Sanjay Mishra is an

Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

musician who began performing after completing his studies at the

Peabody Conservatory of Music The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and ...

. Mishra plays with an eclecticism well suited to his multicultural background combining both Eastern and Western influences. He has been quoted saying, "I come from a tradition that has a lot of improvisation. Sometimes Western classical music can seem a little rigid, I had to find some middle ground."

Education

He graduated from the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

in 1987.

Early career

Mishra first came to public acclaim for his album ''Blue Incantation'' with guitarist

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. It is one of Garcia's last works. Tributes to Garcia's work occur in Mishra's concerts.From Sanjay Mishra, A World of Guitar
,

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

, by L. Peat O'Neil, June 8, 1998.

Present and future

His album ''Chateau Benares'' (October 2006) with guest appearances by

DJ Logic DJ Logic (born 1972 as Jason Kibler) is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/ acid jazz and with jam bands. Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx, NY. Because of an early interest in hip hop, Kibler started using the turntabl ...

and

Keller Williams Keller Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician who combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, along with other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' d ...

, among others, was received with rave reviews on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

and in ''

''. He has also composed music for films. His score for the French film

Port Djema ''Port Djema'' is a 1997 French drama film directed by Eric Heumann. It was entered into the 47th Berlin International Film Festival where Heumann won the Silver Bear for Best Director. The music for the film was written by Sanjay Mishra and r ...

was presented The Lifetime Vision Award at the Hamptons Film Festival in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and described as "hauntingly beautiful". The film won The Golden Bear at The Berlin Film Festival in 1996. Mishra primarily records on Akar Music, distributed by City Hall Records in

San Rafael, CA San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's populatio ...

. His music has also been released on PolyGram, Philips,

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

, Mercury, Ryko, Putumayo, Melodia and other labels. He is author of ''Guitar Atlas: India'', published by Alfred enhanced by Sanjay's "intimate knowledge of the relationship between

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...

and the guitar". He taught audio production at The Georgetown University in Washington, D.C from from 2006-2011

Discography

Albums

*'' The Crossing'' (1993) *''

Blue Incantation ''Blue Incantation'' is an album by guitarist Sanjay Mishra with special guest Jerry Garcia. It combines elements of modern Western music and classical Indian music. It was released in 1995 by Akar Music and RainDog Records. Critical reception ...

'' (1995) – with

*''

'' (1997) – soundtrack *''

Rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...

'' (2000) – with

Dennis Chambers Dennis Milton Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2001. Early life Chambers was born on May 9, 1959. He began drumming at the age of four years, and was gigging in Bal ...

and Samir Chatterjee *''

Chateau Benares Chateau Benares is an album by Sanjay Mishra, released in 2006. Critical reception In ''The Washington Post'', Mike Joyce wrote, "Thanks in no small part to ''Blue Incantation'', a highly regarded collaboration with fellow guitarist Jerry Garcia ...

'' (2006) *''

Lamplighter A lamplighter is a person employed to light and maintain candle or, later, gas street lights. Very few exist today as most gas street lighting has long been replaced by electric lamps. Function Lights were lit each evening, generally by means ...

'' (2014) * Duets (2020) - with Garrett Gleason

Compilations

*''Music From the Tea Lands'' (2000) Putumayo World *''Deep Orient, Vol. 2'' (2001) Melodia (France) *Indian Spirit – 3 (2009) EMI Records

Guest appearances

*'' Trusty'' – Goodbye, Dr. Fate (1995) *''

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

'' (2007)

Publishing

*''Guitar Atlas: India'' published by Alfred Publishing

References

External links

Official SiteSanjay talks with NPR about his CD and bookSanjay on LastFMRolling Stone magazine feature on Sanjay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Sanjay American acoustic guitarists Living people Indian emigrants to the United States American male musicians of Indian descent American musicians of Indian descent Peabody Institute alumni Musicians from Kolkata American male guitarists Year of birth missing (living people) People from Kolkata Johns Hopkins University alumni Indian people of French descent American people of French descent