Feb. 14, 2024

Merging Engineering, and Artist Mindsets as a Multi-cultural Multi-hyphenate w/ Rajesh Mehta

Innovator & Musician Rajesh Mehta Speaks to T.L. Mazumdar

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Photo: Sophia Hegewald

(Rec, 20th Nov 2023)

Award-winning Indian American innovator and musician Rajesh Mehta's journey through continents, modalities, and streams both academic and socio-cultural is the kind of stuff novels are written about.

From migration in the formative years, to figuring out belonging on one's own terms, navigating academia and arts amidst nations, to fatherhood this conversation attempts to capture the journey that's been, the challenges and gifts it brought with it and nuances in between that inspire his approach to music and life

Download my FREE 'Artist Mindmap'. A one-page mini-masterclass for independent musicians.

Music and Audio Production: www.everynowheremusic.com

Episode Notes / Text : www.tlwrites.com

Chapters

02:24 - How we met

04:30 - Cultural Origins

05:35 - Calcutta: ’Black hole’ vs Beacon

13:48 - Moving to USA: First snow

15:03 - Trumpet & Music Education: First Encounters

23:14 - Multi-cultural Upbringing: Challenges & Perks

27:00 - First Tours

28:00 - (The Artist Mindmap)

29:00 - Revisting India & Feeling Split

31:00 - Finding Peace

34:41 - Rajesh’s Music

38:11 - Academia, Engineering and Music

41:00 - Customizing Instruments

42:00 - Q&A: Making of the Music Video

45:00 - Q&A: Experiences as a South Asian Jazz artist in Europe

51:26 - Q&A: What do you identify as?

52:19 - Q&A: Raising Multi-cultural kids

55:55 - Q&A: Sacred Fire

T.L. Mazumdar

Musician/Educator, Founder: Holistic Musician Academy

Indian-German Producer/Singer-Songwriter T.L. Mazumdar grew up on 3 continents and 4 countries.

Mentored by a series of iconic musicians like Kenny Werner, Kai Eckhardt, Dr John Matthias, and the late Gary Barone, his artistic journey has aptly been described by Rolling Stone magazine as one that ‘...personifies multiculturalism’.

Time Out Mumbai has referred to him as ‘’...amongst a handful of Indian (origin) musicians who don't have to play sitars or tablas''

He has been nominated for German Music awards
Bremer Jazzpreis and Future Sounds Jazz Award, and been called ''...a major talent'' by Jack Douglas (Producer: John Lennon, Miles Davis, etc.). .

Rajesh K. Mehta

Trumpet Innovator, Composer, Artist

Rajesh Mehta was born in Kolkata, India in 1964 and raised in the USA. He has been working professionally as a musician since 1991 and has been based in Europe (Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich) and Asia (Chennai, Mumbai, Singapore) and currently resides in Duisburg. Mehta is an award-winning trumpet innovator, composer/artist who has innovated several hybrid trumpets including the Drumpet in Amsterdam and the microtonal Naga Phoenix in Singapore.

Mehta graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) with a degree in Humanities and Engineering (with studies at U.C. Berkeley) in 1986 and studied music and composition with Mark Harvey at M.I.T. and Anthony Braxton at Mills College, California. In parallel to studying music, he worked in the field of Engineering Acoustics and as a Mathematics and Science teacher via his tutoring agency Arc Tutoring Services which he founded and operated in the SF BayArea.

As a Senior Creative Arts Fellow of the American Institute of Indian Studies, he founded the innovative music production platform Orka-M in Chennai in 2005-06, which was greatly infuenced by his research on and musical collaboration with South Indian temple musicians. Mehta’s ongoing relationship to Engineering and Architecture inspire his graphical drawings and paintings which serve as the basis of his compositional work for pieces with improvisers.

Mehta currently performs with his new quartet Sky Cage which premiered his piece by the same title at the Moers Festival 2020 ( Arte/Wdr Broadcast). He is currently working on a ne… Read More