For the past decade, ragarasa have enriched hundreds of events with their unique flare for improvisation on sitar and tabla. Whether at concerts, recordings, corporate events, weddings or receptions – their playing has been consistently praised for its finesse and beauty. Both musicians are gifted in their own right. Jonathan (sitar) has performed with the likes of Dave Stewart, Sir Paul McCartney, The Dub Pistols, Sarah Brightman and Ashok Dutta, and has appeared on BBC TV. Neil (tabla) has recently toured with Christian Garrick's Firewire Ensemble and the fusion band Deva, and has recorded for the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and many others. Previous clients and venues include Aveda, Pfizer, The Officer's Association, Blenheim Palace, Crockfords, HM Treasury, The Wentworth Club, The Yoga Therapy Centre (Islington) and hundreds of private clients. Whatever the occasion, ragarasa will provide sensuous, atmospheric music pitched to the exacting standards of the most discerning client.

Biographies

Jonathan Mayer
Son of the late composer and co-founder of Indo-Jazz Fusions John Mayer, Jonathan began his musical training at an early age and at 16, resolved to be a sitarist. His teachers have included Clem Alford (the first ever European sitarist), Subroto Roy Chowdhury and Wajahat Khan. Jonathan gained a B.Mus (Hons) from the Birmingham Conservatoire where he studied both sitar and composition. He has played with artists such as The Bingham String Quartet, The Bombay Dub Orchestra, Kumar Bose, Shiv Shankar Ray, Rohan de Saram, John Wilson, Sarah Brightman and Sir Paul McCartney. His solo album was released by Cooking Vinyl Records. Jonathan's compositions have been performed by Erich Gruenburg, Joji Hattori, Indo-Jazz Fusions and for orchestra. He has toured worldwide as a soloist and in various ensembles.

"astonishingly virtuosic" – Classic CD, UK
"exhilarating solos from Jonathan on sitar" – The Times, UK

Neil Craig
A classically trained percussionist, Neil has performed in many musical contexts throughout his career, including orchestral, avant-garde and traditional Hindustani music. After graduating with a B.Mus from the Western Australian Conservatorium of Music in Perth, his native city, he freelanced with various orchestras and ensembles, touring North and South America, Australia and Southeast Asia. At the age of 24 he was a full-time lecturer in music in Malaysia. Trained in Latin percussion (Cuban and Brazilian), Neil went on to study tabla in Benares, India, and later in London under renowned tabla player, Pandit Sharda Sahai. He has since gained a degree equivalent (Sangit Prabhakar) majoring in tabla. Neil can be heard on The ChristianGarrick Quartet's album FLY 3 and recently toured with the augmented version of this band, the Firewire Ensemble. His third album with Deva is soon to be released following their recent tour of Scotland.

"formidable… tabla maestro Neil Craig beautifies" – jazzcds.co.uk
"Australian tabla player Neil Craig adds further richness" – Jazzwise