BROTO ROY


Broto Roy, EMI-India recording artist, was born into a prominent musical family of Calcutta, India where his great-grandfather Rajanikanto was one of India's greatest songwriters and his uncle Dilip is a popular singing star and constant influence. Broto began to play and learn Indian music from the age of six from noted Indian Tabla maestro Bidyut Banerjee. At the age of 16, Broto traveled to the US where he studied composition and earned a B.A. from the College of William & Mary.

Broto's first release in the US was accompanying guitarist Sanjay Mishra - on the CD "The Crossing" which has sold extensively. Also, along with his parents and sister he formed the ensemble "GANGA" to perform the traditional songs and music from Bengal, India and an american and european tour followed. 1998 Broto started performing at festivals with his own group presenting his original compositions on the debut album "American Raga" which many musicians claim as an important influence. After three more years Broto released "Total Immersion - Live at the Kennedy Center". Beginning in summer 2001 Broto toured his own trio in support of the CD and audiences were enthralled by the linking of subtle Indian rhythms and Indian singing with elements of modern jazz and rock. The third CD "Live at the Lowell Festival" (near Boston, USA) was released in 2003 by the Broto Roy Trio featuring the great Indian sarodist Aashish Khan and violinist Shashi Dhar. The recording of Broto's next CD is scheduled to be released in the summer-autumn of 2006, alongside a tour of various cities of Europe and the south Asian countries of India and Bangladesh.

In between a series of group performances he has also appeared in a number of prestigious solo percussion recitals and guest performances on CDs with guitarists Fareed Haque (of Garaj Mahal), Sanjay Mishra and Paul Bollenback; organist Joey DeFrancesco; saxophonist Ron Holloway; sarodist Aashish Khan; sitarists Krishna Bhatt, Subrata Roy Chowdhuri, and Gaurav Mazumdar, and Grateful Dead member Bob Weir (with the Sanjay Mishra Band) and many others.

The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded Broto two teaching grants in 1986 and 1993 and he is the holder of the '05 Master and Apprentice grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. In May of '01 space tourist Dennis Tito played Broto's first CD "American Raga" aboard the International Space Station. In '04, the Art & Drama Therapy Institute of Washington, DC commissioned him to compose the song "Let Us Fly" for their disabled and mentally handicapped clients. CNN World News broadcast the premiere of "Let Us Fly" on July 17 and 18, '04 and said it was "a story of determination to be heard & recognized." Also, Broto was just nominated in the Instrumental category by his peers for the 2007 WAMMIE (Washington Area Music Awards).


SELECTED PERFORMANCES:


Washington, DC - The Kennedy Center; Silk Road Folk Festival with Yo Yo Ma; Smithsonian Institution's Meyer Auditorium and The Sackler Gallery; the Library of Congress' Coolidge Auditorium; Blues Alley, and The Bayou; Columbia Pike International Festival; Glen Echo Music Festival · Michigan - The 63rd National Folk Festival, East Lansing; Detroit Festival of Colors · San Francisco - with Fareed Haque 5 '05 · Boston-2006 Lowell Music Festival · New York - The Metropolitan Museum of Art Uris Auditorium; World Music Institute Washington Square Church; The Kitchen; The Knitting Factory · New Jersey - The Newark Museum · Baltimore - Baltimore Museum of Art; The Peabody Conservatory · Pennsylvania - 53rd National Folk Festival, Johnstown; Celebration of the Bicentennial of the Constitution, Philadelphia · Texas - Kerrville Music Festival. Colleges & other festivals: Goucher College, MD; Mt. Holyoke, MA; Georgetown University, DC; University of Cincinnati; SUNY, Syracuse, NY; Elmira College; Mary Washington College; Loft Jazz Festival; Free Jazz Festival; American Folk Life Festival, New Music America Festival; Bumbershoot Festival Seattle, WA; Volkerkrunde Museum, Dahlem, Berlin, and Bremen, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden; Netherlands. Radio - National Public Radio, coast to coast; Radio Smithsonian; Voice of America Global Broadcast, July 5, 2004 and many more.


The Broto Roy Ensemble


Broto has recorded and performed live as accompanist and leader with the following musicians over the past 20 years:
Guitarists: Fareed Haque (of Garaj Mahal) , Paul Bollenback (Challenge Records), Sanjay Mishra (Jerry Garcia), T.K. Smith. Keyboards: organ B3 Joey DeFrancesco, Dan Nimmer (Wynton Marsalis), Harry Appelman. Bass: Scott Ambush (Spyro Gyra), Bill Kemp. Horns: Marshall Keys, Ron Holloway, Carl Grubbs. Drumkit: Jeff "Tain" Watts (Branford Marsalis), Dennis Chambers (Santana), Steve Smith (Mariah Carey) and Mike Smith.