Sandhya Sanjana was born in Bombay, India and her musical journey began at the age of two. On stage since the age of five, she absorbed various folk and classical influences from ancient and contemporary India.
She studied Indian classical vocals under several gurus, absorbing the styles from various 'gharanas'. In her teenage years, she discovered rock and pop music. This new and youthful energy so fascinated her that she sang in rock groups in Bombay. Then she heard Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Her world was turned around once again. As a pioneer in this field, she sang in several jazz clubs all over India, infusing jazz with Indian classical flavours. Then she travelled the world with her group DIVYA.
While performing at the Jazz Jamboree in Poland, Alice Coltrane heard Sandhya sing and was most impressed with her effortless blending of Indian classical styles with jazz and contemporary settings. She invited DIVYA to perform for the 5th John Coltrane festival. While in Los Angeles for the festival, Alice Coltrane invited Sandhya to record some tracks on Glorious Chants, her CD of spiritual music. A year later, Alice was invited to perform on a BBC television series, Rhythms of the world. She invited Sandhya to sing with her on the show. In 2003, Sandhya sang again for the John Coltrane festival, this time as a solo artist.
Since her move to Europe eight years ago, Sandhya is a member of several bands. She has been touring the world with these bands and absorbing the flavours of the countries she visits into her unique style.
She has also been featured on numerous CDs. While on mp3.com, she participated in many web collaborations. Since her discovery of many mp3.com friends on My Space, she continues to make music with her "virtual" friends, several of whom she has met up with in real life.
Steeped in the improvisation culture of Indian classical music and jazz, Sandhya uses her voice as an instrument. Her voice has been featured on two major Playstation 3 video games. To her, this is a challenging field and she looks forward to exploring it in the coming years.
Some venues Sandhya performed at :
Recontres Musicales de Casablanca, Morocco
Migration Music Festival, Taipei, Taiwan
Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Canada
Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland
Sargfabrik, Vienna, Austria
Royal Festival Hall - London, U.K.
John Coltrane Jazz Festival - Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Moods - Zurich, Switzerland
Dizzy - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Stadtgarten - Cologne, Germany
Jazz Jamboree - Warsaw, Poland
Expo 2000 - Hanover, Germany
Theater de Lieve Vrouw - Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Sju Jazz Podium - Utrecht, The Netherlands
Debrecen Jazz Days - Debrecen, Hungary
Montmartre Jazz Club - Copenhagen, Denmark
Jazz Club Nefertiti - Gotenburg, Sweden
Jazz Club Fasching - Stockholm, Sweden
Bimhuis, Roxy, Tropical Museum, Melkweg, Paradiso, Meervaart, Concertgebouw - Amsterdam
Festival Mundial - Tilburg, The Netherlands
The Jazz Club - Hong Kong
Malaysian Jazz Festival - Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia
Summer Jazz Festival - Tokyo, Japan
Thailand Jazz Festival - Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand
Jazz Yatra - Bombay, India
Jazz Clubs - Dresden, Cologne, Leipzig etc. in Germany
Bar 55 - New York, U.S.A.
Festival of India - Moscow and Alma Ata, U.S.S.R.
