Thursday 17th August 2-2.50pm
Name: Zhenya Strigalev, Raviraj Singh and Cheslav Singh (South Asian Inspired Music)
An in-person concert and free admission
Instrument: Saxophone, Esrāj, Piano/Organ
Programme:
Inspired by a traditional composition from Gurbani Sangita
Biography:
Zhenya Strigalev (saxophones):
Since graduating from London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music, where he was invited on the full scholarship, Zhenya has cut a dynamic path between the London and New York jazz scenes. He’s worked with some of today’s most forward thinking musicians (including Eric Harland, Ambrose Akinmusire, Tim Lefebvre, Chris "Daddy" Dave, Alex Sipiagin, William Parker, Aaron Parks, Joseph "Foley" McCreary from Miles Davis fame, Larry Grenadier) and has appeared at many prestigious jazz festivals and concert venues, performing extensively in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic, Austria, Britain, Switzerland, Chile, Argentina, Peru...He has recorded 4 albums with his groups Smiling Organizm and Never Group and his music is regularly played on BBC radio as well as national radio stations in Austria, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Australia, France. You can also see his concerts around the world on the French music TV station, Mezzo Live HD. He enjoys the challenge of shining a light on the undiscovered, and describes the desired on-the-edge thrill that unfolds: “The whole point of what I do is that I need to surprise myself". Hi latest project is JZ Replacement and their latest album "Disrespectful" came out on St Petersburg label, Rainy Days in 2020.
"A maverick at the heart of modern jazz."
★★★★ The Telegraph
"This could be the kind of jazz album that has something for everyone... Universally appealing."
★★★★½ DownBeat Magazine
Raviraj Singh (esrāj)
Raviraj is a student and practitioner of various Hindūstānī Classical styles. He has been studying Khyāl, Dhrupad and Gurbānī Sangīta - one of the oldest surviving classical styles - for over a decade.
His musical training started under the guidance of Professor Parshotam Singh and Professor Paramjeet Singh based in Toronto, Canada. He has had the great fortune of studying in the Gurbānī Sangīta tradition under Bhaī Baldīp Singh, the leading exponent in the genre today. He is an adept vocalist and instrumentalist playing the Dilrubā and the Esrāj. His interests lie in the research and preservation of the Gurbānī Sangīta tradition.
He is currently working as an optometrist in Cambridgeshire but, remains active in his pursuit to preserve these traditional forms of music.
Cheslav Singh (piano/organ)
Cheslav Singh is a Canadian pianist based in London with international performance and pedagogical experience. He has performed internationally at renowned venues (Rome, London, New York, Naples, Paris, Toronto), on radio (RAI 3) and television in many different contexts, playing everything from Beethoven to free jazz. He has been recognized as being able to 'construct solid geometric sonorities, very well planned...' and his playing is said to be '...engaging and meditative...' (Massimiliano Cerito, June 2022).
Since 2011, he has been actively involved in contemporary classical music, having co-founded the audiovisual group a=b=x=y. He has appeared as a composer, composing solo pieces, to pieces for a full symphony orchestra. He is also the co-founder of Our 'PL'ace Foundation, through which, among other activities, he co-curates an annual International Audiovisual Festival in Poland.
He remains active in searching for extended playing techniques on the border between acoustic and electronic music, plays the organ, has a keen interest in tuning systems, and is an active student and researcher of Gurbāṇī Saṅgīta, the oldest surviving tradition of Indian Classical Music, having had the immense fortune of being able to work with and for its primary exponent (Bhai Baldeep Singh) since 2013.
He currently teaches piano, music appreciation and a unique authored course on Gurbāṇī Saṅgīta at the London Performing Academy of Music (LPMAM: the Classical Music Academy of the 21st Century).