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. From the age of six Broto began to play and learn Indian classical music from Indian Tabla drum maestro Bidyut Banerjee. At the age of 16, Broto moved to the US where he studied composition and earned a B.A. in liberal arts 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", named after the holy river Ganges, which performs the traditional songs and music from Bengal, India. An american and european tour followed. In 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" under the indie label "Buzkhashi". 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 (Buzkhashi) by the Broto Roy Trio featuring the great Indian sarodist Aashish Khan and violinist Shashi Dhar. GANGA's CD "Setting Down Roots" was released in '08 (Buzkhashi). EMI-India released "American Raga" with distribution by Virgin Records in '09. The 2011 release of Ganga's CD "Bringing It Home" is a compilation of live tracks from their concerts at the Library of Congress' Coolidge auditorium; Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art - New York City; July 4th Festival of American Folklife - Washington DC and many more.
On June 23rd and 25th, 2011 Broto performed at the Festival Musiques du Monde a Essaouira in the kingdom of Morocco. In 2011 for the 10th anniversary of September 11th, Broto played the Washington National Cathedral's "Concert to Heal" in DC.
In 2010 Broto performed at many colleges and universities such as Syracuse University, NY; State University of New York-Oswego; Northern Virginia Community College; Pennsylvania State University; Beauvoir National Cathedral School, Washington, DC. Other festival performances include: Montpelier Festival, Maryland USA; World Folk Festival, Glen Echo Park, Maryland; Music & Dance of Afghanistan at Landmark Theater, Richmond, VA Concert Clip and many others.
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 fame), Sanjay Mishra (Jerry Garcia); renowned jazz guitarist Paul Bollenback; organist Joey DeFrancesco; saxophonist Ron Holloway; sarodist Aashish Khan; sitarists Krishna Bhatt, Subrata Roy Chowdhury, Indrajit Roy Chowdhury, and Grateful Dead member Bob Weir (with the Sanjay Mishra Band) and many others.
The National Endowment for the Arts 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. While in orbit in May of '01 space tourist Dennis Tito played Broto's first CD "American Raga" aboard the International Space Station. Among his charity work, he composed the song "Let Us Fly" for the Art & Drama Therapy Institute of Washington, DC 's 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 nominated in the Instrumental category by his peers for the 2007 WAMMIE (Washington Area Music Awards). Currently Broto is busy recording his 7th CD of original compositions further exploring the fusion between Indian classical music and jazz.
SELECTED PERFORMANCES:
2011 Festival Musiques du Monde a Essaouira, Morocco. Washington, DC - 2011 10th anniversary of September 11th, at Washington National Cathedral's "Concert to Heal"; 2010 Smithsonian Folklife Festival; 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; 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. 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 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 sitarist Indrajit Roy Chowdhury.
