RAGASPHERE by AMEYA

AMEYA is a Sanskrit word meaning “a positive energy which has no boundaries.” The music of AMEYA is a mix of Indian classical and folk music with Western rock and roll, jazz, and pop. As the brainchild of Subhajyoti Guha and Jayadevan Nair, AMEYA presents music beyond borders and breaking barriers of genres and ethnic backgrounds. Indian Ragas are blended with Western chord structures that employ complex rhythmic grooves as well as simple, uplifting melodies.

Jayadevan Nair (electric violin)

Subhajyoti Guha (tabla and percussion)

Steve Evans (keyboard and horn)

Adam Duncan (electric guitar)

Presented with Harrice Miller Entertainment and community partner Sunny Thakkar.

About the Performers

Subhajyoti Guha was introduced to tabla at a young age by his father Dr. S. R. Guha and in 1983 started training under tabla maestro Pt. Sankha Chatterjee and has been under his tutelage since then. Subhajyoti received the President’s award in 1989 and performs regularly in major concerts in India, the United States, Canada, and Europe. Besides his solo performances, over the last 10 years he has accompanied many musical stalwarts, including Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta, Pt. Manilal Nag, Ud. Ashish Khan, Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Ud. Shahid Parvez, Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt, Pt. Ronu Majumder, Pt. Nayan Ghosh, Vidushi Purnima Chaudhuri, and Vidushi Kala Ramnath. Apart from classical music, Subhajyoti has also extended his horizons into the fusion and Indo-jazz music scene and performs nationally and internationally with musicians from other genres and with his band AMEYA based out of Toronto. Subhajyoti is a successful teacher and trains students in Kolkata, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Baton Rouge. Academically he obtained a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Jadavpur University.

The Indian-born Canadian violinist Jayadevan Nair hails from a family of artists; his grandfather Abhayadev is a well-known name in the Malayalam film and literary worlds. Jayadevan started learning violin at a young age under Kalaksethram Madhu and Nedumangadu Sivanandan. He is extremely fortunate to continue his studies and get guidance from the legendary singer Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna.

By the time he had become a post-graduate in his academic pursuits, Jayadevan had travelled all over the world accompanying numerous renowned artists including Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Dr. K.J. Yesudas, T.M. Krishna, Aruna Sairam, P. Unnikrishnan, Sikkil Gurucharan, Sandeep Narayanan, and others.
The accompanist on his first CD was the legendary mridangam maestro Sri. Thiruvarur Bakthavalsalam. His last album, Entwined, was released by Balamuralikrishna in Toronto in 2013. His upcoming album was composed and directed by the famous musician Srivalsan J. Menon and gives predominance to the violin. Jayadevan had the rare privilege of being judged as a top artist among talented youngsters and received the award from Mahatma Gandhi University in 1991.