Purbayan Chatterjee

Purbayan Chatterjee, sitar maestro, composer, and teacher, is internationally renowned for his rhythmically animated yet melodiously engaging ragas of Indian classical music. He is recognized for the unique dexterity and richness in his melodic improvisation and his startling ability to traverse any rhythmic variation effortlessly. 

He has performed internationally, including in the US and NYC, at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall. Moreover, he eloquently and gracefully articulates the richness and diversity of India's past and India today, its medley of cultures, religions, and art. Purbayan is known for his interest in cross-cultural, style-bending fusion music with Western artists such as Bela Fleck, Snarky Puppy, and Mark Lettieri. 

Along with presenting Indian classical music in this inventive and versatile format by blending other sounds with the rich Indian heritage, he recently founded a band called Classicool. This band has some of the best of the young homegrown musicians in India, including young women, something unheard of just a generation ago to have women instrumentalists in Indian classical music. 

He and his wife, Gayatri Asokan, are the founders of PAAMF (Purbayan Arts Artists Music Foundation), a non-profit organization for underprivileged musicians, especially women, which provides instruction, network opportunities, mentorship and exposure to well-known industry veterans, performance and collaboration opportunities and most importantly, access to a community of artists and their friends. PAAMF is focused on supporting and creating the next generation of musicians than will carry our rich musical heritage forward.