

One of the things that struck me about the inflections in Ethiopian vocal music is that they are vaguely similar to those used in Carnatic or Hindustani music. Of course this is from a very general level of analysis. The interesting thing is that I can bring in appropriate ragas and Carnatic phrases into my improvisations and/or the compositions without it sounding out of place. The music has a very laid-back feel to it but with a constant sense of forward motion. This is due to the rhythms inherent in Ethiopian and even some African music. Also, keep an eye out for Meklit. Her music and voice is really unique.

We recently performed a short set at the MAPP at the Red Poppy of course. The MAPP is always fun, since it is about the community and such. Of course, the compositions have ways to go before they are ready.

Check out some pictures from the performance here,

East Facing Featured on Single of the Day

2007-10-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is a bit belated, but the new release, East Facing was featured on the mp3 blog "Single of the Day" on August 9, 2007.

Considering that the blog caters to all audiences, I was surprised that they chose the track "Raga Mukhari." The track is the raga exposition for Mukhari before the timeless Thyagaraja composition Kshinamai, and of course has no percussion accompaniment. The track showcases the calmer side of the album, which I feel has a range of moods as is inherent in Carnatic music.

Click the title to go to Single of the Day. Well, enjoy!

Visit to Boston: Playing with Veena, Violin and Double Mridungam

2007-10-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

(Edit: 10/22/07: Pictures of this concert have been posted here.

It appears that even after my attempt to get back to posting here, I let a couple months go by again. I moved to a new residence, though I am still in the Bay Area. It was a hectic month packing, moving, painting, and buying/selling/giving away furniture. I also painstakingly set up a sound system: speaker cables/banana plugs and all -- definitely a subject of another post.

Anyways, this post is about a concert I am about to do tomorrow evening in Framingham, MA. I will be playing a very unique Carnatic concert with four musicians: Durga Krishnan (Veena), Tara Anand (Violin), Pravin Sitaram (Mridungam) and Mali Santhanakrishnan (Mridungam). Here are the details:

Keefe Tech School,
750 Winter st, Framingham, MA 01702
6th October 2007, Saturday: 4:00 PM

This is a significant event for both myself and listeners, and here is why:

1. A Unique Combination: It is not common to have a instruments such as veena, saxophone and violin performing together in such a format -- I suppose it is close to the famous "veena, venu, violin" trio concept that comes around once in a while, but it is agreeably a rare case. We had a rehearsal yesterday just to touch base, and the sound is quite unique. I suppose the double mridungam, while not too common, is also not uncommon at all these days.

Warning: Delving into some instrumental technicalities below!

2. Sruthi and Flexibility in Ragas: The significance here is mainly from my perspective. I will be playing my alto saxophone as I usually do, but instead of playing my normal sruthi of Bb as I do in my solo concerts, I will be playing in D. Most musicians would wonder why that is a big deal. In jazz and Western music, the key/chords are always changing. We have to practice jazz standards in all keys, right?

For Carnatic music it is much different. Of course the details of how that is would be too much to mention here, but suffice it to say, it is a challenging endeavor just to play Carnatic music on the saxophone in one key/sruthi. That is of course because of the difficulty of producing gamakas etc. on the instrument and also the fact that changing the key changes in all ways possible, the complete approach to producing gamakas and rendering Carnatic compositions on the saxophone. For those Carnatic listeners/musicians out there, the only way to adjust to pitch on the saxophone beyond maybe a 1/4 step is to start on a different note, thus changing the fingering. In order to do such a thing, one would have to re-evaluate and re-invent, while slowly perfecting fingering/blowing technique and crafting an approach to playing in the new sruthi, taking into account the limitations of the instrument.

That said, my guru Sri Kadri Gopalnath had initially adapted the saxophone to Carnatic music in Bb taking to account the range and possibilities of the instrument. Having spent much time studying under him and practicing on my own, as well as having many other influences, I still very much agree with his choice of Bb as the best and most musical sruthi for adapting the alto saxophone to Carnatic music.

Why then, do you ask would I change my sruthi for this concert, and how would I actually perform? Good question! For the sake of the group and for trying to have a concert with this instrumentation, it was necessary. I am just taking it as a challenge and hoping that it will in some way, help me develop more. Over preparing for the concert the past few days, I already feel that it is opening up different ideas for me, though in very subtle ways.

The three biggest challenges are limited range, producing appropriate gamakas, and lastly playing compositions and improvising in a completely different fingering set, effectively unlearning my years of practice and muscle memory. Such a thing is commonplace in jazz, but in Carnatic music, it just is not the same, as strange as that may sound to jazz or Western musicians.

So those of you who attend the concert will be able to hear the Carnatic saxophone in a different, much higher pitch than usual. It should be interesting.

Special thanks to all the musicians for going along on this journey.

East Facing on the Radio Every Wednesday 90.1 KZSU!

