Home » Jazz Musicians » Joshua Geisler

Joshua Geisler

Joshua Geisler plays the Bansuri, the North Indian Bamboo Flute, with a flowing, highly ornamented style that effortlessly weaves together Indian Classical Music and Jazz. With solid roots in both East and West, his music is at the same time experimental and grounded in traditional training. The result is a sound that conveys the essence of the mystical traditions of India yet is accessible to modern ears.

By embracing the concept of hybridization, Joshua Geisler has innovated both the playing technique and construction of his instrument. His book, The Chromatic Bansuri, details a unique fingering system of his own creation that enables the bansuri to play virtually any style of music. As a flute maker, he has improved the tone, volume, and response of the bansuri by studying traditional flute-making techniques from around the world as well as the science of flute acoustics.

An award-winning artist, his work has received funding from the American Institute of Indian Studies and the New York State Council for the Arts.

Joshua is currently on tour playing bansuri and guitar with Cirque du Soleil’s “TOTEM”. Tour dates are listed here.

While studying guitar at Berklee College of Music, he developed an interest in the music of other cultures. At the same time, he was beginning to explore meditation and spirituality. As a way of incorporating these interests, he began learning the bansuri. After graduating in 1998, he moved to upstate New York to study North Indian Classical music with the great American bansuri master, Steve Gorn. This was followed by multiple trips to India to study with Pandit Raghunath Seth, one of the living legends of Indian flute playing. In recent years, he has been learning with Varanasi-based Sarod maestro Pandit Vikash Maharaj, a 14th-generation master musician.

An unusually versatile musician, Joshua has worked with many great artists in various genres. He has performed with several masters of Indian Classical Music such as: Pandit Raghunath Seth, Steve Gorn, Pandit Vikash Maharaj, Fazal Qureshi, Sabir Khan, and Ramesh Mishra. In popular music, he has worked with the likes of Paul Simon and Josh Groban as well as many other great artists, including Jamey Haddad, Alessandra Belloni, Krishna Das, Mark Egan, Drala, Kenny Endo, Yangjin Lamu, Marc Summers, Steve Gadd, Foday Musa Suso, Sauren Baronian, Bakithi Kumalo, Rich Stein, Peter Stoltzman, Matt Kilmer, Shane Shanahan, Mathias Kunzli, Marco Benevento and Joe Russo Duo, Brandon Terzic, Meetu Chilana, Dave Sharma, Moto Fukushima, The Dub Trio, Mike Savino, Andy Sinise, Matt Rubano, Jennie Laws, Luke Notary, Tom Rossi, Zac Lee, Dave Bowen, Matt Hope, Fred Flowerday, Steve Wenzel, Jamie MacDonald, Jimmy Wohl, Sheldon Landa, and Jacob Key.

Awards

Senior Fellowship from American Institute of Indian Studies Special Opportunity Stipend from NYS Council for the Arts Berklee Achievement Scholarship

Gear

Joshua Geisler Bansuris Godin Guitars


Tags

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.