Zakir Hussain, Kala Ramnath, and Jayanthi Kumaresh will come together for the first time as a trio for the 2022 Triveni tour. They will make a stop at The Egg in Albany on Sunday, April 10 at 3pm, as part of The Egg’s Rhythm International series.
These leading Indian classical exponents of their respective instruments – tabla, violin and Saraswati veena – are each also renowned as a virtuoso collaborator, pathbreaker and educator, advancing the art of their particular instruments to remarkable levels in the context of their classical traditions and beyond.
The musicians have been honored in India and abroad with numerous awards, and each has successfully toured all over the world with their own acclaimed solo projects.
The name Triveni derives from the mythical site of the union of three sacred rivers in India, and the name aptly represents the confluence of the varied musicalities which the three maestros bring to this collaboration. A hallmark of Zakir Hussain’s iconic career has been his groundbreaking work at the forefront of brilliant musical dialogues between Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian) music.
With Kala Ramnath, an innovative representative of North Indian raga tradition, Jayanthi Kumaresh, the leading exponent of the ancient South Indian veena, and Zakir Hussain seamlessly stitching North and South Indian rhythm traditions to provide a bridge for veena and violin to meet, Triveni promises to be a fluent, joyous and entirely original musical conversation, a sonic experience of the highest order.
Zakir Hussain
The pre-eminent classical tabla virtuoso of our time, Zakir Hussain is appreciated as one of the world’s most esteemed and influential musicians, one whose mastery of his percussion instrument has taken it to a new level transcending cultures and national borders. Along with his legendary father and teacher, Ustad Allarakha, he has elevated the status of the tabla both in India and around the world.
He is the recipient of countless awards, including two Grammys, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, and Officier in France’s Order of Arts and Letters. Voted “Best Percussionist” by both the Downbeat Critics’ Poll and Modern Drummer’s Reader’s Poll over several years, Zakir was honored with SFJazz’s Lifetime Achievement Award at their 2017 Gala for his “unparalleled contribution to the world of music.”
Kala Ramnath
Maestro Kala Ramnath with her “Singing Violin” stands among the world’s finest, most inspirational instrumentalists. Most significantly in an Indian context, in May 2017, she was awarded the illustrious Sangeet Natak Academy Puraskar for her contributions to the violin in Hindustani Classical Music.
Born into a dynasty of prodigious musical talent, one which has given Indian music such violin legends as her paternal uncle Professor T. N. Krishnan and paternal aunt Dr. N. Rajam, Kala’s violinistic vision began manifesting early. Recognizing her innate talent, her astute grandfather, Vidwan A. Narayan Iyer, took her under his tutelage.
Acknowledged as a virtuoso of staggering proportions, Kala has performed at the most prestigious music festivals in India. She has appeared on world stages including the Sydney Opera House, Paris’s Théâtre de la Ville, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, Singapore’s Esplanade, New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Rudolstadt Festival in Germany, and the Edinburgh Music Festival in Scotland.
Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh
With her mesmerizing glides, the timing and purity of her notes, and her soulful playing, Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh has been captivating audiences around the world for thirty years and is one of the leading Veena (roughly, the Indian lute) artistes today.
Apart from several prestigious venues and festivals in India, Jayanthi has performed at many international festivals, including the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Darbar Festival, the Queensland Music Festival, the Darwin Music Festival, and the Adelaide Music Festival, and at prestigious venues such as the United Nations in New York, the Palladium, Indiana, the Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, and the Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle.
Blending the traditional and the innovative in her music in terms of content, technique, virtuosity, and expression, Jayanthi seeks to express the true voice of the Veena, which transcends the boundaries of language and region.
Tickets for The Egg performance of Triveni are available here.
Triveni Tour Dates
| 3/24/2022 | Mount Baker | Bellingham, WA |
| 3/26/2022 | Seattle Theatre Group | Seattle, WA |
| 3/27/2022 | Kalakendra | Portland, OR |
| 3/29/2022 | Museum of Instruments | Phoenix, AZ |
| 3/31/2022 | BYU | Provo, UT |
| 4/2/2022 | University Wyoming | Laramie, WY |
| 4/5/2022 | Walton Arts Center | Fayetteville, AR |
| 4/7/2022 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA |
| 4/8/2022 | McCarter Theatre | Princeton, NJ |
| 4/9/2022 | NJPAC | Newark, NJ |
| 4/10/2022 | The Egg | Albany, NY |
| 4/12/2022 | Pittsburgh Cultural Arts | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 4/14/2022 | Sixth&i | Washington, DC |
| 4/17/2022 | Global Arts Live | Somerville, MA |
| 4/19/2022 | Davidson Theatre | Columbus, OH |
| 4/20/2022 | Cleveland Museum of Art | Cleveland, OH |
| 4/23/2022 | Indian Classical Music Circle | Austin, TX |
| 4/24/2022 | Wortham Center | Houston TX |
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