Hi Friends,

We have some exciting news from Jai. First, the official Jai Uttal web-store is open for business. You can now purchase CDs, downloads and t-shirts from Jai’s site and directly support his work.

To kick things off, we are happy to announce the release of Bhakti Bazaar (Music for Yoga and Other Joys Volume 2), the newest album from Jai Uttal and follow-up to the very popular Music for Yoga and Other Joys, now available from the Jai Uttal store! Please stop by the Bazaar to stream previews of the album and order a copy.

Last but not least, as part of the launch of Bhakti Bazaar, we have a limited-time, specially priced offer that includes the CD, MP3s and your choice of a beautiful new Hanuman or Chaitanya t-shirt for only $34.98. This offer expires September 3, so please visit the Jai Uttal online store now to order.

Mantralogy is happy to announce the release of their first live compilation album Chant4Change Live. The album features “Rama Bolo” by Jai Uttal as well as tracks from Dave Stringer, Gaura Vani, and many others. Hosted by the renowned yoga teacher and leader, Shiva Rea, Chant4Change is a music event that was held within view of the White House the night before Obama’s inauguration.

Chant4Change Live is currently available for preorder and will be released on 9/14/10 in retail stores and online. The CD release party at The Bhakti Fest on Saturday 9/11/10 in Joshua Tree, CA.

Hi friends,

Well, Kirtan Camp is over, and with tears and hugs and laughter and promises to stay connected, all the campers returned to their homes. Once again I’m amazed by the power of this thing we call Kirtan Camp. Sure, Daniel, Nubia and I have a lot to offer, as do all the campers, but what happens there seems to be above and beyond all of us. It’s as if all the gurus, guides, and great ones gather to listen to our simple attempts at singing, praying, even just counting beats, and bless us and grace us and pour magical pixie Bhakti dust on our heads….. Really!!! (Sound a little crazy? Well, I feel a little crazy. But who doesn’t?)

Anyway, now we’re packing for our trip to Brazil in two days. (Now that’s crazy!!!!!). Half vacation, half work, and half family visit. (The ‘new math’ as taught by Ezra Gopal.) I’m quite excited about our gigs in São Paulo. (Check my events page for details). The Brazilian kirtan ‘audience’ is always super inspired and inspiring, dancing and singing as only Brazilians know how to do. Daniel Paul will be with me, and this time so will Prajna Vierra on vocals, from the Kirtan band, Mukti. At Yoga Pela Paz, a huge free festival in beautiful Ibirapuera park, I’ll even be singing with my old friend and ‘gurubai,’ Krishna Das. So if your thinking of making a big pilgrimage this week, fly down to Sao Paulo!!!!!

The other big news is that my new album Bhakti Bazaar will be released at the end of August. It’s another collaboration with Ben Leinbach, somewhat along the lines of our Music for Yoga and Other Joys… CD, also released on the Sounds True label. I really love this record. And to whet your appetite, I’ve put a sample of one of the songs on my site as a free download. Please check it out here.

Before signing off I want to remind you all about our upcoming Winter Kirtan Camp in Mar De Jade, Mexico. This place looks absolutely amazing. They’ve been hosting retreats for about 30 years and are anxiously awaiting our joyously noisy gathering. And for us in California, it’s just a 2 hour flight!!!! But here’s the important part: the ‘early bird’ special expires on September 1st, so please act now and get a better price…..

Ok, that’s it for now. Time for me to do some packing, check on our flight reservations, see if my instruments need any attention before we travel, put some flea medicine on our little kitty cat, take my vitamins, check the phone machine, and, and, and, and, and hopefully get a good night of sleep. I need it!

Lots of love,

Jai

We sent out this note through the email newsletter. If you aren’t already on the mailing list, you can sign up here.

Jai’s new album Bhakti Bazaar (Music for Yoga and Other Joys Volume 2) is coming out next month from Sounds True, but in the meantime check out this sample of “Rama Bolo” from the new album.

I hope you enjoy this new download. It’s a Pagan Love Orchestra rehearsal ‘tape’ from about five years ago. That’s Peter Apfelbaum on drums, Jeff Cressman on trombone, Ben Leinbach on bass and me singing and playing harmonium. I just discovered this hiding in a vast pile of old practice recordings and thought it was pretty cool.

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Join Jai Uttal, Daniel Paul, Nubia Teixeira and assistant harmonium teacher Daniel Tucker for the 8th Annual Non-Residential Summer Bhakti Kirtan Camp, Saturday, July 17 – Friday, July 23. This training is for those who aspire to lead Kirtan; those who wish to enhance their Yoga teaching with chanting; and those who simply wish to immerse themselves in the vast ocean of Bhakti. See the event listing for more information.

