The American India Foundation (AIF) presents KARYSHMA in concert @ The Middle East on September 19 at 7.30 p.m.

A band that takes chances, Karyshma brings together the intensity of rock, the improvisation of jazz and the intricacies of India's musical traditions. Karyshma has the “rare ability to stop audiences silent in their tracks” according to Global Rhythm magazine, with music that “has no real home or category – it is original and fresh,” according to India Post.

Tickets are limited, so shop early. E-mail with names and number of tickets requested to reserve spots today for $10/person.

All proceeds will benefit the American India Foundation, dedicated to accelerating social and economic change in India.

For more information, click here, e-mail AIF or call Vikram Desai at 617-304-6019.

DJ101 – Learn to be a disc jockey. Rekha, watch out!

After the SAJA Photoforum slide show several people came up to me and asked me who composed and produced the enchanting music I used in the slide show. Thanks to my wife, Sangeetha, who suggested that I incorporate the mellifluous scales and rhythms by her father, Dr. Krishna Raghavendra, the show was a success.

“Dr. Krishna Raghavendra is an international performing artist, composer, and producer of both traditional and contemporary Indian music. He is a virtuoso on the Veena, a traditional plucked stringed instrument from South India. His Veena, made from red cedar wood, is unique and was customized to be detachable by the late Narasinga Rao of Bangalore, India. It was further modified by Mr. Steve Morrill of Boston, who developed the finger board, modified the bridge and worked on sound amplification. Raghavendra has developed novel playing techniques, which involve a combination of soft nuances, swift fingering and imaginative uses of melodic and drone strings to produce harmonizing and vamping sounds that mimic different instruments. He is the founder of the Ragha School of Music, an institution primarily devoted to promoting and integrating Indian music with western and other forms of music. He also offers workshops at educational institutions, releases original recordings and leads the “Raga and Rhythm Ensemble”(RARE).”

More information about Dr. Raghavendra's music can be gleaned from his web site.

Yes, I am MAD about jazz and madder still when one of our own makes it onto the charts. If you haven't heard Vijay Iyer or Rudresh Mahanthappa, you are in for a treat.

For New Yorkers – Vijay Iyer's quartet will be performing at Sweet Rhythm next week, Fri-Sat March 5-6.

“We'll be playing music from “Blood Sutra,” instrumental versions of a couple of songs from “In What Language?”, and some new piano trio pieces too.”

The musicians are Vijay Iyer, piano – Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone – Stephan Crump, bass – Marcus Gilmore, drums.

I am taking some liberty here by departing from my usual posts about writers and photographers. Vijay Iyer, a pianist, and Rudresh Mahanthappa, an alto-saxophonist, are two terrific jazz musicians who are making a name for themselves in New York City. No easy feat. So, I hope you will lend them your support and go out and listen to them.

The duo collaborates under the name Raw Materials and has been peforming around the world since 1996.

When: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13 Sets at 8 and 9:30 pm

Where: INHOUSE PERFORMANCE SPACE , 474 Greenwich Street (NOT Greenwich Ave!) 5th Floor, below Canal Street, NYC.

For more info contact: 212-925-8534, inhouseconcerts@earthlink.net