CURATION
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from this page:
by Matrix
Network Node
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Name:
Sunny Jain
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City/Place:
Brooklyn, NY
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Country:
United States
Current News
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Upcoming Shows
“One of the leading figures in North America’s burgeoning Asian music scene. A global musical alchemist and cultural agent provocateur.”
— SONGLINES MAGAZINE (UK)
“The indefatigable drummer and dhol player Sunny Jain is an unrepentant maximalist-were he a visual artist, one imagines bright-hued paints splattered across his canvas, his floor, and perhaps his ceiling. Think of a genre, and it’s probably somewhere in his compositions, yet the musician’s hullabaloo stands on considered conceptual ground. ”
— THE NEW YORKER
“Creatively and ideologically, this is a perfect storm for Jain. Even in his already formidable body of work, “Wild Wild East” stands out as an album that not only deserves to be heard, but needs to be listened to. An understanding of the stories he tells here with such musical brilliance is liable to change hearts and minds for the better. ”
— POP MATTERS
“Many of these composition are intellectually thrilling to unravel. In “Wild Wild East,” shimmering walls of sound feel like floating face-down in a pool and watching light patterns dance on the floor.”
— PITCHFORK
Life
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Bio:
Sunny Jain's diverse and dynamic career serves as a tribute to cultural diversity, rooted in deep traditions that radiate outward, influencing and being influenced by the cultures it encounters. Whether captivating audiences with his dynamic dhol mastery, providing a rhythmic foundation for a contemporary jazz ensemble, navigating the evolving landscape of the modern music industry, or crafting innovative compositions, Jain embodies the inclusive spirit of globalized art.
During the pandemic, Jain engaged in collaborative efforts with artists worldwide, resulting in the transcultural project "Phoenix Rise," released on May 21, 2020. This project featured over 50 artists, including Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Michael League, Adrian Quesada, Endea Owens, and Joe Russo. The accompanying 72-page physical book seamlessly combines music, art, photography, and planet-based recipes, all dedicated to social justice. Jain, serving as executive producer and music producer, collaborated with the Center for Constitutional Rights to support their advocacy work.
A 2021 recipient of the MAP Fund, Jain is actively developing his inaugural musical theater work, "Love Force." His album "Wild Wild East," released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on February 21, 2020, received acclaim for its fusion of Western and Bollywood influences, described as a blend of a Western score, a Bollywood score, and a touch of free jazz.
Hailed as the "Hendrix of dhol," Jain seamlessly blends the modern and traditional, the personal and communal, and the inventive and festive. Red Baraat, the vibrant fusion of bhangra, hip-hop, jazz, and rock, founded by Jain in 2008, has been lauded by NPR as "the best party band in years." What started as a wedding day party band quickly evolved into a sensation, gracing stages from the White House to the London Paralympic Games.
Jain's journey from banging his head to Van Halen and Rush in Rochester, New York, to studying jazz and collaborating with artists like Norah Jones, reflects his pioneering approach in melding jazz and South Asian music. Through projects like Taboo, he addresses social justice issues within the South Asian community, using ancient love poems to tackle contemporary problems.
As the founder of Jainsounds, Jain satisfies the need for live entertainment that respects South Asian traditions within a diverse culture. From the Jina Brass Band to the Bollywood Jazz Ensemble, Jainsounds offers a range of musical experiences.
Jain's global influences and collaborations extend beyond music, as he has shared his experiences through speaking engagements at the White House AAPI conference, Harvard University, and more. His commitment to connecting with his roots led to the creation of Jainsounds, fostering the rich hybridity of evolving cultures.
The communal nature of Jain's music is evident not only in creating an energetic atmosphere for audiences but also in his collaborations with artists from various genres. From touring with Sufi rock band Junoon to working with rapper Himanshu Suri and pianist Vijay Iyer, Jain's musical journey reflects a commitment to cross-pollinating traditions in the 21st century.
The Festival of Colors tour has become a Red Baraat highlight, mirroring the Hindu holiday of Holi with its vibrant exchange of colors. In these celebratory events, Jain curates a diverse array of artists, reflecting the multitude of influences that color his own career—a kaleidoscope of bold colors forming a breathtaking panorama.
Clips (more may be added)
The Integrated Global Creative Economy
Wolfram Mathematics
From Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, the unprecedented integration of the creative economy. Creators planet-wide positioned within reach of each other and the entire world by means of technology + small-world theory (see Wolfram above). Bahia was final port-of-call for more enslaved human beings than any other place on earth throughout all of human history. It was refuge for Sephardim fleeing the Inquisition. It is Indigenous both apart and subsumed into a sociocultural matrix which is all of these: a small-world matrix. Neural structures for human memory are small-world. This technological matrix is small-world...
In small worlds great things are possible.
