Saxophone brothers, Jonathan and Andrew Kay, alongside Bass Veena creator, Justin Gray, created Monsoon Music (monsoon-music.com) to express and share their love for classical Indian music and Indo-Jazz. They have been traveling to India since 2006 and are among the first to traditionally learn to express the art of North Indian raga music on their western instruments.
1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?
Since living with our North Indian raga music Guru, Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya, in Kolkata for the past four years we have experienced not only what it means to play music, but also to “live” music. As we have been learning to authentically express the subtle nuances and deep spirituality of the ragas of North India, we have also adopted the traditional lifestyle of a raga musician which is life-long journey into the Yoga of music. Waking at sunrise and sitting on the floor with the tanpura (the drone instrument) learning from our Guruji for 10 to 12 hours a day has become our routine in order to internalize the deepest aspects of this vast music. To unite with the transcendental power of the ragas and create their penetrating and tangible moods, you must be one with the raga; you must learn to merge with the spirit of the ragas.
During our travels around India, we have played music at the snow peaks of the Himalayas and all the way to the ancient Hindu temples of South. From performing in the oldest city in the world to one of today’s most prestigious music conferences in Kolkata, our experiences over the past six years have challenged us to grow as musicians and artists far beyond our expectations, but more importantly have started the life-long journey of discovering ourselves; the essence of what our music is trying to ultimately express (Friday, May 24).
2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member between now and September 7?
As the heavy monsoon clouds fill the dark sky, we listen to our Guruji sing Mian Ki Malhar, a monsoon raga, evoking the booming thunder and flashing lightning.
3. How about as a music maker/player?
As the golden sun emerges on the horizon, its light unveiling the new day, the meditative and sublime sounds of the morning Raga Bhairav resound from the bells of our saxophones and strings of the bass, as our performance concludes the all-night music festival in the Indian countryside.
4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?
Being among the first students of raga music to receive traditional training to play the ragas of North India on our western instruments, we will return home to Canada to record our first traditional raga music album.
We also are recording our Indo-Jazz ensemble, Monsoon, a project that is the culmination of the past eight years of experience in the realm of creating original music inspired by Indian classical music and creative Western music.
