Artist description Jaffna is an acoustic four piece ensemble that plays original world fusion music. Influences heard in the music touch on Hindustani, Carnatic, Persian, Arabic, and Anatolian influences. Also detectable are Flamenco, Celtic, Balkan and American folk and jazz.

Music Style World Fusion

Musical Influences Shakti, Zakir Hussain, Simon Shaheen

Similar Artists Shakti, Gypsy Kings, Zakir Hussain, Rusted Root

Artist History The musical ensemble known as Jaffna has been performing together in the Philadelphia area since 1992 and has enjoyed a dedicated popularity due to its exciting performances and captivating recordings. Changes in the group's personnel and its influences have inspired a host of musical directions over the years, but the current sound is a distillation of these styles into a refined aesthetic, informed by its members' similarities and differences. The instrumentation, tabla, oud, guitar and darbuka, suggests a combination of light-classical Indian and Middle Eastern music, but the end result is really much more than simple addition. Jaffna has performed to wildly enthusiastic audiences at the Painted Bride Arts Center in Philadelphia, the University Museum at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn's Landing, the Bethlehem MusicFest, Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, 10 campuses of Penn State University, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jaffna is also active in teaching workshops and performing lecture demonstrations to a variety of audiences and age groups. The group has two recorded releases: 1993's self-titled cassette and 1996' Acoustic Allies CD.

Group Members Roger Mgrdichian Raji Malik Joseph Tayoun Branavan Ganesan

Instruments tabla, oud, kanjira, darbuka, guitar, saz, sarod, daf, tar, mridangam, dholak

Albums Acoustic Allies

Location Collingswood, New Jersey - USA

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