REFUGE is a reflective set of musical themes exploring ideas of home and paying homage to inward journeys. Although created through an intensely personal process, the music deals with the human condition, and finds resonance with listeners across the globe.
Equal parts structured and improvised, Refuge has been performed in various configurations, featuring instruments as diverse as the saxophone, tabla, duduk, bamboo flute, electric and acoustic bass, voice, bass clarinet, and drum set.
A work in progress since 2005, this album is also a musical scrapbook that documents the composer’s life, his exploration of philosophical frameworks, intellectual ideas and personal themes alongside his study of music, and the connections between them.
The music thrives on the synthesis of myriad influences – jazz, Indian and European classical traditions, music from the American continents, Japanese and East Asian aesthetics, West African music, and folk music from around the world. Casual and extended improvisation play key roles in developing most of these pieces.
This is essentially a collection of pieces that originated at the piano, travelling across continents on various collaborations, meeting a multitude of musicians and audiences along the way, only to return to the piano in this avatar.
PERFORMANCES
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)
14.12.2019 Musee Musical, Hyderabad (album launch performance)
10.12.2019 Bangalore International Center, Domlur (album launch)
23.11.2019 Open Hand Jazz Festival, Chandigarh
24.11.2019 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
The Composer
Aman Mahajan is a pianist, composer and improviser based in Bangalore, India, playing improvised music across a diversity of musical idioms. His current work is influenced by traditional and contemporary forms of music from around the world, often concept-driven, and inspired by a sense of unity and connection. He is keenly interested in improvised music as a medium of interaction and exploration.
PRESS
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, coaxing love out of Aman and making suggestions of where the pieces might lead.
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
downloads: photograph | profile