Indian pianist-composer Aman Mahajan works with improvised music as a medium of exploration, expression and exchange. His work is often reflective, influenced by a diversity of traditional and contemporary forms from around the world, and inspired by a search for unity and connection. His 2019 solo piano album REFUGE explores ideas of home, paying homage to inward journeys.
Mahajan has performed widely on the Indian music circuit, and internationally at venues including Moods (Zürich, 2020), Murszene (Graz, 2019), Jazzwerkstatt (Graz, 2018), Jazz Utsav (New Delhi, 2017), EUROPAFest (Sinaia, 2015), Festival of Sacred Music (Thiruvaiyaru, 2015), Goa Jazz Festival (Goa, 2014), IndiEarth XChange (Madras, 2014), Kasauli Rhythm & Blues Festival (Kasauli, 2014), goMAD Festival (Ooty, 2013) and MAD Festival (Ooty, 2012).
Presently based in Bangalore, he is involved with his solo piano project Refuge, and collaborations including Tinctures with Berlin-based guitarist Nishad Pandey, a duo with vocalist Radha Thomas, and cross-cultural trio Mystik Vibes with percussionist Muthu Kumar and flautist Amith Nadig.
Focussed on the development of the contemporary improvised music in India, Mahajan also teaches privately from his piano studio in Bangalore, and has been a returning faculty member at the Global Music Institute, Delhi.
Mahajan’s compositions encompass a contemporary approach to music and incorporate a whole range of
musical
structures and stimulating rhythmic cycles; with interesting melody lines and harmonies. The compositions
may
sound simple, but they are filled with rhythmic complexity, intriguing harmonies and appealing melodies, all of
them
unique.
—Explocity Bangalore, 18.03.20
There is an inner sense to his playing that, although it nods to jazz, Indian folk and classical, very much
breathes
with its own life...the piano feels like a friend of many years.
—FREQ Magazine, 01.03.20
The stunning artwork aptly betrays a delightful album that weaves a densely captivating and insightful, yet
fleeting
and liberating, narrative with its intricate piano pieces.
—Wild City ‘Singled Out’, 11.02.20
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Mahajan’s compositions encompass a contemporary approach to music and incorporate a whole range of
musical
structures and stimulating rhythmic cycles; with interesting melody lines and harmonies. The compositions
may
sound simple, but they are filled with rhythmic complexity, intriguing harmonies and appealing melodies, all of
them
unique.
—Explocity Bangalore, 18.03.20
There is an inner sense to his playing that, although it nods to jazz, Indian folk and classical, very much
breathes
with its own life...the piano feels like a friend of many years.
—FREQ Magazine, 01.03.20
The stunning artwork aptly betrays a delightful album that weaves a densely captivating and insightful, yet
fleeting
and liberating, narrative with its intricate piano pieces.
—Wild City ‘Singled Out’, 11.02.20
Mahajan’s syncretic, contemporary approach does not belong to a particular style of music, yet as one listens,
the
music grows quite special as the pianist weaves a dense yet liberating spell over the listener.
—High Notes and Dance, 16.09.19
Even as the first bars of Mahajan’s opening song were being laid down with professional efficiency, the
audience
sensed this was a hit. And the musicians took in their first deep whiff of that oxygen. What came through for
the
audience was a set of tunes that were melodious and easy-to-follow… nod your head and tap your feet.
Mahajan’s
tunes are deceptively simple and most of them lend themselves to easy recall. We believe they also lend
themselves
to being hits.
—Explocity Bangalore, 24.05.13
Mahajan’s music is, despite the brisk tempo at which it is mostly played, quite deep in its melodic structure,
often
reflective...the ideas behind his work, as reflected in the titles or themes of the pieces played, are deep.
—The Hindu, 28.08.13
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