The members of The Monsoon Trio are among the first to individually and collectively study in the traditional Guru-Shishya Parampara system and perform the vocal and instrumental styles of North Indian Classical music on modern western instruments. Their journey has lead to the creation of the Bass Veena; a fretless electric bass with additional supportive strings, as well as the development of the Shrutiphone; a modified non-tempered saxophone. The Trio has also innovated extended techniques that have aided them to authentically evoke the subtler nuances of Indian Ragas.

Monsoon Trio • Pranaam • Raga Bhairav

Monsoon Trio • Pranaam • Raga Bhairavi

Monsoon Trio • Pranaam • Raga Jaijaiwanti

Monsoon Trio • Pranaam • Raga Malkauns

Monsoon Trio • Pranaam • Raga Shree

John Coltrane Indo-Jazz Suite: Living Space, Nature Boy, Afro Blue. Recorded by the Saxophone Brother, Jonathan and Andrew Kay, with tabla player Mike Luchis at New York University, Novembr 25th, 2014 . This suite of Coltrane repertoire unfolds in the form of a raga: “Living Space” is the alaap (melodic intro), “Nature Boy” is the madhya jhaptaal (medium 5-beat cycle), and “Afro Blue” is the drut (fast tempo).

John Coltrane Indo-Jazz Suite: Living Space, Nature Boy, Afro Blue

Finding yourself lost in an exotic jungle of mystical sounds, you are drawn towards a gathering of the Forest Dwellers...

Inspired by Japanese Zen and it's roots in the tantric yoga traditions born from deep within the forests of India, this album explores the esoteric path of spiritual liberation and its freedom in Nature, by confronting the paradoxical nature of duality (lightness/darkness and chaos/order).

Jonathan Kay & Andrew Kay are exploring undiscovered musical realms which unite the spirit of the East with the creativity of the West in a never before realized synthesis of musical expression through the saxophone. Originally from Toronto, Canada and having lived and studied together around the globe, they both bring their deep understanding and rich expression of music together to be united into a truly powerful universal sound.

Trained as jazz musicians for 12 years in Toronto, Canada, at the renowned Humber College under the mentorship of world-class saxophonist and Coltrane scholar Pat LaBarbera, the Kay brothers gained acclaimed proficiency in creative jazz and improvised music and are today passionately continuing Coltrane’s cross-cultural journey, uniting his musical vision with the knowledge of India’s Ragas in search for a truly universal and transcendental musical expression.

Leading innovative cross-cultural projects such as Kayos Theory and co-leading Monsoon, the brothers have collaborated with some of the best creative jazz musicians in the world including; David Liebman, Tony Malaby, Jim Black, Michael Attias, Pat LaBarbera, David Mott, Mike Murley, Ingrid Jensen and George Koller.

Tantrika

Magic Stones

Take a minute to sit still, breathe deeply, relax your body, and open your ears to a world beyond your everyday reality...as you enter this temple of sound, let the melodic mandalas carry you away...

Inspired by India's monastic spaces that compel one's soul towards the transcendental heights beyond the manifest realm, these meditations are set to the mystical sonic canvas of the tanpura (Indian drone instrument) which provides the meditative gateway into the sublime harmonic realms from which the Ragas emanate.

Jonathan Kay and Andrew Kay continue John Coltrane’s search for a “multicultural theory of musical transcendence” by exploring the depths of both Indian Raga music and Western Improvisation. For more than 10 years they have studied in Kolkata, India with their Guru, Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya learning the art of North Indian Raga music and developing its expression on the Soprano, Alto and Tenor saxophones.

Being praised by many of India’s Maestros for their devotion and dedication to the tradition of Raga music, Jonathan Kay & Andrew Kay are emerging as the first to express the subtle and delicate nuances of the Ragas on the saxophone. They are already important contributors to the evolution of Raga music performance by rendering the entire Raga on Saxophone, in both the vocal and instrumental styles, innovating certain techniques hitherto not attempted. This includes the research and development of the first non-tempered saxophone, The Shruti-phone, designed to more perfectly express the subtle shrutis (micro-tones) of the Ragas.

Star Of Compassion

Lonely River

We live in a time of rich cultural dialogue and global interconnection which has in turn inspired unprecedented diversity and creativity in the arts. Monsoon-music is an online home which supports cross-cultural exploration and experimentation.

Monsoon-music was founded in 2006 by Jonathan and Andrew Kay and Justin Gray. Since then Monsoon-music has earned a reputation for supporting cross-cultural dialogue and art. Based on Toronto, Canada, Monsoon-music is engaged in bringing artists together from all cultural heritages, encouraging the confluence  of traditional music with contemporary forms of expression.

With digital recording technology more accessible then ever, music production has exploded, and the advent of global internet accessibility has enabled independent artists unmediated accessibility to curate their art to niche and specialized online communities of like mined individuals. On one side of the coin, the digital age has liberated artist from the monopoly of the record label paradigm of commercial production and genre specific marketing. Free from the artistic limitations of profit oriented music labels, online interconnectivity makes it more possible then ever for artists to explore musical creation on their own terms.

On the other side of the coin, online music streaming sites have lead to unprecedented accessibility of music, which have drastically reshaped of the mode of music consumption in the digital age. This has it’s benefits, but has also instigated irreversible damage to the music industry leading towards the ultimate devaluation of music. It is undeniable that globalized techno-capitalism is reshaping subjectivity through modes of digital consumption and the music industry has become a game of designing momentary viral trends, in which algorithms (based on unethically mined data) predict and manipulate the next virtual sensation.

Monsoon-music is therefore a response and critique to the above mentioned cultural epidemic, taking a stand in solidarity, resistance and revolution. Monsoon-music aims to carve out a territory which can cultivate a community of conscious engagement in which our shared ideals can create an alternative-modernity.
Monsoon-music aims to amplify the micro-political power of art creation through online interconnectivity, acting as an interface for seekers to find resonance to empower positive change in the world.

Monsoon-Music

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