OPUS: December 2007

it's that time of the year that i get all senti (and mental) so i thought i'd share with you a little story
about 4 years ago a young, shy boy used to drag his father along and come to opus at every little opportunity he got.
when everyone had left (which was all of 3 and a half people at the time) he would open up the lid of the piano and have a go.
word spread and people started staying back (those were the good old days when driving was not a bad word, and nights stretched elastically way beyond 11.30) to watch this boy wonder.
every night became a singalong (we had even printed songbooks), a jam, with more and more musicians and people coming in, singing and playing along.
every saturday night the 2 of us did a set (those were the days we couldn't afford fancy musicians and bands .... who am i trying to fool?? we still can't!) and he developed quite a following.
from opus he moved on to bigger, better and more voluptuous things.
to cut a long story short, mr. karan joseph, very soon became bangalore's most wanted keyboardist. he applied (and got in, obviously) to THE college music and leaves for berklee in a couple of days.
in what will probably be his last opus gig for a while (that's if he decides to come back ... i don't think he would, considering his affinity for blondes) we bid farewell to him tonight.
few tickets i think are still available (not at the same rates though .. 'u snooze u lose' kinda thingee)
For details call: 9845244610/ 9844030198
and here's wishing u a very special and magical 2008!!
few copies of the opus christmas CD are still available.
for pics of the 8 days of christmas go here

2008
9.00pm,4th jan: ABANDONFRIDAY: "karthik mani group"
a night of jazz , funk and lounge music

9.00pm,5th jan: SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER with DJ Gladwin
put on your dancing shoes & get ready to party

Thursday Signature BOOZE & BRAINS (starts at 9pm sharp)
Hosted by Mark Rego & DJ Vinay, this a a popular quiz night where winners get all their booze free for the night. Rated by the BBC as indias best pub quiz... No entry charges.

1pm, every sunday afternoon we have the legendary SHYAM
with a buffet of khao suey, dosas and pastas, and some some bacardi mojitos and Kingfisher to add to the 'good times'.
and if u are an artist or a band that wants to be featured .. pls call shonali on 9845244610.
for updated jampot pics go here

14th jan: STORMY MONDAYS with Barracuda Blues
greg hamra: drums, dev: harp, vinod d'sa: guitar & vocals, raveen: vocals & keyboard, ninja: guitar
more about the band go here
a night thats already becoming very popular, a night that features a blues band live every monday night.

For Reservations Call 080-23442580.
go here for more details about OPUS ... and if u are on Orkut or Facebook there's an opus and a kroaknight community ...

this email was sent to you by OPUS. Please add opus@trumpit.com to your address book. This will ensure delivery into your Inbox (not your bulk or junk folders).
if u don't wish to be on this mail list pls click on UNSUBSCRIBE and send us a :( in the subject line

we're celebrating our 4th year of OPUSsing with the 2007 edition of the 8 days of christmas!! (to check out how long a way we've come go here to see pics of the previous 4 editions) ....
and while you are there, you can get a sneak peek of the opus christmas card (CDs are available at opus) and if you've heard it already, and are really jobless, vote for your favorite.

16th – SUNDAY AFTERNOON
2.00pm: THERMAL & A QUARTER followed by JAMPOT
with a live demo session by digidesign.com
bruce lee mani: electric & acoustic guitars & vocals
rajeev rajagopal: drums
rzhude: bass & acoustic guitars & vocals

17th – MONDAY
8.30pm- “MEGHA”
Dr Suma Sudhindra with her carnatic ensemble along with Gerard Machado with his jazz ensemble together form "MEGHA"
Dr Suma Sudhindra Ensemble
Dr Suma Sudhindra: veena
Sri. B C Manjunath: mridangam
Praveen CM: tarantini vena
Divya Avinash: veena
S N Narayanamurthy: ghatam

FOLLOWED BY GERARD MACHADO NETWORK with PAUL SANTIAGO & RADHA THOMAS
Gerard Machado: guitar
K N Prakash: bass
Tilu: drums
Paul Santiago: guitar
Radha Thomas: vocals

18th - TUESDAY
9.00pm: BARRY THE BOSS
a dance night with bagful of mixes from tamil to hindi to funjabi to arabic!! and of course his new release "oye santa!"

