|
 'How
can you play Carnatic music on a guitar'? is
a question that was on everyone's mind when
Prasanna daringly took to one of the world's
most ancient musical forms on one of the
world's most modern instruments - the
electric guitar! 20 years on, the question
is still asked by everyone but now in
disbelief at how Prasanna brings out the
subtlest of microtones on a standard
electric guitar and goes even further by
extending his signature style to Jazz,
Blues, Rock, Classical music and everything
that he feeds in as a contemporary musician
of today.
In a world studded with brilliant
guitarists, 'Prasanna plays like nobody on
the planet' according to one Jazz critic. As
a guitarist and composer, Prasanna's
prolific body or work is as diverse as it is
integrated. This includes over eleven
Carnatic albums, the just released
Carnatic/Rock Jimi Hendrix tribute album
‘Electric Ganesha Land’, a highly acclaimed
Jazz Fusion album 'Be the Change' featuring
several Grammy Award winning artists from
the Jazz world, an eclectic solo guitar
album 'Peaceful', a special triple guitar
project 'Guitars' with the Belgian band Aka
Moon, an original score for contemporary
dance theater adaptation of Shakespeare's
'Tempest' with a premiere in Sydney,
Australia, a work for Contemporary and
Fusion dance 'Sanaatana' premiered at Queen
Elizabeth Hall in London, yet another work
for contemporary dance 'Soliloquy', numerous
sessions work on multi-platinum Indian film
soundtracks for such top composers as A.R.
Rahman, Illayaraja and many more. His
orchestration and arranging credits include
the title score for the Oscar nominated
Bollywood film 'Lagaan'. Prasanna's
acclaimed guitar instructional DVD
'Ragamorphism', gives an in-depth look at
how he stretches the boundaries of
improvisation.
The North Sea Jazz Festival, Middelheim
Jazz Festival, Festival Guitares Du Monde,
La Fete de la Musique, Les Orientales De St.
Florent Le Vieil, Festival Jazz En Artois,
PanaFest, Lotus world music festival are
some of the top international festivals
Prasanna has performed at. He has
performed/recorded with legendary names in
the Jazz/ Fusion world including Joe Lovano,
Larry Coryell, Victor Wooten, Airto Moreira,
Alphonso Johnson, Steve Smith, Kenwood
Dennard, Jeff Coffin, David Gilmore, Aka
Moon, Kai Eckhardt and from the Indian music
world such as A.R.Rahman, Hari Prasad
Chaurasia, Illayaraja, Dr. L. Subramaniam,
Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Trichy Sankaran and
several others.
With an engineering degree in Naval
Architecture from the prestigious Indian
Institute of Technology, Madras, he went on
to pursue his passion for music and
graduated Magna-Cum-Laude with an honors
degree from the famed Berklee College of
Music in Boston. His multi-faceted musical
personality has been recognized with such
diverse awards as the 'Lifetime Achievement
Award for Carnatic music for 2003' from H.H.
Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, India's most
revered spiritual leader and 'Acharya' of
the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, 'The Berklee
College of Music Guitar Achievement Award'
(for outstanding work as a Student Jazz
guitarist'), 'The Berklee College of
Music-Composition Achievement Award' (for
outstanding work as a Student Classical
composer) and many others.
As a true artist, Prasanna is both a
traditionalist and modernist and everything
in between.
Learning
College Education
Bachelor's degree in Technology (Majoring
in Naval Architecture) - Indian Institute of
Technology, Chennai, India, 1992
Bachelor's degree (Hons) in Music
(Majoring in Classical Composition and Jazz
Composition), Berklee College Of Music,
Boston, USA, 1999. Magna-Cum-Laude
distinction.
Principal teachers - Classical
Composition: John Bavicchi, Tom McGah, Jazz
Composition: Scott Free, Bill Scism, Jeff
Friedman, Jazz guitar: Mick Goodrick,
Garrison Fewell, Ritchie Hart
Carnatic music
Gurus - (Late) Tiruvarur S.
Balasubramaniam - 1983 to 1989
A. Kanyakumari - 1989 - Present
Awards
'Lifetime Contribution in the field of
guitar' awarded by Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam on
March 21, 2003. The award was presented by
India's most respected Hindu spiritual
leader and vedic scholar, His Holiness
Jayendra Saraswathi. Prasanna was among a
select group of distinguished exponents of
various performing arts in India, that were
honored for their contributions by the
Kanchi Mutt, to commemorate H.H. Jayendra
Saraswathi's 75th year as 'Acharya' of
Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt.
Spirit of Youth Award - Music Academy,
Chennai, India, 1992
Winner (Instrumental) - Audiofine
National Talent Contest 1992. This brought
Prasanna's first record deal with Audio Fine
for the album 'Guitar Goes Classical'.
Kapali Fine Arts award, Chennai, India,
1999
Narada Gana Sabha's 'K.S.Mahadevan
Endowment' Award, Chennai, India, 1999 - for
outstanding work as a carnatic performer on
a foreign instrument (guitar).
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