Pandit Jasraj: Live in Concert in Houston
Last Updated: June 13, 2008

Pandit Jasraj is to perform in Houston on June 21, 2008 at the Wortham Center

HOUSTON: Pandit Jasraj, the doyen of Indian classical music, will perform live in concert in Houston Saturday, June 21 at 8 pm at the Wortham Center under the auspices of the Indo American Association.

Pandit Jasraj will be accompanied by Pandit Suman Ghosh and Tripti Mukherjee as vocalists, Samir Chaterrjee on the tabla and Hemant Bhavsar on side rhythm. For additional information or tickets, call (281) 648 0422 or visit www.iaahouston.com
Pandit Jasraj is one of India’s premier classical vocalists and the foremost exponent of Mewati Gharana.

Pandit Jasraj was born in 1930 to a musical family. At the age of six Pandit Jasraj was mesmerized by the soulful voice of the famous ghazal singer Begum Akhtar. He was initiated into vocal music by his father Pandit Motiramji. However, after the sudden demise of his father, Pandit Jasraj opted for the tabla under the training of Pandit Pratapnarayan, as an additional means of livelihood in order to lighten the burden of family responsibilities.

But, at the age of fourteen as a rebellion against the humiliating treatment given to accompanying artists, young Jasraj vowed never to be an accompanist, and decided to sing. He took his vocal training under the guidance of his elder brother Pandit Muniram and Maharaja Jaywant Singhji Waghela.

Pandit Jasraj is blessed with a rich, soulful and sonorous voice which traverses effortlessly over all three and a half octaves. The highlight of Pandit Jasraj’s vocalizing is his perfect diction, clarity in sur and extreme tunefulness. Pandit Jasraj’s greatest contribution to Indian music is his conception of an unique and novel jugalbandhi based on the ancient system of moorchanas, between a male and a female vocalist, each singing in their respective scales and different ragas at the same time.

Pandit Jasraj is the recipient of several honors and awards. These include Padma Bhushan, Surer Guru , Sangeet Martand , Sangeet Kala Ratna, Sangeet Natak Academy Award , Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar , and Dinanath Mangeshkar Award.