Press

This collaboration with the adventurous, multi-cultural collective Brooklyn Raga Massive is an absolutely inspired pairing. For the last seven years, BRM have been fusing Indian classical music, US minimalism and deep jazz to stunning effect…It's a stunning journey into the unknown.
Ragmala: A Garland of Ragas
Jazzwise UK
September 1, 2019
Sublime...a gorgeously complex tapestry of sounds, hues and sensations
A Tapestry of Sounds
Downbeat
October 14, 2019
There are precious few opportunities to enjoy a frosty beverage while slipping into the transcendental time warp of a classical Indian raga — which makes the Brooklyn Raga Massive's peripatetic Wednesday night events kind of like the Alamo Drafthouse of Indian classical music.
Best Midweek Music Hang
Village Voice
October 19, 2016
24 hours of uninterrupted, absolutely incredible music performances
JASON MANTZOUKAS HAS HAD TIME TO REALLY GEEK OUT ON MUSIC
The New York Times
March 11, 2021
Though a tradition takes years to establish itself, a group of Indian raga enthusiasts are well on their way to making one for their increasingly multi-ethnic, and hip central Brooklyn neighborhood of Prospect Heights.
Brooklyn's Raga Enthusiasts Creating a Tradition
News India Times
November 13, 2014
This group of artists based here are taking Indian tradition and they’ve basically been pushing forward into new territory.
It's Bangin'! Indian Group Rounds out Bang on a Can fest!
Brooklyn Paper
May 4, 2017
Two of the most interesting bands in the USA....In the jazz world, not since Sun Ra has this reviewer heard anything so successful at reaching the parts other music generally fails to reach. This double album feels like a milestone in the evolution of truly world music.
Go: Organic Orchestra & Brooklyn Raga Massive - Ragmala, A Garland of Ragas
London Jazz News
October 3, 2019
An East-West psychedelic reenvisioning of the epoch-making work
Brooklyn Raga Massive All Stars: “In C”
The New Yorker
August 28, 2015
In New York, we’re going to Brooklyn Raga Massive classes. It’s classical Indian music with a Brooklyn twist... We’re trying to make sure (our son) understands he’s half-Indian... What I’m interested in seeing is how those expressions of Indian culture have evolved over time.
How Krishna Andavolu of Viceland TV Spends His Sundays
The New York Times
April 15, 2016
Having brought about a revitalisation of the ragas, it would be safe to call them the Raga Ambassadors of the Big Apple.
Brooklyn Raga Massive: Matching notes with the raga ambassadors of New York
Firstpost
June 26, 2016
The idea of the Massive was not only to encourage dialogue between established and young musicians, but also to broaden the audience for these forms in hyper-cosmopolitan New York. Swiftly, they have created a vibrant and substantial audience for music from India.
Artists sow seeds of ragas in the big apple
The Times of India
May 17, 2016
Classical Indian music infuses nature, seasons, time of day, and spirituality into its music. Brooklyn Raga Massive have brought it to contemporary audiences with such force, its power is hard to deny...the musicianship and their commitment to the craft are jaw-dropping.
Brooklyn Raga Massive Plays Indian Classical Music in Vermont
VT Digger
June 1, 2022
It's beautiful, expansive and majestic: it's expansive otherness, its core rasa, reminds me of the feeling I get when listening to my heroes; Cherry, Sanders, Sun Ra, Coltrane. It is an authoritative step forward in the evolution of a truly global, celestial, cosmic "world" music.
"Ragmala: a Garland of Ragas" 5 out of 5 Stars
UK Vibe
October 29, 2019
Riveting ... Soulful … The Massive members are proud of their open-minded outlook. New forms are being created that are indigenous to Brooklyn
A Raga Renaissance Flowers in Brooklyn
The New York Times
March 24, 2016
While listeners of a certain generation might recognize sitarist Ravi Shankar or recall how bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones used Indian instrumentation on some of their ’60s hits, BRM members seek to redefine classical Indian music in the new century.
Indian Raga Group Takes Minimalism to the Max
The Wall Street Journal
August 27, 2015
Attracting an audience as stylishly diverse as its music, the BRM offers a just-say-yes approach to collaboration that has brought together Moroccan, West African, electronic, jazz, and hip-hop musicians under its inclusive umbrella.
Best Midweek Music Hang
Village Voice
October 19, 2016