Global Rhythms: Ganesh Rajagopalan with Marina Albero

Ganesh Rajagopalan is a Grammy Award-winning violinist, composer, educator, and one of the foremost ambassadors of contemporary Indian classical music. Acclaimed for his extraordinary virtuosity and innovative musical vision, he has expanded the expressive possibilities of the Carnatic violin through groundbreaking collaborations and original compositions.

A founding member of the legendary duo Ganesh-Kumaresh and a member of the iconic group Shakti alongside John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, and Shankar Mahadevan, Ganesh received the 2024 Grammy Award for the album This Moment. His music seamlessly bridges Indian classical traditions with jazz, orchestral, and global musical languages while remaining deeply rooted in the raga tradition. Beyond the concert stage, Ganesh is the founder of the Temple of Music and creator of the Swara Yoga Ensemble, inspiring the next generation of musicians through performance, education, and innovation.

Marina Albero is a celebrated pianist, psalterium player and composer from Barcelona, now based in New Orleans. Her musical journey began early, performing traditional and early music around the world with her family and studying classical piano in Barcelona and Havana under Professor Teresa Junco. Known for her versatility, Albero blends jazz, flamenco, early music, and Afro-Cuban rhythms into a distinctive and expressive style. She has collaborated with renowned artists like L’Arpeggiata, Chano Domínguez, Ganesh Rajagopalan, Yusa, Pepe Habichuela, among others and her work has earned multiple accolades, including “Musician of the Year” and “Album of the Year” from Earshot Jazz. In addition to her performing career, Albero is a passionate educator, having taught at Cornish College of the Arts and Western Washington University. Her latest album, A Nomad of Sound (2024), recorded in New Orleans, reflects her evolving artistic voice and was awarded the Golden Ear “Album of the Year.” www.marinaalbero.net

Tim Carey is a multi-instrumentalist, bassist, composer, and educator based in Seattle, Washington. He has toured and performed internationally with artists and ensembles including Jovino Santos Neto, Groove for Thought, The 8-Bit Big Band, Ganesh Rajagopalan, Antonio Adolfo, Chuchito Valdés, and Dani Gurgel, in addition to leading and performing with his own projects. Since graduating from Cornish College of the Arts, Carey has maintained a full-time career as both a performing musician and music educator. He has taught music theory, ear training, and composition at Cornish College of the Arts, guitar and music production at Bellevue College, directed the jazz band at Holy Names Academy in Seattle, and served as Big Band Director at Edmonds College. Carey has also presented clinics and workshops at colleges and high schools across the country, including CalArts, the University of North Texas, the University of Northern Colorado, and Cal State Long Beach. He currently serves as Program Director at Jazz Night School in Seattle, Washington.

Indian-American percussionist, composer, and educator Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy is one of the leading voices of Indian classical and cross-genre music in the South Asian diaspora. Acclaimed a “musical ambassador” by The Times of India, he received mridangam training from the legendary maestro, Sri. Guruvayur Dorai, tabla from maestro Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri, and drum set from Alan Hall at the California Jazz Conservatory. Distinguished as a soloist, composer, and collaborator, Rohan performed with legendary Indian classical musicians and Grammy Award-winning global artists including M. Balamuralikrishna, T.N. Krishnan, L. Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Trevor Hall, Glen Velez, and Ganesh Rajagopalan. Rohan leads The Alaya Project, an Indo-jazz-funk collective, which has performed at prestigious jazz and global music venues across the country including SFJazz, Joe’s Pub NYC, and The Strathmore DC. Their debut album has been praised by Jazziz Magazine, NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, and more. In 2026, Rohan served as co-orchestrator and Indian percussionist for the world premiere of The Lunchbox, a record-breaking musical at Berkeley Repertory Theater based on the hit Bollywood film. Rohan holds a Ph.D. in musicology from the Eastman School of Music and directs the RohanRhythm Percussion Studio with students from across the globe. Rohan is the recipient of international awards and grants including commissions from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Zellerbach Foundation, and Goethe Institute (Germany). He has taught at renowned institutions and his patented RohanRhythm drum tuning system is available worldwide.

Xavier Lecoutier is a young, American, drummer, composer, with French and Mexican heritage. He is a Graduate of the Cornish College of the Arts Music Department where he spent his last four years completing his degree. In his four years in Seattle, Xavier primarily focused on developing a compositional and playing style that was manifested in his music. He has a commitment to the study and roots of the jazz tradition but also finds all the ways in which the things he carries can influence his music. The music he composes is drawn from the music he grew up listening to, including classical music, latin jazz, Mexican pop-rock, or pop. He is a unique musician and composer that brings something new to the tradition of jazz and modern music. His music continues to be a deep source of discovery and growth for Xavier as a musician. Beyond that, he has been an active member of Thomas Marriott’s quintet. He also Leads an Octet, “DX-Tet”, as well as a big band with his close musical cohort Dylan Hayes.

Michael Brockman, DMA, moved from the East Coast to Seattle in 1987 to join the UW School of Music faculty. He instructs concert and jazz saxophone performance, and jazz arranging and composition. Brockman earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the UW, and a Master of Music degree with distinction from the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he studied arranging with Jaki Byard, composition with George Russell, and woodwind performance with Joe Allard. He earned a bachelor of music degree from Lewis and Clark College, and also attended both the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and the Musikhochschule in Cologne, Germany. Brockman’s doctoral dissertation is titled “Orchestration Techniques of Duke Ellington,” and he has transcribed numerous classic large ensemble scores by Ellington, Mingus, Mulligan, Lunceford, Kenton, Monk and others. He is the lead saxophonist and co-director of the award-winning Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, and has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Frank Wess, Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath, Quincy Jones, James Moody, Benny Carter, Ernestine Anderson, Arturo Sandoval, Ella Fitzgerald, Jon Hendricks, Joe Williams, and many other luminaries of jazz. The SRJO presents the annual Duke Ellington Sacred Concert in Seattle (now in its 23rd year), plus an annual subscription concert series of rare big band works. In addition to performing in the SRJO, Brockman has prepared scores for much of the band’s repertoire, based on rare vintage recordings of unpublished works by great composers.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle and SAMA: Music + Art.

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