Jay Gandhi & Yacouba Sissoko

In the spontaneous and joyful music of Crossroads, Jay Gandhi and Yacouba Sissoko explore the grand traditions of the music of West Africa and India. Sissoko’s family have been musicians for 800 years, dating back to the reign of the emperor Sundiata Keita. Sissoko, one of the premier virtuosos of the kora, the African harp, has carried that lineage forward, working with musicians like Baaba Maal, Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Lauryn Hill, and Regina Carter.

Jay Gandhi is an inheritor of a royal musical tradition as well, a disciple of the prominent bansuri maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia. Working alongside jazz legends like Reggie Workman and Jeff “Tain” Watts, Jay brings new languages to the bamboo flute, captivating audiences in India, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

The two musicians are supported by the versatile rhythm section of David Ellenbogen (guitar) and Ehren Hanson (tabla). Both are known for their work in the collective Brooklyn Raga Massive.

Jay Gandhi: Bansuri

Yacouba Sissoko: Kora

David Ellenbogen: Guitar

Ehren Hanson: Tabla

The concert is presented with Brooklyn Raga Massive, an artist collective dedicated to creating cross-cultural understanding through the lens of Indian classical and raga inspired music.

About Brooklyn Raga Massive

Praised by the Wall Street Journal for “expanding the notion of what raga—the immersive, epic form of Indian music—can mean” and dubbed the “leaders of the raga renaissance” by the New Yorker, the fun-loving members of the Brooklyn Raga Massive collective have made huge waves for “preserving the past while blurring genres in an inventive spirit” (New York Times). Brooklyn Raga Massive is dedicated to education, engaging in workshops, in-school programs, private teaching, and various community activities to share their love for music.