19th- WEDNESDAY
9.00pm: KRISSMASS KROAKNIGHT ALL STARS
Feat. Jacob Ninan, Mark Swaroop, Andy V, Venkat Subramaniam, Priya Mendens, Stanley Pinto amongst a whole bunch of others

20th –THURSDAY
9.00pm: SPECIAL EDITION of MARK REGO's BOOZE & BRAINS with DJ vinay on the console
Cash prize to the top 3 winners, holiday package & lots of booze to give away. Rated by the BBC as indias best pub quiz...

21st- FRIDAY
9.00pm: SUZIE Q with LICENCE TO FUNK (Mumbai)
Funk, R&B, a little bit of Pop, lots of groove and a whole lotta soul…..
Suzie-Q on vocals- {the striking voice behind chartbusters like Signal (Bhagam Bhag) and Paisa Paisa(Apna Sapna Money Money).}
Sanjay Divecha : guitar
Kenneth Rebello: bass
Beven Fonseca & Jarvis Menezes : keys
Adrian D'Souza : drums

22nd – SATURDAY
9.00pm: THE RAMAMANI GROUP….an evening of carnatic jazz
Ramamani: Vocals
T.A.S. Mani: Mridangam
Ranjit Barot: drums
Keith Peters: bass
Amit Heri: guitar
Karthik Mani: percussions

23rd - SUNDAY AFTERNOON
2.30pm: GLOBAL UNITY (Mumbai) followed by JAMPOT
Adrian D’souza: Drums
Sanjay Divecha: Guitar
Karl Peters: Bass

23rd - SUNDAY
9.00pm: HARD CO. Kroaknight

24th: MONDAY
X’mas eve bash 9.00pm with CARLTON & KARAN

25th: TUESDAY
9.00pm: Christmas Day: RAJEEV RAJA AND FRIENDS

For details call 080-23442580/ 9845244610/ 9844030198

go here for more details about OPUS ... and if u are on Orkut or Facebook there's an opus and a kroaknight community ...
this email was sent to you by OPUS. Please add opus@trumpit.com to your address book. This will ensure delivery into your Inbox (not your bulk or junk folders).
if u don't wish to be on this mail list pls click on UNSUBSCRIBE and send us a :( in the subject line

PROFILES

Sunday Afternoon 16th Dec: THERMAL & A QUARTER followed by JAMPOT
TAAQ is Bruce Lee Mani (electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, and songwriting), Rajeev Rajagopal (drums, percussion) and Rzhude (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals).

Along with a demo for the Live Sound Pros. Anyone interested in knowing how it works. The Mixing board, known as "The Venue", is the latest in Digital Mixing Consoles and has found rave reviews all over the world. It's being used on all the top-of-the-line world tours (Tom Petty, John Mayer, Foo Fighters to name a few) and it’s the first of its kind to come into India. The main feature of the board is that it is integrated with the industry standard sound recording platform known as Pro Tools that enable live mixes that can be recorded and processed in real time.
More details at www.digidesign.com.

Monday 17th Dec: “MEGHA” (8.30PM)
Followed by RADHA THOMAS at 9.45pm

Dr Suma Sudhindra with her carnatic ensemble along with Gerard Machado with his jazz ensemble together form "MEGHA" which means " THE CLOUDS"Megha has performed in many concerts across the country. their ensemble consists of-carnatic ensemble

Dr Suma Sudhindra Ensemble Dr Suma Sudhindra: veena Sri. B C Manjunath: mridangam Praveen CM: tarantini vena Divya Avinash: veena S N Narayanamurthy: ghatam

Dr SUMA SUDHlNDRA is one of the most acclaimed veena exponents of the country. Known for her melodic rendition on the veena one observes in her music the brilliant blend of traditional purity and artistic novelty. She is also known for her intelligent adherence to the classical tradition and innovative experimentation. With a proven track of success at home and abroad she can carry with her the common music lover and the connoisseurs into the merry world of melody with unattached composure.
Sri. B.C Manjunath is one of the most popular percussionists of Karnataka. His mastery over the mridangam, precision in rendering and elevating the music to heights of rhythmic sensation is surpassed and his name is synonymous with laya.
S. N. Narayanamurthy is a very well known ghatam player is accompanied all the leading artists of Karnataka.

