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U. Rajesh

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U. Rajesh
Birth nameUppalapu Rajesh
Also known asU. Rajesh,[1] Mandolin Rajesh[2]
Born (1977-05-17) 17 May 1977 (age 47)[3]
OriginPalakollu, Andhra Pradesh, India[4]
GenresIndian classical music, jazz fusion, world music
Occupation(s)Musician, music director
InstrumentElectric mandolin
Years active1983–present
RelativesU. Srinivas (brother)
In this Telugu name, the surname is Uppalapu.

Uppalapu Rajesh popularly known as Mandolin Rajesh is an Indian mandolin player of Carnatic classical music, a music producer, and a composer.[5][6][7][8][9]

Career

His work with John McLaughlin's album Floating Point, received a Grammy nomination in 2009.[4] He was the youngest participant in the Magic Mandolin Festival, (Germany), has performed at the Lincoln Centre, New York City, and has given concerts in BBC Live at London, Melbourne Concert Hall, Cité de la Musique, Paris,[3] Greece,[10] Canada,[11] Middle-East, United States,[12] and Europe.[13][14]

He has performed live with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (with Dominique Di Piazza), KZN Philharmonic Orchestra,[15] and Closer home (with Stephen Devassy).[16][17][18][19] His music performance at New York in 2006, was voted among the best concerts of the year, by The New Yorker. He was specially honored by the President of India, in April 2007.[20][21]

He has released solo albums, namely – Coromandel Duet (with A.K.Palanivel), Amalgamation, Vikku Vinayakaram, Spirits, Following My Heart and Into the Light.[3][22][23][24][25][26][27] The musical album Samjanitha included himself, U. Srinivas, Zakir Hussain, Sivamani, and George Brook.[28][17][29] U. Rajesh has been involved in tours and recordings with many music artists in both North and South India, such as Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shankar Mahadevan, Hariharan, Louis Banks, Ranjit Barot, Mike Marshall, Sivamani and Pete Lockett, Karsh Kale and Greg Ellis, Bickram Ghosh, Kamal Sabri, Niladri Kumar etc.[23][30][31] U. Rajesh in 2014, teamed with singer Karthik to form the band Srishti.[32]

Personal life

U. Rajesh was born on 17 May 1977 at Palakol, Andhra Pradesh, as the youngest child of U. Satyanarayana (father) and Kantham (mother).[3] He is the younger brother of late U. Srinivas, a notable mandolin player in Carnatic classical music, in India.[33][34][35][36]

In his childhood, his father and brother were his tutors in music. He started playing carnatic classical music on mandolin at the age of 6, and performed his first concert, at Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in the presence of Shri. Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi. U. Rajesh is an ardent devotee of the Paramacharya of Kanchi. He is also a follower and devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and has performed before him on several occasions.[17][3]

He and his brother have performed in concerts together, and have released musical albums together.[22][37][38][39] He is one of the directors of the music school, Srinivas Institute of World Music (SIOWM, named after U. Srinivas), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, which is providing free musical tuition to the students.[40][23]

Concerts

Starting at the age of 10, Rajesh started performing along with his brother. Rajesh was initiated to music by Kanchi Pamacharya and has given performances in over 50 countries. He continues to perform in carnatic classical and fusion music.[41][42]

Controversy

In 2018, as a part of what was widely considered as India's #MeToo movement, singer Chinmayi shared an account of a minor who was allegedly sexually harassed by Rajesh.[43][44]

References

  1. ^ "U. Rajesh". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Voice and instrument merge seamlessly". The Hindu. 17 March 2016. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Amalgamation: U. Rajesh". MusicIndiaOnline. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Soul Strings: U Rajesh on the legacy of playing an Italian lute in the Carnatic classical system". The Indian Express. 19 August 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Mandolin Rajesh and Apache Indian Clips". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Mandolin Rajesh". BBC. 29 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Mandolin U. Rajesh & Friends". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  8. ^ "U. Rajesh". gaana.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  9. ^ "U. Rajesh". bookmyshow.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  10. ^ "The master of mandolin U. Rajesh in Athens". elinepa.org. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Exciting North-South Indian Music Concert in Toronto". raagmala.ca. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  12. ^ "BALAM Dance Theatre to Debut at International Dharma Conference in Edison, New Jersey". musicalamerica.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Phoenix Marketcity celebrates Bengaluru Dasara Habba". eventshigh.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Mandolin man warms up to the ramp". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  15. ^ "Homepage". kznphil.org. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018.
  16. ^ "When music showed the way to defeat cancer". oneindia.com. 7 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  17. ^ a b c "Mandolin magic". The Hindu. 27 August 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Tribute To Mandolin Shrinivas by U. Rajesh and world music ensemble". rasika.org. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Mandolin maestro's humble beginnings". Sunday Times (Johannesburg). Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Tribecastan; also U Rajesh". townecc.tunestub.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Sai Bhajans (Instrumental) – Volume 6". Archived from the original on 23 March 2018.
  22. ^ a b "A Mandolin Duet featuring Mandolin Maestro U. Srinivas & his brother U. Rajesh". sruti.org. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  23. ^ a b c "Mandolin U Rajesh Music Director". justdial.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Mandolin U Rajesh into The Light". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  25. ^ "U. Rajesh". discogs. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  26. ^ "U. Rajesh". tidal.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Spirits". Amazon. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018.
  28. ^ "U Srinivas – Samjanitha CD". cduniverse.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  29. ^ "U. Shrinivas: Samjanitha". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  30. ^ Swaminathan, G. (22 December 2016). "Where speed ruled". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  31. ^ "Noida – HCL Concerts – at Shiv Nadar School Noida . #arts #music". tennews.in. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  32. ^ "U and I". The Hindu. 3 December 2014. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014.
  33. ^ "Brother to pay musical tribute to Mandolin maestro Srinivas". The Times of India. 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015.
  34. ^ "Band of friends". The Hindu. 25 February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018.
  35. ^ "ICMA Foundation". icmafoundation. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018.
  36. ^ "A Broken Record". openthemagazine.com. 3 December 2014. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  37. ^ "Mandolin U Srinivas – Mozart of Indian Classical Music". riyazapp.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  38. ^ "A mandolin and a miracle, remembering U Srinivas". thenewsminute.com. 25 September 2015. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017.
  39. ^ Martin, Douglas (October 2014). "U. Shrinivas, 45, Indian Mandolin Virtuoso With Global Reach, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017.
  40. ^ "Ray of Hope – Sri U. Rajesh". saivrinda.org. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018.
  41. ^ "Milapfest cancels UK events featuring U Rajesh, mandolin player named in #MeToo allegations". Firstpost. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  42. ^ "Singer names celebrities on #Metoo". Gulf Today. 12 October 2018. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  43. ^ "Milapfest cancels UK events featuring U Rajesh, mandolin player named in #MeToo allegations". Firstpost. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  44. ^ "Singer names celebrities on #Metoo". Gulf Today. 12 October 2018. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.


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