J.A. Jayant

J.A. Jayant is an internationally acclaimed Carnatic flutist, composer and educator, widely regarded as the torchbearer of the Flute Mali style of Carnatic flute playing. Born into a musical family, he received his grounding in Carnatic vocal music from his grandmother, the late Vidushi V.S. Sundari, and learned the bamboo flute from his grandfather, the late Flute T.S. Sankaran, himself a disciple of the legendary Flute Mali (T.R. Mahalingam). A prodigious talent, he was performing complex Ragam Tanam Pallavi at the age of seven and became one of the youngest musicians to receive an "A-Top" grading from All India Radio. He has since given close to 2,000 solo and collaborative concerts, including more than 45 international tours across 25 countries, appearing at the Theatre de la Ville in Paris, the Darbar Festival in the UK, the Kennedy Center, the Madras Music Academy and the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival. Renowned for his shruti control, tonal purity and expressive phrasing, he plays seamlessly across octaves on bass and double-bass flutes and was the first Carnatic flutist to introduce the 106 cm double-bass flute. His honours include the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (2024), the Kalki Krishnamurthy Memorial Award, the Madras Music Academy Best Instrumentalist Award (seven times), the Bharat Ratna Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi Fellowship Award, the Shanmukha Shiromani Award and the Yuva Kala Bharati title. An ICCR-empanelled artist, he has performed for the President of India, the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Indian Navy.