Biography
Sunny Jain, a forward-thinking percussionist who has mastered the double-sided Indian dhol drum, merges his Punjabi heritage with deep affinities for post-bop jazz, fusion, psychedelic rock, and funk. After first appearing in New York during the early 2000s, he gained widespread critical praise as founder of the boundary-pushing brass-and-drum ensemble Red Baraat. Additional sideman engagements have included work alongside Norah Jones, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Donny McCaslin, and numerous others. All of these disparate influences surface when he directs the Sunny Jain Collective across his solo releases, among them 2004’s Mango Festival, 2010’s Taboo, and 2020’s Wild Wild East. Beyond performance, he has authored multiple percussion manuals and frequently conducts workshops and master classes focused on drumming and Indian rhythmic principles.
Born in Rochester, New York, in 1975 to Punjabi immigrant parents, Jain absorbed a richly hybrid musical environment during childhood. His mother’s cassettes of devotional bhajans (his family followed the Indian Jain religion), his father’s reel-to-reel tapes of Indian classical music and Bollywood soundtracks, and Top 40 records by Rush, Ice-T, and Led Zeppelin all shaped his early listening. Drum lessons began in his youth, and by roughly age 12 he had discovered jazz through recordings of Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, and Elvin Jones, the drummer in John Coltrane’s band. After high school he refined his technique further, completing a B.M. in Jazz Performance at Rutgers University and an M.A. in Music Business at New York University. College years also deepened his engagement with Indian music, culminating in mastery of the North Indian dhol. Alongside jazz and Indian traditions he absorbed electronic drum’n’bass, fusion-rock, and Brazilian and West African rhythms.
As an active figure in the New York music community, Jain has collaborated with an array of prominent artists across genres, among them Dewey Redman, Kenny Barron, Seamus Blake, David Byrne, Cucu Diamantes, Peter Gabriel, Norah Jones, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Donny McCaslin. He has twice received the Arts International Award and, in 2002, was named a Jazz Ambassador by the U.S. Department of State and the Kennedy Center. That same year he issued his solo debut, As Is, which blended jazz and Indian rhythms with contributions from guitarist Rez Abbasi, tenor saxophonist Steve Welsh, and bassist Gary Wang. The same trio appeared on the hypnotic 2004 release Mango Festival. In 2010 he recorded Taboo with pianist Marc Cary and guitarist Nir Felder.
Since 2008 Jain has directed Red Baraat, a nine-piece brass-and-percussion group that fuses traditional Bhangra rhythms with hip-hop, jazz, funk, and rock. The ensemble has produced several vividly executed albums, including 2009’s Chaal Baby, 2013’s Shruggy Ji, and 2017’s Bhangri Pirates. He also belongs to the South Asian rock band Junoon, with whom he has toured and recorded. In 2020 he released the expansive Wild Wild East on Smithsonian Folkways. Co-produced by Jain and Joel Hamilton, the album reflected his admiration for Bollywood and Spaghetti Western soundtracks, psychedelic rock, Indian classical music, and post-bop jazz.
Born in Rochester, New York, in 1975 to Punjabi immigrant parents, Jain absorbed a richly hybrid musical environment during childhood. His mother’s cassettes of devotional bhajans (his family followed the Indian Jain religion), his father’s reel-to-reel tapes of Indian classical music and Bollywood soundtracks, and Top 40 records by Rush, Ice-T, and Led Zeppelin all shaped his early listening. Drum lessons began in his youth, and by roughly age 12 he had discovered jazz through recordings of Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, and Elvin Jones, the drummer in John Coltrane’s band. After high school he refined his technique further, completing a B.M. in Jazz Performance at Rutgers University and an M.A. in Music Business at New York University. College years also deepened his engagement with Indian music, culminating in mastery of the North Indian dhol. Alongside jazz and Indian traditions he absorbed electronic drum’n’bass, fusion-rock, and Brazilian and West African rhythms.
As an active figure in the New York music community, Jain has collaborated with an array of prominent artists across genres, among them Dewey Redman, Kenny Barron, Seamus Blake, David Byrne, Cucu Diamantes, Peter Gabriel, Norah Jones, Rudresh Mahanthappa, and Donny McCaslin. He has twice received the Arts International Award and, in 2002, was named a Jazz Ambassador by the U.S. Department of State and the Kennedy Center. That same year he issued his solo debut, As Is, which blended jazz and Indian rhythms with contributions from guitarist Rez Abbasi, tenor saxophonist Steve Welsh, and bassist Gary Wang. The same trio appeared on the hypnotic 2004 release Mango Festival. In 2010 he recorded Taboo with pianist Marc Cary and guitarist Nir Felder.
Since 2008 Jain has directed Red Baraat, a nine-piece brass-and-percussion group that fuses traditional Bhangra rhythms with hip-hop, jazz, funk, and rock. The ensemble has produced several vividly executed albums, including 2009’s Chaal Baby, 2013’s Shruggy Ji, and 2017’s Bhangri Pirates. He also belongs to the South Asian rock band Junoon, with whom he has toured and recorded. In 2020 he released the expansive Wild Wild East on Smithsonian Folkways. Co-produced by Jain and Joel Hamilton, the album reflected his admiration for Bollywood and Spaghetti Western soundtracks, psychedelic rock, Indian classical music, and post-bop jazz.
Albums
Singles
