JAWARI COLLECTIVE
Sitar – Tommy Khosla
Poetry – Lagnajita Mukhopadhyay
Percussion – Gregorio Merchán
Guitar – Taylor Frost
Saxophone – Billie Sophoclides
Oud – Mow Ray
Sitarist and composer Tommy Khosla navigates a diverse musical landscape, citing inspiration from a variety of genres including Latin jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music. Khosla gained notable recognition with the release of their debut solo album, “Vignettes,” a self-produced LP featured in Songlines Magazine and BBC Asian Network. Currently studying under Anoushka Shankar and Ricky Romain, Khosla’s performances encompass a wide spectrum, from playing Genshin Impact’s YouTube concert with London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Birmingham Symphony Hall with Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, to grassroots performances including St Thomas’ Hospital (Lyrix Organix) and educational settings like Oxford University (The World’s Music at Oxford). Recently featured on the title track of Hagan’s “Good Food” EP (Soulection) alongside Sheila Maurice-Grey (KOKOROKO), Khosla’s collaborations show his commitment to reshaping the sitar’s narrative.
The culmination of this musical development can be seen in JAWARI, a multi-disciplinary collective. Core members include band leader Tommy Khosla on sitar, Latin Grammy awardee and Aterciopelados (Europe) member Gregorio Merchán on percussion, Taylor Frost on guitar, Mow Ray on Oud, Billie Sophoclides on saxophone and Nashville’s first Youth Poet Laureate Lagnajita Mukhopadhyay. Drawing on the eclectic musical and interdisciplinary backgrounds of its members and collaborators with an emphasis on the Indian Classical tradition, JAWARI is cultivating a distinct identity within the global jazz scene. Following sell-out gigs in London, they are currently working towards their debut album, ROAD RASA – supported by Help Musicians and the British Arts Council – which will be released in 2024.
TAMAR ESKENIAN
Tamar Eskenian is an outstanding flutist distinguished by her deep interest in Western and Eastern classical music. Her repertoire extends from early baroque to contemporary music, including modern flute and baroque transverse flute. Particularly notable is her skill on the traditional Armenian flute “Shvi,” and she also sings Armenian liturgical and millennia-old traditional Armenian music.
She studied the flute in Basel and Salzburg with well-known teachers such as Kiyoshi Kasai and Irena Grafenauer and deepened her studies on the historical transverse flute in Basel with Marc Hantai. During her training, she received many awards and was, among others, a finalist at the “Concours National d’Execution Musicale” and received the gold medal at the “International Music Competition Berlin 2018.
Tamar played several times in the “West-Eastern Divan” Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Barenboim and gave concerts in world-famous concert halls in Europe South and North America, and Asia. She has performed with leading orchestras and under the direction of renowned conductors, for example in the State Opera in Yerevan/Armenia and at various festivals. She had several Radio recordings with Radio SRF 2, SRF 1, and ESPACE 2. As a young soloist and chamber musician, Tamar Eskenian had her Debut in the the year 2017 at the renowned Carnegie Hall in New York.
As a passionate chamber musician, she founded several ensembles and worked with well-known musicians in Europe. She attaches particular importance to a balanced repertoire between old and new music. Her commitment to Armenian music is evident in lectures and performances, However, she also has a passion for researching historical Armenian music and singing Armenian folkloric songs. She also regularly performs modern works composed specifically for her.
