Brahmaputra Raga Jazz to hunt for young talents

SHILLONG: Northeast India is gifted with a unique sensibility of music and there are numerous virtuoso performers in the region.
Brahmaputra Raga Jazz is an idea towards identifying and promoting such young and talented bands from the region. These bands could be based out of any city across India and may not yet have got an opportunity to showcase their true talent.
In the process of discovering new music, Brahmaputra Raga Jazz seeks to be a two-way enriching process where music of the Northeast and Ancient Indian Ragas will mingle. This unique musical bridge would create a greater understanding between the two genres.
This project will be dedicated to the renowned legendary creative genius, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, an icon of the Northeast Indian Culture.
Brahmaputra Raga Jazz is a unique initiative to provide a platform to both talented and yet-to-be-discovered musical talent from the region as well as for the creation of unique fusion of music from Indian Raga and popular music from the North East.
The top 5 bands identified through this project will be awarded a chance to record their music in an album and also perform live in concert in Assam and Delhi.
The top 5 bands will be identified through the process of online entry in round 1, where bands or individual musicians can register and send their entries along with sample videos.
The second round is the ‘Live Challenge’, where shortlisted entries will get a chance to showcase their music live to a panel of eminent judges.
Here, they will not only perform one piece of their choice, but also present one fusion piece where elements of Indian Raga are woven into their existing repertoire.
In the earlier phase of auditions for Brahmaputra Raga Jazz, Traffic Jam, a popular band of the North East was selected for the Live Challenge.
The initiative, which seeks to discover and promote talented artists from the Northeast, has also got proactive support from eminent and established artists, like Deepak Castelino, Indian Ocean and Parikrama.