Sanjay Divecha is one of the most revered guitar players in India. A unique and compelling voice as a player and composer, he is part of the hugely successful supergroup Cross Currents led by Zakir Hussain and featuring stalwarts such as Dave Holland, Vinnie Colaiuta, Chris Potter, Eddie Daniels, Shankar Mahadevan and Louiz Banks. Through a luminous 35 year long career, Sanjay has worked with artists such as Angelique Kidjo, Carlos Santana, Michael McDonald, Fred Raulston, Dave Weckl, Louis Johnson, Dumazz and Sambaguru among others.
He also collaborated with A.R. Rahman on the Danny Boyle movie “127 Hours” that won ‘Best Original Score’, the OST for the movie “Woman on Top” with Argentinian composer Luis Bacalov, Sanjay also scored for the movie ‘Leela’ by Somnath Sen which won a Special Jury Award at Toronto Reel World Film Festival.
An alumnus (1989) from Musician’s Institute (M.I) in Los Angeles, Sanjay continues to mentor and develop musicians all over the country. His students are not only guitar players, but composers, musicians and singers of all disciplines. Sanjay teaches private lessons and holds workshops to develop musicality and a well rounded aesthetic sensibility in musicians.
Sanjay Divecha on the music of 'Leela' :
As a human being on this planet I’ve always believed in the Oneness of all things in this universe. Going through life's bylanes and observing how events unfold and teach you the lessons to be learned, this belief of Oneness has only strengthened with time.
My work as an artist has primarily been to connect with my inner self, and express from a place of honesty. The yearning to learn something new in my art and refine my skill set has been my constant companion.
After having written and performed music with various ensembles, I finally mustered up the courage to record a collection of music which was mainly written for solo guitar, and also mainly recorded on acoustic guitar. These songs are reflections of some of my journeys and inspirations, interpreted in a spontaneous and instinctive manner.
The title 'Leela' refers to the divine Leela - joyous and playful - yet a profound act of creation.
As I started the recording process I started to add a few layers to enhance the music and some guest artists came on board to complete the experience which was truly fulfilling for me as an artist. The organic nature of this work takes me back to my formative years as a guitar player and I’m grateful to be sharing this work and for it to take its own journey.