U. Rajesh

Uppalapu Rajesh is an Indian mandolin player of Carnatic classical music, as well as a composer and music producer, born on 17 May 1977 in Palakollu, Andhra Pradesh. His father, U. Satyanarayana, and his elder brother, the late U. Srinivas, were his teachers in childhood. He began playing Carnatic music on the mandolin at six and from the age of ten performed alongside his brother; together, as the Mandolin Brothers, they are credited with popularising the mandolin within Indian classical music and toured internationally. He also works in jazz fusion and world music, and received a Grammy nomination in 2009 for his collaboration with John McLaughlin on the album "Floating Point". He is a director of the Srinivas Institute of World Music in Chennai, which offers free musical education.