CARNATIC SAXOPHONE

Prasant has been traveling the world performing solo concerts on saxophone in the traditional South Indian Carnatic classical style since 1998. These concerts usually include a violin for melodic support and a mridangam for percussion. The CD releases Swara Sudha, Duality, East Facing, Kiravani: A Live Experience and Naada Samyama demonstrate this style of music. For more info on Prasant’s career, see the about section.

VIDYA

VidyA naturally expresses the essence of Carnatic music and jazz through a unified trio of tenor saxophone, acoustic bass and drums. VidyA has been featured at venues such as SFJazz, de Young Museum, San Jose Jazz, Yoshi’s and more. Visit the press page to read news articles about VidyA.

VidyA’s debut CD released in 2008 features 11 compositions from the extremely successful, intensely energetic live repertoire honed over two years of performing at local venues such as the Red Poppy Art House. Listen to the album here.

This amazing group was founded in fall 2005 with David Ewell on Bass and Sameer Gupta on drums. Guests have included Eric Vogler and Devin Hoff on Bass as well as Vijay Anderson, Hamir Atwal, Jaz Sawyer, and Howard Wiley on drums. To book a live performance, visit the contact page.

RAGAS ON SOLO SAXOPHONE FOR MEDITATION AND HEALING

Meditations: Ragas on Saxophone (previously known as the popular iTunes podcast Healing Ragas) is a freely available music series with new tracks added periodically. Launched in 2011, the initial inspiration of this project was to present music that would combine healing techniques Prasant studied in India with a calming music presentation to promote healing and relaxation in listeners. Now, Prasant encourages listeners to also use the tracks to assist during self inquiry meditation or anytime of the day for Self Realization, enlightenment and liberation. It is essentially a Naada Yoga and beyond.

Live performances are given in short sessions where listeners are encouraged to relax into pure being and go into the source of sound. Check the blog, concerts page or contact Prasant to find out when and where these sessions will take place.

The music consists of Indian classical ragas on saxophone with no accompaniment, which allows for easy noticing of both sound and silence. You can download this music in high quality for free. If you feel compelled, you can support this music here. Check the blog and/or the music page for new track updates.

LECTURES/MASTER CLASSES

Prasant regularly gives lecture demonstrations and informal question/answer sessions at universities around the world. Due to his unique position as a Carnatic saxophonist, Prasant has been able to present many aspects of the music in a way that is easy to understand in addition to shedding light on the use of the saxophone in South Indian Classical music. He has lectured at UC Berkeley, UCSF, University of Chicago, George Mason University, Oklahoma University, University of Iowa and UNC Chapel Hill to name a few. If you have a questions about the music or would like to book a lecture, feel free to contact Prasant.

ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS / COLLABORATIONS

In addition to original compositions for his group VidyA and Carnatic concerts, Prasant has composed original music for a variety of applications. His compositions have been featured in several dance dramas as well as video content. In the field of dance, he has collaborated with NATyA dance company, Vidhya Subramaniam, Rasika Kumar, Charlotte Moraga and Rina Mehta among others.

In 2013, Prasant’s groundbreaking Indian-Chinese classical music trio, Bodhidharma Ensemble, premiered at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC) as the result of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and a successful Kickstarter fund. BE featured Prasant on saxophone, master Guqin artist Wang Fei, Jim Santi Owen on tabla and in a separate concert at the Berkeley Redwood Grove, Sankar Narayanan on mridangam.

For more info, see the about section.