GERARD MACHADO affectionately called Jerry by his large fan club is a talented and devoted guitar player. His control over the instrument and the ease with which he plays is truly breathtaking. Leading the jazz side of MEGHA his expertise as a musician, a guitarist and a group performer is a rare combination THE JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Gerard machado: guitar, k.n. prakash: bass, tilu: drums, paul Santiago: guitar

RADHA THOMAS
Senior VP at Explocity by day, RJ at Radio Indigo on weekends and jazz singer whenever the mood strikes, Radha Thomas has worked on words… spoken, written and sung… for some time now. While she lives in Bangalore now, she spent almost 20 years in NYC, the home of jazz where she sang with such greats at John Scofield, Michael Brecker, Ryo Kawasaki and others for many years.
“I love the sound of jazz. I love the feel of that back beat,” she says. “I actually wanted to be a jazz singer for as long as I can remember. And for many years that’s all I did… supporting myself with day jobs since jazz doesn’t pay at all! But alas, I love the finer things in life too much… so I kind of pushed singing to the background and focused on my other career. Happily, I’m now at a stage when I can balance it all.”
Radha Thomas performs with the Gerard Machado Network on Monday night at Opus and the menu of songs is pure jazz. “We’re doing a bunch of jazz standards that will warm anyone’s soul on a chilly December night,” says Thomas.

Tuesday 18th Dec: Barry
a dance night with bagful of mixes from tamil to hindi to funjabi to arabic!!
Bharat Krishna, or barry is your typical IIT graduated, bespectacled, techie. NOT!!! The man has a phenomenal knowledge of music and its intricacies. He has been known to merge Hindi, English, Arabic and tamil songs to create his own, unique mix that is breathtaking for its sheer simplicity and originality.

Wednesday 19th Dec: Kissmass Kroaknight all stars
Feat. Jacob ninan, mark swaroop, andy v, venkat subramaniam, priya mendens, Stanley pinto amongst a whole bunch of others

Thursday 20th Dec: BOOZE & BRAINS
Mark Rego! Known city wide as the most wanted MC, Mark Rego is that perfect entertainer. A great sense of humour, a youthful, mischievous energy and 2 earrings coupled with weirdly coloured hair. Who could not love the guy?This concept of his, Booze and Brains combines two of his (and indeed, most of the city’s) favourite activities – Drinking and showing off.If you know how many reindeer Santa has pulling his sledge or if you know what ‘Anno Domini’ means, then this is your night. I, for one, avoid it! ;-)

Friday 21st Dec: SUZIE Q with LICENCE TO FUNK (Mumbai)
Funk, R&B, a little bit of Pop, lots of groove and a whole lotta soul…..
suzie-q on vocals- {the striking voice behind chartbusters like Signal (Bhagam Bhag) and Paisa Paisa(Apna Sapna Money Money).}
sanjay divecha : guitar
kenneth rebello: bass
beven fonseca & jarvis menezes : keys
adrian d'Souza : drums

SUZIE Q
She is Suzie Q.
Why the Q?:
If you said Quite Extraordinary, you would be – quite right.

She is also quintessentially musical.
There are many questions and many answers behind the Q in Suzie Q.

Suzie, born Suzanne D’Mello (even the first cry with which she entered the world, we’re sure, was in perfect pitch!) started singing very early. By the time she was eight, she had already appeared in recitals and concerts all over Mumbai. She studied classical music under Mary Jones Fernandes, a brilliant pianist and teacher, who has been her inspiration al through. She didn’t just teach her the scales, she taught her how to put soul into every note. At her lessons with Mary Jones Fernandes, Suzie acquired a passion for singing that distinguishes her performances however wide and varied the canvas.

She sang her way through school and college, taking part in and generally winning various competitions.While in college she was also earning her degree in entertainment

Singing with all the top artistes and groups in the country. She was on stage at various events with all the leading singers, artistes and musicians of the city such as Sharon Prabhakar, Sunita Roa, Louiz Banks, Karl Peters, Mehnaz, Kunal Ganjjawala, Asif Ali Beg, Dominique and Clinton Cerejo. Suzie was part of top events from corporate events to launches, the Celebrate Bandra Festivals. Performances with A R Rehman, celebrating Lata Mangeskar’s 75th birthday …Suzie has been part of many of Mumbai’s most celebrated and memorable events.

Suzie has a list of advertising jingles to her credit. Hers is also the voice you hear in many Bollywood hits including the current “Paisa Paisa” from “Apna Sapna Money Money” and “Pyaar ka Signal” from "Bhagam Bhag” and “Pyaar Karke” from “ Pyaar ke side effects” Hers is also the endearing voice in Disney’s Cinderella and many other productions.
The A to Z to Suzie Q’s versatile achievements (which don’t stop at Q) is attached. All one can say that whatever the song, the show, the event, the celebration, the album, no other voice can say it with so much soul and style.