Alicia Svigals
"Thanks, this is a brilliant idea!!"
—Alicia Svigals (NEW YORK CITY): Apotheosis of klezmer violinists
"I'm truly thankful ... Sohlangana ngokuzayo :)"
—Nduduzo Makhathini (JOHANNESBURG): piano, Blue Note recording artist
"Dear Sparrow: I am thrilled to receive your email! Thank you for including me in this wonderful matrix."
—Susan Rogers (BOSTON): Director of the Berklee Music Perception and Cognition Laboratory ... Former personal recording engineer for Prince; "Purple Rain", "Sign o' the Times", "Around the World in a Day"
"Dear Sparrow, Many thanks for this – I am touched!"
—Julian Lloyd Webber (LONDON): Premier cellist in UK; brother of Andrew (Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Phantom of the Opera...)
"This is super impressive work ! Congratulations ! Thanks for including me :)))"
—Clarice Assad (RIO DE JANEIRO/CHICAGO): Pianist and composer with works performed by Yo Yo Ma and orchestras around the world
"We appreciate you including Kamasi in the matrix, Sparrow."
—Banch Abegaze (LOS ANGELES): manager, Kamasi Washington
"Thanks! It looks great!....I didn't write 'Cantaloupe Island' though...Herbie Hancock did! Great Page though, well done! best, Randy"
"Very nice! Thank you for this. Warmest regards and wishing much success for the project! Matt"
—Son of Jimmy Garrison (bass for John Coltrane, Bill Evans...); plays with Herbie Hancock and other greats...
Dear friends & colleagues,
Having arrived in Salvador 13 years earlier, I opened a record shop in 2005 in order to create an outlet to the wider world for Bahian musicians, many of them magisterial but unknown.
David Dye & Kim Junod for NPR found us (above), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (he's a huge jazz fan), David Byrne, Oscar Castro-Neves... Spike Lee walked past the place while I was sitting on the stoop across the street drinking beer and listening to samba from the speaker in the window...
But we weren't exactly easy for the world-at-large to get to. So in order to extend the place's ethos I transformed the site associated with it into a network wherein Brazilian musicians I knew would recommend other Brazilian musicians, who would recommend others...
And as I anticipated, the chalky hand of God-as-mathematician intervened: In human society — per the small-world phenomenon — most of the billions of us on earth are within some 6 or fewer degrees of each other. Likewise, within a network of interlinked artists as I've described above, most of these artists will in the same manner be at most a handful of steps away from each other.
So then, all that's necessary to put the Bahians and other Brazilians within possible purview of the wide wide world is to include them among a wide wide range of artists around that world.
If, for example, Quincy Jones is inside the matrix (people who have passed are not removed), then anybody on his page — whether they be accessing from a campus in L.A., a pub in Dublin, a shebeen in Cape Town, a tent in Mongolia — will be close, transitable steps away from Raymundo Sodré, even if they know nothing of Brazil and are unaware that Sodré sings/dances upon this planet. Sodré, having been knocked from the perch of fame and ground into anonymity by Brazil's dictatorship, has now the alternative of access to the world-at-large via recourse to the vast potential of network theory.
...to the degree that other artists et al — writers, researchers, filmmakers, painters, choreographers...everywhere — do also. Artificial intelligence not required. Real intelligence, yes.
Years ago in NYC I "rescued" unpaid royalties (performance & mechanical) for artists/composers including Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Mongo Santamaria, Jim Hall, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (for his rights in Bob Marley compositions; Clement was Bob's first producer), Led Zeppelin, Ray Barretto, Philip Glass and many others. Aretha called me out of the blue vis-à-vis money owed by Atlantic Records. Allen Klein (managed The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles) called about money due the estate of Sam Cooke. Jerry Ragovoy (Time Is On My Side, Piece of My Heart) called just to see if he had any unpaid money floating around out there (the royalty world was a shark-filled jungle, to mangle metaphors, and I doubt it's changed).
But the pertinent client (and friend) in the present context is Earl "Speedo" Carroll, of The Cadillacs. Earl went from doo-wopping on Harlem streetcorners to chart-topping success to working as a custodian at PS 87 elementary school on the west side of Manhattan. Through all of this he never lost what made him great.
Greatness and fame are too often conflated. The former should be accessible independently of the latter.
Matrix founding creators are behind "one of 10 of the best (radios) around the world", per The Guardian.
Recent access to this matrix and Bahia are from these places (a single marker can denote multiple accesses).
Across the creative universe... For another list, reload page.
This list is random, and incomplete. Reload the page for another list.
For a complete list of everybody inside, tap TOTAL below:
TOTAL
Nduduzo Makhathini
Susan Rogers
Julian Lloyd Webber
Clarice Assad
Kamasi Washington
Randy Brecker
Matt Garrison
RÁDIO MATRIX