2007-07-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I was just told a couple days ago that Stanford Radio 90.1 KZSU will be playing the new album "East Facing" from 6:30 to 7AM every Wednesday leading up to the release concert on August 5th. I know it is early, but morning people can benefit.

You can also check out the internet stream here. Make sure to choose kzsu 1.

There are plenty of ways to record internet streams or even wake up to one! One of my favorites is the free and elegant iTunes Alarm for mac users. You just set the time you want it to go off and choose the playlist and you're all set. Windows users can just google iTunes Alarm and get many options.

If you end up missing it, I believe the host of the show will eventually put it into his archives here.

If you really want to listen to East Facing *right now,* you can go to my webpage and launch the player or check out the featured mp3. You can also get copies online here

There are many exciting things happening in general right now, even aside from the new album release, which I will elaborate upon soon.

More soon...

East Facing CD Release and LLS Benefit Concert August 5th!

2007-07-08T02:07:00.000-07:00

I'm glad to announce the release of my third Carnatic saxophone CD: East Facing. I will definitely have another post where I will discuss the album in more detail, but for now I just want to announce this exciting release/benefit concert.

That's right, it is both a CD release, and a benefit concert for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). This is a very special event for so many people, me included, so if you will be in the Bay Area, or know anyone that will be, please spread the word and save the date! Buy advance tickets here.

Here are the details:

Organized by: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
At JCNC (Jain Temple Hall) 722 South Main Street, Milpitas, CA 95035
Sunday, August 5, 2007. 4:30 pm.

Ticket info: Go here for advance tickets/reservations.
VIP Ticket: $25 advance (includes signed copy of the new CD release, "East Facing"; $30 at the door
General Admission: $15 advance; $17 at the door;
Students (with ID)/Children: $10 advance, $12 at the door;
Children age 4 and under: Free

I will be playing with local favorites Karthik Lakshminarayanan on violin and Karthik Gopalratnam on mridungam.

Of course, copies of the new CD will be available at the concert!

Website: http://www.prasantmusic.com

Carnatic saxophone: Raga Keeravani

2007-07-06T19:15:00.001-07:00

After a long absence from posting, I hope to start actually using this blog again! Here is a somewhat old video, but new to the website. It is the last few minutes from a ragam thanam pallavi composition in raga Keeravani I played in August 2005. It was a benefit concert for the Tempe chapter of AID.

It was a memorable concert for me as I haven't played in Phoenix since then (as of writing this). Also it was the first time I played together with these great artists B.U. Ganeshprasad (violin) and Poovalur Srinivasan (mridungam). I had a great time playing with them, and we ended up doing a small tour together of the East Coast in Fall 2006.

They are both sensitive, expressive and overall amazing musicians. Sriji (as Poovalur Srinivasan is nicknamed) played a great thani avartanam, which actually touched on influences coming from other percussive traditions like Brazil, Africa, Afro-Cuban etc. It was the first time I had heard that in Carnatic concert before, and I was pleasantly surprised, especially since it was executed so naturally.

I also recorded my most recent album (subject of another post) with Ganeshprasad on violin. He has a such a warm sound and expressive feel on the violin. It really adds to the mood of the music.

If all goes well, the three of us will be doing another tour this fall. Stay tuned for more details on that.

You can download the actual file of this video at http://www.prasantmusic.com/videos.html

Discover India!

2006-11-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

If any of you will be in Phoenix, Arizona this weekend, come check out the Discover India festival on Sunday, November 19th. I will be playing material from my group vidyA with special guests Slim Golba (bass) and Jay (drums) around 4pm. There will be good food, vendors and other entertainment as well. It should be fun!

A Great Year for vidyA

2006-11-17T00:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been a long time again since my last post. This post is about vidyA. vidyA is the group I started in late 2005 that I mentioned in my last post all the way back in January. It has been a great year for us, and I am extremely excited about the coming year. As you know, vidyA has been attracting more and more listeners in the bay area and beyond through its energetic performances that combine South Indian classical music with Jazz. I just got back from a Carnatic saxophone tour of various cities in North America., while Sameer (drums) and David (bass) have been busy touring with several jazz greats. Gautam continues to inspire the bay area music scene through the Sangati Center, and of course, his violin.

Most importantly, vidyA has been busy performing as a group!

Since our first performance in January at the Red Poppy Art House, vidyA has performed to packed audiences in several bay area venues; festivals such as SFJAZZ, Artwallah (in Los Angeles) and Himalayan Fair; has forged relationships with organizations such as TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), 3rd Eye Film Festival, ASHA and companies such as Innominds Software; and provided an original soundtrack to the dance production "Lost Tales: Glimpses From 1000 Ramayanas" by NATyA.

This is all, in part, thanks to you, our enthusiastic listeners and friends, who by enjoying our music have inspired us to attempt to expand and merge traditional boundaries and more importantly, continue to create.