‘Licence to Funk’ is the band that performs with Suzie Q, a singer of immense talent and versatility. Formed in 2007, it brings together a huge pool of talent on a common platform of Funk, R&B and Acid Jazz.

The members are:
Adrian Dsouza : Drums
Widely known as one of the best Jazz drummers in India, Adrian is a master of the Swing and Groove set, setting a thumping back beat for the material.
Adrian also tours with Rosanne Vitro across the world, and Interplay, Global Unity and Madhav Chari among others, in India.
Kenneth Rebello : Bass
Kenny, as he is known, is a well known sound engineer and musician, touring with the likes of Pentagram (As Engineer), Mahesh Tinaikar, Shazneen Arethna and others (As Bassist).
Between these two, the band gets a rock solid rhythm section, that’s hard to beat.
Beven Fonseca and Jarvis: Electric Piano and production keyboards
The young guns of the band. Top sessions musicians, they also playing with Shefali Alvares, The Bass Mans band, Asif Ali Beg, Felix Flor and scores more.
Sanjay Divecha: Guitars
Sanjay has lived and worked in LA for many years as a top sessions and live musician.
Now back in India, he is a full time composer and sessions guitarist, and also heads his own band Global Unity. He brings a wealth of experience to this line-up.

Saturday 22nd Dec: THE RAMAMANI GROUP… AN EVENING OF CARNATIC JAZZ

Mr.T.A.S. Mani & Mrs. R.A. Ramamani- Kamataka College of percussion:T.A.S. Mani, a disciple of C.K. Ayyamani Iyer who had his training under Palakkad Subba Iyer along with Palakkad Mani Iyer, is a leading mridanga vidwan as well as a popular teacher. He is a staff artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan in Bangalore. He has a percussion ensemble of his own called Tala Tarangini which has been featured in many prestigious national and international percussion festivals. He and his wife Ramamani regularly participate in jazz festivals abroad along with Western jazz musicians. Mani is as well the founder-principal of the Karnataka College of Percussion. He teaches at the Bangalore University also. Mani has received many awards. The latest PAC award is in recognition of his contribution to the elevation of the status of percussive arts in the field of music. KCP has performed in Asia, Australia, Europe and America. Mrs. Ramamani is the vice-president of KCP and is vocalist of high standard and standing, performing artist, teacher and composer. She sings with spontaneity and mastery over rhythm and melody, and specialises in vocal improvisations, complex rhythmic patterns and konnakol, a type of percussion language. She is the first female artist to achieve distinction in singing a composition simultaneously set to two different rhythm cycles. She has boldly experimented with western forms of music and has written seven melodic and rhythmic experimental compositions. She is the first female Carnatic classical musician in India to sing with national and international jazz band. She is also a lecturer at Institute of Choreography Bangalore.

Keith Peters:Much sought after bassist by producers and music directors like AR Rehman, Keith Peters has featured in many jazz concerts in India.

Amit Heri:Guitar player Amit heri is Bangalore’s prolific jazz guitar player and has played withy Trilok Gurtu in major jazz festivals around the world.

Ranjit Barot:
Ranjit Barot has grown along side with music ever since he saw light.Born into a family steeped in Indian classical music and dance, melody and rhythm has always been an integral part of his life… His mother, the legendary exponent of Kathak, Sitara Devi, was instrumental in being the omnipresent force of aesthetic energy.

Karthik Mani

Sunday Afternoon 23rd Dec: GLOBAL UNITY
Adrian d’souza: drums, sanjay divecha: guitar, karl peters: bass…. came together in 2003 as GLOBAL UNITY, to explore and expand the different dimensions in trio music. They have been performing regularly on the corporate, club and festival circuit in India. Their musical repertoire extends to jazz, fusion and beyond. The trio plays original material and sometimes features other accomplished artists from the western and Indian classical world

Adrian D’souza
Drummer Adrian studied in America with Peter Erskine and Tim Horner. Adrian plays with New York jazz Vocalist Roseanna Vitro, Special EFX and Interplay. He has performed with Roseanna Vitro at The J. F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts ,Birdland, Blue
Note, The Jazz Bakery and New York University…to name a few. Adrian has performed with Philharmonic Orchestra of Slovenia and was invited by the United Nations to play with the World Philharmonic Orchestra and Big Band. He has performed at Jazz festivals in the US and Europe with Roseanna Vitro.

