SHONAI

P i a n i s t  / C o m p o s e r / E d u c a t o r

At the infant age of 4, Shonai began his musical career by learning to play the tabla under the instruction of his uncle. His father, a well-known pianist and piano accordionist, introduced him to the piano when he was just entering his teen years. He comes from a family from Calcutta that enjoys music, thanks in large part to his uncle.

He quickly gained his footing in the revered All India Radio environment and established himself as a junior artist for the show Calling All Children. He was acknowledged as an All India Radio graded artist after 2001. Numerous solo jazz recital albums as well as collaborations with jazz greats from Calcutta's golden age of the 1960s and 1970s are to his credit.

He developed a love for music. His urge to pursue a profession in music was sparked by Mrs. Fauzia Marikar, unquestionably the best classical piano instructor in Calcutta, and he decided to enrol in the Associated Board of Royal School of Music to study western classical music. Prior to being interested in jazz theory lessons, Western classical music had been his area of expertise. And he owes it all to Mr. Nanda Das, a seasoned musician from Calcutta, and Mr. Mohan David Sundararaj, a music therapist from Boston. His new discovery, the world of improvisational music, was soon discovered after he met Mr. Andrew Gracias, a talented jazz pianist from Calcutta. Shonai has a diploma on associate (ALCM) and fellowship (FTCSM) degrees in jazz piano.

At the Oberoi Grand in Calcutta, Shonai made his performing debut as a solo jazz pianist. One of Calcutta's top English pop bands, Blue Mist, beckoned to him. He performed all around the country and overseas during his lengthy 12-year connection with the ensemble.

The famed bebop guitarist Mr. Carlton Kitto and saxophonist Mr. Eddie Da Silva both registered their comebacks at the Oberoi Grand in Calcutta. He soon joined Mr. Kitto's quartet, the Carlton Kitto Jazz Ensemble, and played in several jazz concerts and international jazz festivals across the nation, including those in Northeast India, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Pune until Mr. Kitto's untimely death.

Shonai has experience with a variety of musical projects and bands, including Orient Express.( Latin), Carlton Kitto Jazz Ensemble ( Bebop ), Big Family ( Blues ), Bramhakhya ( Baul Fusion ), ABHIND ( Avant guard ), The KJC Big Band ( Traditional Jazz ) and so forth. He has performed extensively throughout India in festivals like GIANTS OF JAZZ ( Delhi, Gurgaon ), Open Hand Jazz Festival ( Chandigarh ), JAZZMATAZZ ( Mumbai, Pune), Jam Steady BIG SUNDAY ( Kolkata ), Kolkata Jazz Fest (Kolkata ) and outside India in JAZZMANDU ( Nepal ), Fest Jazza- Koprivnica, Croatia (July 2019, July 2023), Jaiyede Jazz Festival- Odense, Denmark (October 2022), Svendborg Jazz Festival- Svendborg, Denmark (June 2023), Festival Lent- Maribor, Slovenia (June 2019) Dev9t Festival- Belgrade, Serbia (June 2019) Vilnius Mama Jazz Festival- Vilnius, Lithuania (November 2017) Kolkata International Jazzfest- Kolkata, India (November 2019,November 2019, November 2020), and prestigious venues like Dalhousie Institute (Kolkata ). Opus ( Bangalore ), The Humming Tree ( Bangalore ), Blue Frog ( Bangalore ), The Piano Man Jazz Club ( Delhi ), Trident ( Rajasthan ), NCPA Tata Theatre ( Mumbai ), NMACC (Mumbai), G5A (Mumbai), Anti Social ( Mumbai ), Taj Tashi ( Bhutan ), Dhaka Club and Jatra Biroti (Bangladesh), No Black Tie ( Malaysia ), B Flat ( Berlin ), White Cube ( Hamburg ), BlueNote Jazz Club (Poland ), Celica ( Slovenia ), KCM ( Zagreb ), 100cznia ( Poland ), Babel Camp ( Hungary ). Apart from these, he has also played several other places in Northeast India and beyond, like Manipur, Assam, Shillong, Bovec, and Kran ( Slovenia ) which helped him to hone his skills and experiences.

Along with performing, Shonai also teaches music and leads seminars. In prestigious establishments like Kolkata's St. Xavier's Collegiate School and Shaw Public School, he taught music. He then entered Kolkata's most prestigious music school, the Calcutta School of Music. He additionally taught at the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory as a guest teacher. With a teaching position at One World College of Music in Gurgaon, he moved his base of operations to Delhi. Shonai enrolled in Blue Notes School of Music after that. Also he taught at Goa Jazz Academy, Eastwind Academy for Advanced Music and Performance. Currently he has been woroking at the Pathways School Gurgaon.

He has had the pleasure of dealing with artists that are in a class by themselves and are head and shoulders above the rest. The roster includes  Mr.Carlton Kitto, Mr.Marcus Dengate ( Bass ), a companion artist of the great Dizzy Gillespie, Scott Hamilton, and many more, Mr.Clive Hughes ( Drummer and Vocalist ) of the jazz maestros of Calcutta, Mr.Monojit Dutta ( Conguero ). Traveling artists like Gianni Denitto, Mr. Rainer Pusch, Mr. Yohei Sato, Mr. Fabio Carlucci, Mr. David Soin Tappeser, Mr. Gary Plumley, Mr. Dan Hauls, Ms.Rie Ona, Ms.Sofia Hoffman, and many others.

Currently, Shonai performs with his artists collaboration inititative called The Shonai Collective (originals/modern jazz) and The Bodhisattwa Trio (an experimental jazz-rock fusion)

He continues to work on compositions and collaboration with other indie jazz artists.