REFUGE is a contemplative set of compositions by Indian pianist Aman Mahajan, exploring an ever-evolving sense of 'home'. 

These pieces delve into universal emotions through personal storytelling, presenting musical narratives that resonate on a deeply human level, inviting listeners into a world of inner reflection.

The primary avatar of the group features Aman Mahajan on piano, contemporary Carnatic violinist Apoorva Krishna, Indo-Brazilian bassist Dhani Muniz and jazz drummer Rohit PS. Together, the quartet explores sonic, emotional and philosophical landscapes through pieces like The Ten Thousand Questions, Where Is It?, Sitaphalmandi and Leifmotif.

Each piece reflects a facet of the composer’s journey, inviting the audience to pause, listen, and find echoes of their own experiences within these shared musical spaces.

EPK | bookings | bandcamp
live production by Navneeth Krishnan
represented by Kirtana Krishna, Dorian House Foundation, Auroville

Notable performances

• JazzWerkstatt Graz 2018, Austria

• The Blue Room, Bangalore

• Jazz India Circuit, Delhi

• Open Hand Jazz Festival, Chandigarh

• Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Bombay

• Donau115, Berlin

• Bangalore International Center

• CRIPA, Auroville

• Brillante Piano Festival 2019, Nagaland and 2024, Bangalore

• Courtyard Koota Jazz Festival, Bangalore

• Jagriti Theatre, Bangalore

• Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai

PRESS

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

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 tunes are deceptively simple and most of them lend themselves to easy recall. We believe they also lend themselves to being hits.

BangaloreMag
24.05.13

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, coaxing love out of Aman and making suggestions of where the pieces might lead.

FREQ Magazine
01.03.20

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

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

HISTORY

19.01.2025 ext, Hyderabad
11.01.2025 Natallia’s Piano Studio, Bangalore
24.11.2024 Jazz India Circuit, New Delhi
29.09.2024 Brillante Piano Festival, Bangalore
22.09.2024 Hyatt Jazz Weekender, Chennai
01.09.2024 Courtyard Koota Jazz Festival, Bangalore
17.08.2024 ZLB23, Bangalore
27.07.2024 Musee Musical, Chennai
08.10.2023 Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, Bombay
23.07.2023 Donau115, Berlin
07.05.2022 natakvalas, Bangalore
19.04.2022 CRIPA, Auroville
03.10.2021 The Courtyard, Bangalore
07.04.2020 Q-Rated: Kerplunk Edition 7 (livestream)
03.04.2020 House Concert Bombay (livestream)
15.12.2019 The Piano Man, Gurugram (album launch tour)
14.12.2019 Musee Musical, Hyderabad (album launch tour)
10.12.2019 Bangalore International Center (album launch tour)
24.11.2019 Open Hand Jazz Festival, Chandigarh
23.11.2019 Open Hand Jazz Festival, Chandigarh
29.10.2019 Brillante Piano Festival, Kohima, Nagaland
15.06.2019 Innisfree, Gachibowli, Hyderabad
25.05.2019 The Blue Room, Jayanagar, Bangalore
04.05.2019 Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield, Bangalore
27.04.2019 Monk Studio, HSR Layout, Bangalore
16.12.2018 Courtyard Koota, Bangalore
18.11.2018 Theme Piano World, Bangalore
09.11.2018 The Bangalore School of Music
02.11.2018 Art Bengaluru, UB City, Bangalore
27.10.2018 [workshop] Taaqademy, Halasuru, Bangalore
14.09.2018 Musicians for Kodagu, Alliance Française de Bangalore
21.07.2018 The Muse Room, Bangalore
30.06.2018 The Blue Room, Bangalore
14.04.2018 India Center, Graz
11.04.2018 JazzWerkstatt 2018, Graz
14.11.2016 The Piano Man Jazz Club, New Delhi
11.10.2016 The Piano Man Jazz Club, New Delhi
09.04.2015 Carrots, Bangalore

A work in progress since 2005, Refuge is a musical scrapbook that has documented the composer’s life, explorations and influences.

Equal parts structured and improvised, the music is a melting pot of myriad influences – jazz, Indian and European classical traditions, music from the American continents, Japanese and East Asian aesthetics, West African music, and folk/traditional music from other parts of the world.

Refuge has featured instruments as diverse as the saxophone, tabla, duduk, bamboo flute, electric and acoustic bass, voice, bass clarinet, and drum set.

This is essentially a work that originated at the piano and travelled through collaboration, synthesizing multitudes of ideas from musicians and audiences along the way.