Sanjay Mishra (musician)

Sanjay Mishra
Background information
Born Calcutta, India
Genres jam, fusion, classical, contemporary chamber music
Occupation(s) musician
Instruments guitar
Years active 1985–present
Labels Akar Music, City Hall Records

Sanjay Mishra is an American guitarist and composer born in India and subsequently becoming a citizen of the United States who began performing after completing his studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Sanjay plays with an ecelecticism well suited to his multicultural background combining both Eastern and Western influences. He has been quoted saying, "I come from a tradition that has a lot of improvisation. Sometimes Western classical music can seem a little rigid, I had to find some middle ground."[1] Sanjay plays a nylon string MIDI classical electric guitar. He uses various looping devices and MIDI instruments to create a lush sound.

Education

Graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Johns Hopkins University in 1987

Early career

Sanjay first came to public acclaim for his album Blue Incantation with guitarist Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead. It is one of Mr. Garcia's rare collaborations in his later years and represents some of his last works. Tributes to Mr. Garcia's work occur in Sanjay's concerts.[2]

Present and future

His latest album Chateau Benares (October 2006) with guest appearances by DJ Logic and Keller Williams, among others, was received with rave reviews on National Public Radio and The Washington Post.

He has also composed music for films. His score for the French film Port Djema was presented The Lifetime Vision Award at the Hamptons Film Festival in New York and described as "hauntingly beautiful".[3] The film won The Golden Bear at The Berlin Film Festival in 1996.

Mr. Mishra primarily records on Akar Music, distributed by City Hall Records in San Rafael, CA. His music has also been released on PolyGram, Philips, EMI Records, Mercury, Ryko, Putumayo, Melodia and other labels. He is author of Guitar Atlas: India, published by Alfred enhanced by Sanjay's "intimate knowledge of the relationship between Indian music and the guitar".[4]

He is currently Head of the Recording Technology Program at Northern Virginia Community College in the Washington D.C. area.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Guest appearances

Publishing

References

  1. ↑ I had to find some middle ground, Washington Post, by Mark Jenkins, May 5, 1995.
  2. ↑ From Sanjay Mishra, A World of Guitar, The Washington Post, by L. Peat O'Neil, June 8, 1998.
  3. ↑ Port Djema Soundtrack, Hauntingly beautiful, by David Stratton, Variety, March 2, 1997.
  4. ↑ intimate knowledge of the relationship between Indian music and the guitar, by Andrea Seabrook, National Public Radio, November 19, 2006
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