A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
VIDEOS
by Radha Thomas
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ABOUT
One of India's leading and most widely recognized figures in jazz, vocalist Radha Thomas has been creating her unique sound for many decades. Transitioning from early rock & roll and Indian classical roots to present-day jazz as well as her own original compositions, Thomas loves bebop, especially vocalese, which she writes and sings a lot.
Thomas left India in the mid-70s, having been selected by Jazz India, a leading jazz promotion organization, to perform across Europe and go to NY to learn jazz. She lived, performed, and recorded for almost 20 years in NYC. Some of the musicians with whom she's performed or recorded include Ryo Kawasaki, Michael Brecker, Anthony Jackson, Harvey Mason, Leon Pendarvis, Alex Blake, and John Abercrombie in some of NYC's most famous jazz clubs and concert halls. It also included an experimental trio with bassist Frank Tusa and Miles Davis alum Badal Roy, where Thomas was the featured soloist.
When she returned to Bangalore, she was empaneled by ICCR (the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, India's key cultural agency) to be a jazz ambassador for India. She has performed with her own band 'UNK The Radha Thomas Ensemble' (I Only Have Eyes For You) and in a piano-and-voice format (Bangalore Blues) all over India.
More recently, when Covid struck, from her home in Bangalore, India, Thomas turned to the internet and virtual collaboration with jazz musicians worldwide. In a single year, she recorded 52 jazz videos both with her original music and jazz standards along with some of the world's most talented musicians from Russia, Poland, Italy, USA, Germany, England, and India.
She hosted a weekly jazz show on Radio Indigo in Bangalore. She is also the author of several books, a dog rescue activist, and host of the podcast 'The Indie Dog.'
Thomas left India in the mid-70s, having been selected by Jazz India, a leading jazz promotion organization, to perform across Europe and go to NY to learn jazz. She lived, performed, and recorded for almost 20 years in NYC. Some of the musicians with whom she's performed or recorded include Ryo Kawasaki, Michael Brecker, Anthony Jackson, Harvey Mason, Leon Pendarvis, Alex Blake, and John Abercrombie in some of NYC's most famous jazz clubs and concert halls. It also included an experimental trio with bassist Frank Tusa and Miles Davis alum Badal Roy, where Thomas was the featured soloist.
When she returned to Bangalore, she was empaneled by ICCR (the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, India's key cultural agency) to be a jazz ambassador for India. She has performed with her own band 'UNK The Radha Thomas Ensemble' (I Only Have Eyes For You) and in a piano-and-voice format (Bangalore Blues) all over India.
More recently, when Covid struck, from her home in Bangalore, India, Thomas turned to the internet and virtual collaboration with jazz musicians worldwide. In a single year, she recorded 52 jazz videos both with her original music and jazz standards along with some of the world's most talented musicians from Russia, Poland, Italy, USA, Germany, England, and India.
She hosted a weekly jazz show on Radio Indigo in Bangalore. She is also the author of several books, a dog rescue activist, and host of the podcast 'The Indie Dog.'
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