Jai Uttal

Jai Uttal, Grammy nominated sacred music composer, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and ecstatic vocalist, combines influences from India with influences from American rock and jazz, creating a stimulating and exotic multi-cultural fusion that is truly world spirit music. 
 Having travelled extensively in India, where he met many great saints and singers, Bhakti Yoga became his personal path. Jai has been leading, teaching and performing kirtan around the world for close to 50 years, creating a safe environment for all people to open their hearts and voices. 
 Music and spiritual practice became inextricably linked for Jai when he met the great Indian saint, Neem Karoli Baba, in 1971. Maharajji, as he was called by his devotees, encouraged the practice of Bhakti (devotional) Yoga as expressed through kirtan chanting. Kirtan would become the center of Jai’s musical and spiritual life, giving him what he calls his “soul support system!” 
 Jai’s concerts range from subtle and deeply meditative mantra repetitions to wild ecstatic, rhythmic, Kirtan dance parties! In whatever setting, mood or musical configuration he presents, Jai reveals and shares his heart of devotion and the song of the soul’s longing for Spirit. 
 “The universe is filled with colors and melodies,” Jai says. “They’re just everywhere, if only we could see and hear them more clearly. I feel that all art exists to enhance devotional practice and devotional expression. So I just try to hear the melodies.”