Arun Ramamurthy / Arun Ramamurthy Trio

Arun Ramamurthy / Arun Ramamurthy Trio
Brooklyn, NY
Grant amount: $12,200

About the Artist

Arun Ramamurthy Trio (ART) brings a fresh approach to age-old South Indian classical music. Boundaries are blurred in this organic and seamless integration of styles as the group expands on traditional forms in explosive, improvisational flights of fancy. The trio freely explores the kindred spirit of Raga music and Jazz, resulting in a deeply invigorating and spiritual experience. ART's collaborative sound is driven by the propulsive rhythm section of drummer Sameer Gupta & and electric bassist Damon Banks. With the soulful expression of Carnatic violin and the gritty lilt of American fiddle, Ramamurthy goes to evocative places of longing and joy, sentiments common in Indian devotional music—and in certain strains of jazz. Arun’s original work tells stories of migration and cultural connection. His newly commissioned work from CMA's New Jazz Works grant, "New Moon Suite" shines a light on the teachings and wisdom of our ancestors. The 4-movement work premiered in late 2022 in NYC, and will be released as a studio recording in 2023. Featured performance venues have include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jazz Gallery, Bimhuis (Amsterdam), LantarenVenster (Rotterdam), Ragas Live Festival at Pioneer Works, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cornelia Street Cafe, Brooklyn Raga Massive and more.

Arun Ramamurthy is a multifaceted violinist, composer and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. Rooted in South Indian classical "raga" music, Arun is a versatile musician, performing internationally in both traditional Carnatic and Hindustani settings, as well as blurring genres with his own innovative projects like the acclaimed Arun Ramamurthy Trio. Arun studied under the celebrated violinist brothers, Sri Mysore Nagaraj & Dr. Mysore Manjunath, the distinguished violinist Sri. Ananthakrishnan as well as many early years with western classical violinist Jim Mate. He has shared the stage with luminaries like Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Sudha Ragunathan, Reggie Workman, Kenny Werner, Jamey Haddad, Flute Shashank, Amir ElSaffar, Hamid Drake, Mashkoor Ali Khan, Adam Rudolph, Hamid Al-Saadi, Subhankar Banerjee, Martha Redbone, Awa Sangho amongst others. He has performed and recorded with a wide range of musical genres including Jazz, Arabic Maqam, Afro-Cuban, Malian, American folk, Western classical, and other creative and improvisational styles. Arun's music has brought him prestigious stages like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Celebrate Brooklyn and many more. As a composer, Arun has created new works for his Trio (ART), scores for theatrical productions such as Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink, composition for Indian classical dance, and for the pioneering musician's collective Brooklyn Raga Massive. Arun was recently commissioned by Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works grant to create music for his ensemble, Arun Ramamurthy Trio. Arun was also commissioned through New Music USA to compose original work for Malini Srinivasan's 'Appeasing Radhika', an ambitious project investigating Devadasi lives in Indian Classical performing arts. Arun is a co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Brooklyn Raga Massive, a progressive genre-bending collective of musicians rooted-in and inspired-by the classical music of India. He created and produced the innovative series Carnatic Sundays at the iconic West Village haunt, Cornelia Street Cafe. Throughout his career, Arun has curated and performed in hundreds of concerts bringing together music from all over the world.