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Avataar (band)

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Canadian jazz ensemble
Avataar
OriginToronto, Canada
GenresJazz
Years active2015–present
LabelsInSound Records
Members
  • Sundar Viswanathan
  • Michael Occhipinti
  • Justin Gray
  • Ravi Naimpally
  • Max Senitt
  • Felicity Williams
  • Laura Swankey
Past members
  • Rich Brown
  • Giampaolo Scatozza
  • Robi Botos
  • Suba Sankaran
  • George Koller
  • Todd Pentney
  • Aaron Lightstone
  • Tyler Emond

Avataar is a Canadian jazz ensemble from Toronto, Ontario, whose album Worldview won the Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year – Group at the Juno Awards of 2022. Worldview was also earmarked by CJRT-FM as one of the 25 best jazz albums of 2021.

Led by saxophonist, flutist, composer and vocalist Sundar Viswanathan, the band performs a blend of jazz with world music and rock/pop styles such as Bossa Nova, Indian classical music, African, art rock, ambient music and gamelan. Viswanathan, a native of Sudbury, Ontario, is currently a professor of music at York University in Toronto, and has also played with the world music combo Jaffa Road.

The group's debut album Petal was released in 2016.

Other members of the band are vocalist Felicity Williams, tabla player Ravi Naimpally, guitarist Michael Occhipinti, bassist Justin Gray and drummers Giampaolo Scatozza and Max Senitt.

References

  1. Holly Gordon, "Here are all the 2022 Juno Award winners". CBC Music, May 14, 2022.
  2. "Year in review: 25 of the best jazz albums of 2021". JAZZ.FM91. 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  3. Mary Katherine Keown, "Q and A with Sudbury's Sundar Viswanathan". Sudbury Star, March 20, 2016.
  4. Justin Skinner, "Jaffa Road creates music that reflects diversity of Toronto". Toronto.com, May 27, 2012.
  5. "Avataar: Petal album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. February 12, 2016.
  6. "The Jazz Club returns for another season". Revelstoke Mountaineer, October 1, 2019.
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