NATRAJ

Bio:

Natraj seamlessly melds the classical music of India, traditional music from West Africa, and contemporary jazz to create its own unique and infectious style. Hard-driving African grooves and graceful Indian ragas meet in the band’s expansive jazz conception. Selected as Boston’s Best Jazz Band by the Improper Bostonian and nominated Best World Music Act in the Boston Music Awards, Natraj captivates and excites audiences with its exotic textures, accessible melodies, and rhythmic energy.

Natraj has delighted listeners throughout the US, Canada, India, and West Africa since 1987. Appearances include India’s JazzYatra and Prayojana International Music Festival; Ghana’s PANAFEST; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; the Guelph Jazz Festival, Guelph, Canada; and The Boston Globe Jazz and Blues Festival. Arts International, the New England Foundation for the Arts, and Meet the Composer have awarded repeated grant support for Natraj's tours.

Natraj has performed with stalwarts of Indian classical music including Kadri Gopalnath, Chitravina N. Ravikiran, Trichy Sankaran, Ronu Majumdar, and Shashak. In addition, Natraj regularly performs with many other artists including Kathak dancer Gretchen Hayden, the West African folkloric Agbekor Society led by David Locke, South Indian guitarist Prasanna, bamboo-flute maestros V. K. Raman and Steve Gorn, violin master Tara Anand, tabla wizard Aditya Kalyanpur, Bharat Natyam dancer and NEA Choreography Fellow Jothi Raghavan, and Senegalese master drummer Lamine Touré.

Numerous radio and TV appearances include featured segments on the USA nationally syndicated program, The World (PRI/BBC/WGBH-FM); Doordarshan (Indian National TV); Maine Things Considered (Maine Public Radio, USA); South Asian Newsweek (CFMT-TV, Toronto); Radio Mid-Day (Mumbai, India); Here and Now (WBUR-FM, Boston); and It's All About Arts (BNN TV9, Boston).

Natraj generally performs its signature Indo-Afro-jazz style as a quintet. Other configurations, including solo, duo, trio, and quartet, are also available, depending on presenter’s needs, venue size, and budget. Indian classical music is available. In addition to concert, festival, and club appearances, Natraj performs at functions, weddings, and corporate events. This ensemble also offers educational workshops and residencies on Indian classical music, West African music, composition, and arranging. Please contact us for more information.

website: http://www.natrajmusic.com
electronic press kit: http://www.sonicbids.com/Natraj
Indian classical programs: http://www.gopromusic.com/detail.php?siteid=3120

Member Biographies:

Saxophonist and composer Phil Scarff “glides between structured Indian melodic development and characteristic jazz phrasing, bringing the two improvisational styles together with surprising ease... a lively, emotive soloist,” declares The Boston Phoenix. Phil integrates contemporary jazz with classical music of India and traditional music from West Africa. In addition to Natraj, Phil performs and records with creative jazz groups including the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Darrell Katz and the Jazz Composers Alliance, Sandy Prager, and Filmprov.

“Mat Maneri sounds like no one. His technique could be described as antivirtuosic and it is all the stronger and more original for it,” attests Cadence Magazine. ECM recording artist and violist Mat Maneri has delved deeply into microtonal music. Mat has performed with jazz and avant-garde greats Cecil Taylor, Joe Maneri, Cecil McBee, Matthew Shipp, The String Trio of New York, Bob Moses, Joe Morris, and Ed Schuller. Mat is featured on releases for ECM, Hatology, and Leo Lab, and has toured the US, Canada, and Europe. His appearance with Paul Bley was “the highlight of the festival” (Montreal Gazette) in the Montreal Jazz Festival. Mat has performed in Germany’s Berlin Jazz Days, the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, the American Festival of Microtonal Music, and the Library of Congress.

“Mike Rivard, one of the most versatile and sought after bassists in Boston, plays upright with a fat, warm solidity that evokes Mingus... swings and grooves... nimbly athletic,” attests the Boston Phoenix. Mike is perhaps the only bassist to share the stage with both Larry "Wild Man” Fischer and Cab Calloway. He has recorded and/or performed with Aimee Mann, Jonatha Brooke, Paula Cole, John Medeski, Bob Moses, Patty Larkin, Mighty Sam McClain, Mark Sandman’s Hypnosonics, and Morphine. He leads Club d’Elf, named “Best Cutting Edge Band” by Boston Magazine.

“Tabla demands sure-fingered mastery of polyrhythms and flawless touch, and Leake fits the bill with energy and style,” acclaims The Boston Phoenix. Multipercussionist Jerry Leake performs with Club d’Elf, Agbekor Society, and the New England Percussion Trio, and tabla with Indian classical artists including sarod master Ali Akbar Khan, Sharafat Ali Khan, Peter Row, and George Ruckert. He is featured on releases with Club d’Elf, Ken Schaphorst, and Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra. Jerry is on the faculties of the New England Conservatory of Music and Tufts University.

“Bertram Lehmann provided ample drums… powerfully vital eruptions with virtuously sparkling runs... explosive drum-set fireworks.” - Lippstaedter Tagesblatt, Germany.
Bertram’s supple and fluid drumming has made him highly sought after in jazz, Latin, and world-music idioms. He has performed with luminaries such as Paquito D’Rivera, Romero Lubambo, Danilo Perez, Claudio Roditi, Kenny Werner, and The Caribbean Jazz Project. He is on the faculties of Berklee College of Music and Phillips Academy (Andover, MA).

Natraj Discography:

Song of the Swan
Deccan Dance
Meet Me Anywhere
The Goat Also Gallops

Member Since:

February 15, 2009

Members:

Phil Scarff - soprano saxophone
Mat Maneri - viola
Mike Rivard - bass
Jerry Leake - tabla, multipercussion
Bertram Lehmann - drum set, percussion

NATRAJ continues to work extensively with a variety of featured guest artists, including Prasanna (guitar), Rohan Gregory (violin), Steve Gorn (bamboo flute), Lamine Toure (Senegalese percussion), Dave Fiuczynski (guitar), Agbekor Drum and Dance Society (West-African percussion), K.V.S Vinay (Indian classical violin).

Influences:

Indian classical music; West African music; jazz in all its diversity, including post-bop and avant-garde; and microtonal practices.

Sounds Like:

No one we have heard ..... unless they combine classical Indian and traditional West-African genres with that free-wheeling improvisational conception and jazz-influenced sensibility the way NATRAJ does!

Record Label:

Galloping Goat