Nov 07 2025 to Nov 07 2025 6:30 p.m.

Price: 500 Book/Buy

Where

Courtyard Koota

Ground floor, Good Earth Tarana Good Earth Malhar, near Rajarajeswari medical college Kambipura, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560074

Event Description

Radha Thomas and Aman Mahajan have been performing for almost fifteen years together, but Thomas and Mahajan met quite by chance. Thomas was idly googling this and that when she came across a video of Mahajan’s. She decided to track him down since she liked his playing so much. 

“I’m not much of a believer in coincidences. I think things are meant to be,” she says. She discovered that Mahajan lived only two streets away. Which led to much practice together, much composing, many performances, much recording and many formats including sextet, quintet, quartet, trio and of course the duo.  

They have recorded two albums together: I Only Have Eyes For You and Bangalore Blues, and plan more. 

The collaboration has led to a personal, imaginative and quiet format for piano and voice, featuring compositions which are cocktails of jazz and Indian music, vocalese, and new takes on classic jazz standards. Their music is original and yet familiar. Strains of jazz intertwine with a hint of Indian music and some solid improvisation to provide audiences with an intricate and musically fulfilling experience.

They will play original music composed over the past several years, from their albums as well new music that has not yet been released. In addition, they will also play a few re-imagined jazz standards. 

About the artists:

Radha Thomas
vocalist, composer | radhathomas.com

One of India’s leading and most widely recognized figures in jazz, vocalist Radha Thomas has been creating her unique sound for many decades. Her first concerts were right here in Bangalore. Evolving from early rock & roll and Indian classical roots to present-day jazz and blues, that include many of her original music, Thomas loves to sing.

She left India in the mid 70s, having been selected by Jazz India, a leading jazz promotion organization, to perform across Europe and go to NY to learn jazz. She lived, performed and recorded for almost 20 years in NYC working with Ryo Kawasaki, Michael Brecker, Anthony Jackson, Harvey Mason, Leon Pendarvis, Alex Blake, John Abercrombie and others, in some of NYC’s most famous jazz clubs and concert halls. Her music also included an experimental trio with bassist Frank Tusa and Miles Davis alum Badal Roy, where Thomas was featured soloist. 

When she returned to Bangalore, she was empaneled by ICCR (the Indian Council for Cultural Affairs, India’s key cultural agency) to be a jazz ambassador for India. She has performed with many of India’s jazz luminaries including Louis Banks, Gerard Machado and her own band ‘UNK The Radha Thomas Ensemble’ I Only Have Eyes For You. 

Recently she has leaned toward the more intimate piano-and-voice format with pianist Aman Mahajan, with whom she continues to perform all over India. Their latest album is Bangalore Blues.

When COVID attacked in 2020 putting an end to live music performances, Thomas turned to the internet and collaborated virtually with jazz musicians world-wide. In a single year, she recorded 52 jazz videos. In 2024 she released a duo album with a few guitar players based in the USA called As I Sing. 

She hosted a weekly jazz show on Radio Indigo in Bangalore. She is also the author of several books, a dog activist and host of the podcast The Indie Dog.

Aman Mahajan
pianist, composer | amanmahajanmusic.com

Aman Mahajan is a voyager through musical realms, approaching improvisation as a medium for interaction, expression and exchange. His sound draws inspiration from personal experience, philosophy, and the rich history of traditional and contemporary music.

There is an inner sense to his playing that, although it nods to jazz, Indian folk and classical, very much breathes with its own life. —FREQ Music Magazine

His 2019 solo piano work REFUGE pays homage to inward journeys, and the ever-evolving idea of home.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Aman is part of several collaborations rooted in storytelling, experimentation and dialogue. These include his original music project REFUGE, Sage For The Ages with vocalist/writer Kirtana Krishna, several projects with jazz vocalist Radha Thomas, Tinctures with Berlin-based guitarist Nishad Pandey, Indo-global trio Mystik Vibes with hybrid percussionist Muthu Kumar and flautist Amith Nadig, and Intuition with contemporary Carnatic violinist Apoorva Krishna. Through these ensembles, he explores diverse musical vocabularies while playing at the boundaries of contemporary improvised music.

Active internationally, Aman has had the privilege of playing at renowned venues and festivals around the world and India. Beyond his performances, Mahajan attempts to contribute to the development of contemporary improvised music in India through workshops and teaching.

He curates at a few independent venues in Bangalore, and has been a returning faculty member at the Global Music Institute, Delhi.

*Tickets are mandatory for all.