Hi everyone!

We are now making my FIRST music video, and we need your help to make it happen! We’re doing it for the song “Down on my Knees” from Thunder Love, and it is being created by 3 great young filmmakers I’ve met recently, Ishan, Marija & Noah. We’re doing this in a new way (in the spirit of Kirtan, participation!) – since we don’t have the money to make the music video ourselves, we’re using a great service called Kickstarter, that allows you ALL to make monetary pledges towards our project, and in return get all sorts of things – digital downloads, rare bootleg recordings, signed CDs, yoga classes, free concert tickets, and more! If we don’t reach our funding goal by June 31st at 11:59 PM, you won’t be charged, and we won’t make the video. But we’d really like to! So please help us out if you can! Go to our Kickstarter page, where you can see me in a short video explaining the project, and contribute to the project! Please please spread the world, take it and spread it! Put it on your own sites and help us make this project come alive! So please please spread the word, share it with your friends and help us make this project come alive!

Greetings everybody,

Happy Birthday!!!!

“What? Why’s he saying happy birthday?”

Well, because today is the birthday, or the appearance day, of Lord Ramachandra, the great blue-skinned ‘avatar’ of Lord Vishnu, the supreme source of all. On this very day, many many years ago, God came to the Earth as a human being to restore harmony in all the three worlds and to slay the ten-headed demon king, Ravana, the embodiment of evil. Along with his beloved, eternal consort, Queen Sita, his three devoted brothers, the awesome monkey-god Hanuman, and a cast of thousands, Rama enacted a divine drama illuminated with the radiance of a million suns and moons. This story, known as ‘The Ramayana’ or ‘The Ramacharitmanas’, has been awakening devotion in the hearts of embodied and disembodied beings from time immemorial. Passion, ecstasy, anguish, bravery, faith, love, confusion….. All these moods and more are portrayed by the actors of this eternal play.

But the question remains: how can He who is unborn, deathless and eternal, who is, in fact, the very cause of birth and death, actually have a birthday??? Well, I certainly can’t answer that one, but I can say that his birthday gives us yet another opportunity to simply remember him, praise him and sing his name. My Guru, Neem Karoli Baba, said that by taking Ram’s name the impossible becomes possible, everything is possible by saying Ram. And doesn’t everyone like a birthday party?

As a birthday gift to Rama, here’s another free download for you all:

‘Shri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram’, performed by me, Daniel Paul (tablas and voice) and Prajna Viera (kartals and voice). This was recorded by our good friend Lou Judson just two nights ago at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California.

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You can right click here to download.

Peace and love, and JAY JAY RAM!!!!!

Hello Friends,

Check out my latest free download – it’s “River of Dreams” with Manose, recorded at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California in June. You can stream it using the website music player below.

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Or right click here to download. Enjoy.

Peace,

May 2009 Issue
Over the past two decades, modern kirtan (chanting) master Jai Uttal has released a series of stellar albums offering a unique mix of devotional chant, world music, folk, funk, and more. Uttal’s latest, Thunder Love, with its generous serving of irresistible Brazilian rhythms and a pinch of country blues, is his most fully realized work since 2001’s Mondo Rama.

Working with longtime collaborator Ben Leinbach, composer Bill Laswell, guest vocalists including the Chicago Children’s Choir, and members of his Pagan Love Orchestra, Uttal has produced a versatile set that lends itself by turns to a vigorous asana practice, a swingin’ dance party, or an intimate evening for two. Yet it also includes soaring hymns of spiritual aspiration and heartfelt expressions of unfettered desire. In fact, one of the subtler achievements of the songs here is the way they blur physical and spiritual longing. And it’s a great surprise to hear how naturally a mantra like Bhavani shankara dances to a Brazilian beat.

As on Uttal’s previous albums, the arrangements and ensemble performances here are pitch perfect. And his vocals are soulful, unrestrained, intensely emotive, and melodic. –Phil Catalfo

From The Marin Independent Journal, March 20th, 2009

San Anselmo world music star Jai Uttal opens up to life, love on journey to sobriety
By Paul Liberatore

World music pioneer Jai Uttal has produced a series of acclaimed albums over the past two decades.

Jai Uttal, the world music star who has just released a transformational new
album, “Thunder Love,” was sitting on a plump couch the other day in a comfy
corner of Open Secret, the San Rafael New Age bookstore, when strains of
exotic music floated from the shop’s sound system, causing him to bolt
upright and his eyes to light up like an electric Buddha.

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