Biography
Possessing a profound, woody resonance and a gift for harmonic and rhythmic invention, bassist Harish Raghavan serves as a preferred touring partner for leading jazz figures such as Kurt Elling, Taylor Eigsti, Vijay Iyer, Gerald Clayton, and Charles Lloyd. He has contributed to landmark recordings by Ambrose Akinmusire, Eric Harland, Logan Richardson, and Dayna Stephens. Residing in Brooklyn, Raghavan also composes, leads ensembles, and teaches. With saxophonist Walter Smith III he co-directs a unit that has released multiple albums. His first outing as leader, Calls for Action, appeared in 2019; after revising the personnel he issued the follow-up In Tense in 2022.
Born and raised just north of Chicago, Raghavan began with studies in both Western and Eastern percussion traditions, among them the Indian mridangam, before taking up the upright bass at age sixteen. He earned a BA in Music from USC, studying there with John Clayton and Dave Carpenter and later with Robert Hurst. Relocating to New York in 2006, he supported himself through sideman engagements, arriving with strong endorsements from his instructors. His recording debut came on trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos’ Underground that same year. In 2009 he reached the semifinals of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition. Steady club work and session appearances followed on Andreas Öberg’s My Favorite Guitars, Eigsti’s Let It Come to You, and Erin Boheme’s What Love Is, after which he joined Harland’s trio for Voyager: Live by Night and Akinmusire’s acclaimed Blue Note debut When the Heart Emerges Glistening in 2010. Both Raghavan and Harland appeared on Sara Leib’s Secret Love in 2012. Between 2014 and 2015 he participated in key releases by Akinmusire (The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint), Harland (Vipassana), Walter Smith III (Still Casual), and Richardson (Shift). With reedist Ben Wendel and drummer-percussionist Nate Wood he formed ACT, self-releasing Act II in 2015, while also performing that December in the Klemens Marktl Sextet alongside John Ellis, Seamus Blake, Aaron Goldberg, and Joe Locke. He and Smith further collaborated on Dayna Stephens’ Criss Cross album Reminiscent.
An extensive touring schedule took Raghavan across European festivals and American clubs with Mark Turner, Aaron Parks, Greg Osby, Billy Childs, Benny Green, Fabian Almazan, and Julian Lage. He spent much of the next year on the road with Akinmusire in both Europe and the United States. In 2017 he appeared on the trumpeter’s widely praised A Rift in Decorum (Live at the Village Vanguard). A trio with Smith and Harland supported the saxophonist’s Whirlwind debut Twio that year, which also featured guests Joshua Redman and Christian McBride. The following year Raghavan played on Smith’s second Whirlwind release In Common with Marcus Gilmore, Joel Ross, and Matthew Stevens. He assembled his own quintet featuring alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, pianist Micah Thomas, vibraphonist Ross, and drummer Kweku Sumbry. The group began performing regularly, and Raghavan co-produced and performed on Ross’ 2018 Blue Note album KingMaker, which included vocals by Gretchen Parlato. In fall 2019, thirteen years after arriving in New York, he released his Whirlwind leader debut Calls for Action with the quintet. For his next project he reconstituted the band, retaining Ross on vibraphone and Harland on drums while adding guitarist Charles Altura and woodwind player Morgan Guerin. The resulting album, In Tense, appeared on Whirlwind in July 2022.
Born and raised just north of Chicago, Raghavan began with studies in both Western and Eastern percussion traditions, among them the Indian mridangam, before taking up the upright bass at age sixteen. He earned a BA in Music from USC, studying there with John Clayton and Dave Carpenter and later with Robert Hurst. Relocating to New York in 2006, he supported himself through sideman engagements, arriving with strong endorsements from his instructors. His recording debut came on trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos’ Underground that same year. In 2009 he reached the semifinals of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition. Steady club work and session appearances followed on Andreas Öberg’s My Favorite Guitars, Eigsti’s Let It Come to You, and Erin Boheme’s What Love Is, after which he joined Harland’s trio for Voyager: Live by Night and Akinmusire’s acclaimed Blue Note debut When the Heart Emerges Glistening in 2010. Both Raghavan and Harland appeared on Sara Leib’s Secret Love in 2012. Between 2014 and 2015 he participated in key releases by Akinmusire (The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint), Harland (Vipassana), Walter Smith III (Still Casual), and Richardson (Shift). With reedist Ben Wendel and drummer-percussionist Nate Wood he formed ACT, self-releasing Act II in 2015, while also performing that December in the Klemens Marktl Sextet alongside John Ellis, Seamus Blake, Aaron Goldberg, and Joe Locke. He and Smith further collaborated on Dayna Stephens’ Criss Cross album Reminiscent.
An extensive touring schedule took Raghavan across European festivals and American clubs with Mark Turner, Aaron Parks, Greg Osby, Billy Childs, Benny Green, Fabian Almazan, and Julian Lage. He spent much of the next year on the road with Akinmusire in both Europe and the United States. In 2017 he appeared on the trumpeter’s widely praised A Rift in Decorum (Live at the Village Vanguard). A trio with Smith and Harland supported the saxophonist’s Whirlwind debut Twio that year, which also featured guests Joshua Redman and Christian McBride. The following year Raghavan played on Smith’s second Whirlwind release In Common with Marcus Gilmore, Joel Ross, and Matthew Stevens. He assembled his own quintet featuring alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, pianist Micah Thomas, vibraphonist Ross, and drummer Kweku Sumbry. The group began performing regularly, and Raghavan co-produced and performed on Ross’ 2018 Blue Note album KingMaker, which included vocals by Gretchen Parlato. In fall 2019, thirteen years after arriving in New York, he released his Whirlwind leader debut Calls for Action with the quintet. For his next project he reconstituted the band, retaining Ross on vibraphone and Harland on drums while adding guitarist Charles Altura and woodwind player Morgan Guerin. The resulting album, In Tense, appeared on Whirlwind in July 2022.
Albums
Singles
