The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music is proud to present Sameer Gupta, Neel Murgai and Aaron Shragge of Brooklyn Raga Massive as part of our Eyes of the Entrepreneurs series.
Brooklyn Raga Massive (BRM) is an artist collective dedicated to creating cross-cultural understanding through the lens of Indian classical and Raga inspired music. BRM is a 501c3 charitable organization and a platform for all lovers of Raga music, both listeners and artists, to feel the pulse of NYC’s live Indian Classical music scene. BRM officially became a non-profit in the summer of 2015. However, it’s first seeds as a humble music collective began in 2012 in a Prospect Heights dive bar with a Weekly Concert Series and Jam Session, featuring traditional and raga-inspired music followed by an open jam session. Over the years, this ongoing weekly event has helped to cultivate a vibrant community of musicians and music lovers, all while embracing new artists and opening doors for cross-cultural collaboration reflective of the current Brooklyn musical landscape. The inclusive and spontaneous nature of BRM's weekly jam session has not only built a strong community, but has also become an incubator of new music collaborations and genres of music indigenous to Brooklyn. BRM produces over 70 events each year including the weekly concert series and other performances. BRM has received enthusiastic support from premier presenting organizations and venues such as World Music Institute, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, MOMA, The Met, India Center Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Museum, Celebrate Brooklyn, BRIC, Jazz Gallery, Pioneer Works, Joe’s Pub, Shapeshifter, The Rubin Museum, Yerba Buena Gardens, Seattle Town Hall, and more. In addition, Brooklyn Raga Massive is a co-producer of the Ragas Live festival, a 24-hour NYC annual music festival featuring Indian classical and Raga inspired music for a live audience broadcast live throughout NYC on 89.9 FM-NY radio and internationally via WKCR.org. With a strong community of music lovers and talented musicians, BRM is a respected presenter of both traditional raga music as well as cross-cultural contemporary projects.
The Eyes of the Entrepreneurs series is dedicated to empowering artists to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset in taking responsibility for their art and their career. More than ever before, musicians are their own businesses. The series features notable guest artists, who will discuss the paths they took in developing their vision and life in music, as well concepts like authenticity and integrity, skill development, community building, networking, and more.
The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music is distinguished by its artist-as-mentor approach to classroom teaching; its progressive, innovative curriculum and focus on small-group performance; its superb faculty, a community of legendary musicians; its exceptionally talented students; and its location in New York City, the jazz capital of the world.
Free and open to the public!