JASS Quartet brings blend of Indian classical and jazz music to Syracuse

The walls of Setnor Auditorium in Crouse College have often played witness to the ringing notes and the drumming sounds of art coming to life. This weekend, though, the hall will open its doors to something quite different: a lilting blend of Indian classical music, folk and jazz.

One of the founders of this interesting fusion is Aditya Prakash, who is bringing his group, JASS Quartet, to SU Sunday Sept. 18.

Prakash said his childhood years in Los Angeles were spent being just as playful as the next kid, but a curious talent manifested itself by age six: he could identify “ragas,” or patterns of notes having particular intervals, rhythms and embellishments, typically found in Indian music. His musically-fueled household took notice, and soon after, Prakash immersed himself deep in traditional Indian music.

“Since 1999, I never knew what Christmas in the U.S. or New Year’s in the U.S. meant; I was always in India, training,” Prakash said.

The dedication of his parents to the arts and his own evolving fascination with music began to consume his summers, and it soon paid off.

Courtesy of Aditya Prakesh

At 16, he had his first encounter with Pandit Ravi Shankar, world-famous Indian musician and sitar maestro who first introduced the sound of the sitar to the Western music world, notably through Beatles member George Harrison’s profound interest in Eastern culture in the 1960s.

What Prakash thought would be a half-hour demonstration at Pandit Ravi Shankar’s house turned into a two-hour concert. Soon after, he got a call from the maestro himself.

“He asked me if I could join him for a tour of the U.S. I was able to tour with Panditji, taking me to Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, all the major venues,” Prakash said. “And it was that period of being with Pandit Ravi Shankar, the period where I realized this is what I want to be doing, I want to be a professional musician. I want to be creating music.”

Prakash pursued a musicology degree at UCLA and explored other styles: Chinese, Arabic, North Indian, and finally, jazz. His roommates in college were also musicians, so they would often get their instruments and compositions out and have jam sessions.

Prakash and his roommates decided they had touched on something unique and original, and they began to play together as Aditya Prakash Ensemble, a project consisting of about 10 people.

JASS Quartet, however, had yet to be born. Blossoming out of his desire to create a more intimate sound with fewer instruments, JASS Quartet is a combination of Indian classical and folk styles coming together with jazz harmony, Prakash said.

JASS comes from the names of the members: Jonah Levine (J) on the piano and trombone, Aditya Prakash (A) on the vocals, Shiva Ramamurthy (S) on violin and vocals, and Miles Shrewsberry (S) on percussion.

“It’s mostly about improvising, and bringing out the beauty of the traditional, but in a modern way. We still keep all of the rules and the traditions of the ragas and the thalas,” Prakash said, “We just open up a different face by adding different instrumentation and harmonies. It creates a new area to work with within the classical.”

JASS Quartet at Syracuse will be presented by the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth. The society itself has a history that goes back to 1977, when Professor Kiran Seth at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi began inviting artists to campus so students could appreciate classical music as a group.

It now has chapters across the world, and 10 chapters across the northeast part of New York.

The Syracuse chapter is led by Sid Nadendla, a Ph.D. candidate in the chemical and electrical engineering department and Kiran Bhimani, a graduate student double majoring in aerospace and mechanical engineering and engineering management.

Nandendla has been working with Arun Subramanian on the project for four years, and they recognize the great amount of support they’ve received from friends, faculty and even people outside the SU community.

And address it they did, with 300 people turning out at their very first North Indian, Benaras-style concert.

Indian diversity and inclusion is the overarching theme of the Indian music society, and Kiran Bhimani, the graduate president of the chapter, can attest to this. Bhimani joined the society in 2011, her passionate love music already growing into a deep fascination with Indian classical music. According to Bhimani, the society does not discriminate: musical history is not a must. Passion, interest, and an open ear are sufficient.

With the Indian music society and JASS Quartet, the first musical blend of its kind here on campus, falling into rhythm, Setnor Auditorium is sure to be punctuated with tones and reverberations of Indian culture Sunday night.