RAJAS
Founded in 2013 and taking on various configurations over the years, RAJAS brings together stellar improvisers at the confluence of multiple musical approaches. "Rajas" is a Sanskrit word for the human quality that compels us toward action, creation, and change.
Described as “unlike any other on the scene” (New York Times), and having “wedded beauty by courting chaos, with the methods of loose-knit latter-day jazz at the service of a recognizably South-Asian melody and pulse” (Financial Times), the ensemble explores expansive resonances among South Asian music, jazz and creative music, and other improvisational forms.
While primarily working with Rajna's original compositions as points of departure, the music is born from a collaborative process centering mutuality and multiplicity. The ensemble's debut album, Of Agency and Abstraction (Biophilia Records, 2019), received much critical acclaim, and their newest album, Apertures, is out now (Ropeadope, 2023).
RAJAS has performed in prominent New York venues such as the Jazz Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center Atrium, and Roulette Intermedium.
Described as “unlike any other on the scene” (New York Times), and having “wedded beauty by courting chaos, with the methods of loose-knit latter-day jazz at the service of a recognizably South-Asian melody and pulse” (Financial Times), the ensemble explores expansive resonances among South Asian music, jazz and creative music, and other improvisational forms.
While primarily working with Rajna's original compositions as points of departure, the music is born from a collaborative process centering mutuality and multiplicity. The ensemble's debut album, Of Agency and Abstraction (Biophilia Records, 2019), received much critical acclaim, and their newest album, Apertures, is out now (Ropeadope, 2023).
RAJAS has performed in prominent New York venues such as the Jazz Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center Atrium, and Roulette Intermedium.
APERTURES (2023)
RAJAS at The Bunker Studio, January 2021. L to R, top to bottom: Rajna Swaminathan, Ganavya Doraiswamy, Anna Webber, Adam O'Farrill, Utsav Lal, Miles Okazaki, Stephan Crump.
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OF AGENCY AND ABSTRACTION (2019)
RAJAS at The Samurai Hotel Recording Studio, December 2017.
L to R: Amir ElSaffar, Anjna Swaminathan, Stephan Crump, Rajna Swaminathan, María Grand, Miles Okazaki, Ganavya Doraiswamy.
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