Adrian has played with Ken Werner, Eddie Daniels, Dave Kikoski, Gary Bartz, John Hicks, Eddie Gomez, Ratzo Harris…. the list goes on. As a sideman he has twelve albums to his credit along side Carole King, Roseanna Vitro, Randy Brecker, Eddie Gomez, Chris Potter, Rufus Ried, Ted Rosenthal, Chieli Minucci, Robin Eubanks, Don Braden and Jon Lucien. He performed with Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh, George Duke and Ravi Coltrane at the VH1 JAZZ MASTERS .

As a composer, Adrian has scored the music for various Ad films, theatre productions and corporate theme songs. His recent projects are ‘Uncovered’, 'Your Money’, ’Being’ and 'Criminal' for CNBC / TV18.

Sanjay Divecha
In 1986 guitarist/composer Sanjay performed with his own band at the annual Jazz India festival along side Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz. In 1987 he moved to Los Angeles to
study at the Musicians Institute. He graduated from MI in March 1989 with honors. During his stay at the Musicians Institute , Sanjay had the opportunity to study with Scott
Henderson, Joe Diorio, and Frank Gambale.2001 also saw the birth of his own music production company, writing music for TV and film. He has since scored the feature film 'Leela'. Sanjay has recorded and toured with Anjelique Kidjo. He has also recorded with Dumazz, Katia Moraes and Sambaguru, Dirk Fisher big band, Mark Maxwell, Prince Eyango and the Cameroon All Stars, B Sharp jazz quartet and Dave Weckl.

Karl Peters
Bassist extraordinaire…Karl Has performed at various Jazz festivals around the world. He is also one of the most wanted sessions bass players in India and can be heard on numerous documentaries advertisements and Indian flims as well. Karl tours with Louis Banks, Zakhir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan, Sivamani, Adnan Sami and Asha Bhosle. He also plays with pianist Madhav Chari. He has performed at the Barbican Center and Royal Festival Hall in London and the National Arts Festival in Singapore to name a few.

Sunday Evening 23rd Dec: HARD Co. Kroaknight
Remember the school when we had those 'Match the following' questions. Take that analogy and put it against some of Bangalore's best musical talent and songs that will rock your brains out and you'll find an eclectic mix of legendary music.

HARD Co.
Bangalore best vocal talents belting it out at Opus to tunes of artistes such as Sting, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam, Judas Priest, Scorpions, White snake, Pink Floyd and other Christmas carols
Opus rockstars Andy, Anoopa Anand, Carlton Braganza, Jacob Ninan, venkat subramaniam, and Mark Swaroop.
The singers are accompanied by Vivek Menzel , Karan Joseph and others.

Monday 24th Dec: Xmas eve Bash with CARLTON BRAGANZA & KARAN JOSEPH
The best way to bring in Christmas…your fav dance tunes, rock & roll, retro Christmas carols

CeeBee, Brazanga, Bragz, these are all many names for the same person. And as his many names suggest, he is many things to many people. Many people hate him, many people swear by him and his voice. Many times, people don’t quite understand him and his many many looks and hair-dos, and many times, they want to throw many things at him. Many, many, many, many. If I’ve used many, many times in the paragraph, because there is no other way to describe the talents of Carlton Braganza. They are simply many.And there’s no one quite like him to wish all of you at Opus a ‘Many Christmas’. Ladies and Gentlemen, the multifaceted, supremely talented (and pity he knows it!) Carlton Braganza

Tuesday 25th Dec: Christmas Bash: Rajeev Raja & Friends
Rajeev Raja A product of Bishop Cotton's School and St Joseph's College, Bangalore, Rajeev is acknowledged as India's most exciting Jazz and Fusion flautist. He demonstrates amazing versatility in his flute playing ranging from the throaty growls to mellow jazz solos and intrictate exposition of Indian ragas. Rajeev has recently started a Indian Fusion and World Music band in Mumbai called India Chapter. Rajeev has also directed the music for his first Bollywood film, Bas Yunhi. Rajeev's band Colossus inaugurated Bangalore's first ever Jazz Yatra in the eighties. For him the yatra goes on.