Sunny Jain is an American dhol player, drummer, and composer. He is recognized as a main voice in the burgeoning movement of South Asian-American jazz musicians. His seven albums have all received international acclaim for their “groundbreaking synthesis” (Coda Magazine), as he brings together the ancient sounds of his cultural heritage, America’s greatest original art form and a myriad of other sounds. In 2008, Sunny founded the Brooklyn Bhangra band Red Baraat. In 2011 Red Baraat performed over 100 club shows and festivals across the world, including Bonnaroo Music Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, and a performance at the White House and the Paralympics closing ceremony in London. The title track from their debut album, Chaal Baby, was used as the background music for commercials during the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. After the group’s performance at the 2011 globalFEST, they were featured on PRI’s “The World”, NPR’s “All Songs Considered”, The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Mother Jones magazine. With a new album freshly out and more gigs lined up, Red Baraat is building a brand new musical bridge that is sure to bring people from everywhere closer together.
I had the chance once again to chat with my man Sunny fr all the right reasons. He is bringing Red Baraat back to Madison on August 16th to close of the Central Park Sessions – The Globetrotter Sessions. We get to find out about how the sounds of the band and personel have changed over time and where it stands as they prepare to make musical moments happen with us in Madison. We learn a little about the variety of places the band has gone and how open people are to a potentially very unfamiliar groove. Sunny shares the artists he would share to the listeners if given the opportunity to take over greenarrowradio, and man, you all will really like him as your host. Not only will we get to hang in person, but there’s a brand new album from the group, “Sound The People”. We dive into the how these songs were born as well as the many special guests/friends perfectly chosen to represent the bridge building that I believe is a sonic guide to a more tolerant world. Sound the PEOPLE, indeed
Photo By: Mark Jaworski