2007 will be a huge year for both vidyA and -- most importantly, our listeners. Many of you own our limited release live CD, and have asked when we will have a full CD. The answer is, at this point, mid 2007. We are constantly working on new material and honing the old to bring these genres together, so rest assured, it will be worth the wait. Keep checking our website for more updates. This is a great time to get involved with vidyA as well! Send us an email (we always reply), tell your friends and family, blog about it, make a podcast, have a party, make fliers -- unleash your creative self, I suppose.

Now that everything is up and running, watch this site for more posts! Here is a youtube video for fun of vidyA at Artwallah festival.

Vidya's Performs at Red Poppy Art House

2006-01-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

Come see my new group, Vidya this Friday at the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco. The show starts at 8pm.

As you may have noticed, I have been rather absent from blogging in quite a while. Many changes have come to pass in the last six months. I now live in San Francisco, and I am enjoying it so far.

Since I have moved here, I formed Vidya - a new Carnatic-Jazz ensemble. This time the group consists of:

Me - Saxophone
Gautam Tejas Ganesan - Violin
David Ewell - Bass
Sameer Gupta - Drums, Percussion

This is a great group of people and I am looking forward to doing more with them. Watch www.prasantmusic.com for an update soon with more info and downloadable mp3's of this group. Until then, check out this link.

In other news, I am releasing a double-CD album of the AID benefit concert in Phoenix with B.U. Ganeshprasad - Violin and Poovalur Srinivasan - Mridungam from earlier this year. Proceeds will go to AID. Please visit their page and donate.

That is all for now. Enjoy!

Dikshitar compositions, music and wordplay

2005-04-28T22:58:00.001-07:00

Lately I have been listening to the "Kamalamba Navavarna" Krithis (compositions) of Muthuswamy Dikshitar. If you have an interest in Carnatic (South Indian classical) music, then listening to the performance of these krithis by eminent vocalist D.K. Jayaraman is a must if you haven't done it already. There are free mp3's of these great compositions at http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma/personal/music/#k . Just scroll down to Kamalamba Navavarna Krithis and download the 'original mp3 (DKJ)' files. There are about 11 to download in various ragas.

I feel these compositions have so much depth that when it is performed, the focus of the listeners immediately shifts to the beauty of the composition rather than the talent of the person performing it. Each composition brings out the raga 'bhava' (essence) in a profound way. Every time I listen to the recording, my mood is suddenly transformed to something more positive...whether it is more contemplative, meditative or just happy. Also, the words are apparently infused with mantras which supposedly have a very strong positive effect. Maybe that explains this phenomenon.

As a saxophonist, I have been told that playing these compositions on an instrument would not do justice because the words would not be heard. I still feel that the strong effect of both the music and the words can be communicated if the performer is living and breathing it while performing it. I do plan on performing some of these compositions in public sometime. It may sound cliche, but music is supposed to be the universal language. Words can be converted to thought power, mixed with emotion and expressed musically.

Isn't the process the other way? Words are something we use to attempt to express that abstract idea we have in our minds. Sometimes there is just something you can't explain with words. The arts allow us to paint a picture, or an aural picture, of that something. This becomes a more immediate connection then. In some instances, we have a deep or powerful thought, a feeling -- an abstract idea. But by the time we figure out how to express it in words, it may lose some of its potency. When we play music, the feeling is expressed on the spot in its most powerful form. The great composers(Dikshitar, Thyagaraja, Shyama Shastri, etc etc) often composed complex songs on the spot. They too, were searching for a way to express. They were gifted in being able to articulate these high-level thoughts.

Of course, many of Dikshitars compositions were almost like diaries, describing in intricate detail, various temples and sites of interest he visited in his travels. In those cases, he was using the songs as a more concrete communication. The nine Kamalamba krithis are especially complex since Dikshitar composed them to describe the nine stages of a spiritual journey (very simply put) so that people could sing them with understanding, thus traversing the stages easier. What can we grasp from this?

The meanings of the songs must be studied in-depth and understood by the performer. Once a deep understanding is attained and the artist imbibes the meaning in the performance, the beauty and power of the composition's meaning will automatically be transferred to the listener-- whether or not it is an instrumental or vocal performance.

DKJ's recording has accomplished this, which is probably why it always has such a great effect. I have listened to a select few instrumentalists play some of the compositions and I feel it does carry a strong effect also. Dikshitar's Kamalamba Navavarna krithis are such strong compositions, that their message seems to shine through every time. Give them a good long listen, and you will know.

Succumbing to the Blog revolution

2005-04-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I admit, I did have a 'blog' on xanga, but I decided to switch to google's version. Don't ask why. I also haven't posted in my xanga site for a long time. It's a bit late now, so I can't write too much, but I hope to write down my thoughts on music, life and anything else that comes to mind. In the meantime, you can check out www.prasantmusic.com to listen to some of my music. Enjoy!