We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adithya Vaidhyan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adithya below.

Hi Adithya, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I have worked on so far has been my debut album called Discovery of a Dream. This album will be my first album as an artist and represents the culmination of my experiences both leading up to and during my time in NYC pursuing my dream as a jazz musician. On one hand this project takes the idea of dreams quite literally and I have tried to compose and program the music in a way that, to me, feels like the listener is going on a tumultuous journey through a night’s sleep: they are lulled to sleep by gentle melodies, encounter vivid scenery and fantastical characters, and are reminded of the beauty that is within their creative mind. On the other hand, this project is a microcosm for my life’s journey throughout my early 20’s, figuring out how to reckon with the thrillingly nuanced history of jazz and Black American Music, while also finding out how my own identity of expression fits into all of this. Furthermore, in choosing the musical personalities for this project, I wanted this album to showcase the youthful energy within me and some of my younger peers such as Sam Bolduc and Kevin Du along with the prudence of musical elders such as my mentors Kris Allen and Dezron Douglas, who I worked with during my education at Williams College and New York University respectively. Thus, as I dived into this exciting uncharted territory of recorded music, I did so armed with the vivacity of youth and the wisdom of those who had gone through all of this many times before. The opportunity to put together a band and write music for such an occasion was a privilege and I cannot wait to share the project with the public in the near future!

Adithya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in Wake Forest, North Carolina as the only child of two entrepreneurs who had their own small educational technology company. Though neither of my parents were musicians, they exposed me to many forms of music such as Rock, Hindustani Classical Music, and both Western and Bollywood Pop music. I started earnestly learning about music, the saxophone, and jazz in middle school because of an inspirational band director named Renee Todd who educated me on the roots of jazz and introduced me to my first private instructor Erik Riggs. Once I got to high school, I began to start studying with a local saxophone legend and club owner named Dave Finucane who encouraged me to participate in a youth ensemble and private lesson program known as the Durham Jazz Workshop which was offered at his club called the Sharp 9 Gallery. These formative experiences emboldened me to choose a life as a musician, although before I dove wholeheartedly into my career as a musician I completed my undergraduate education at Williams College where I got to spend a great deal of time with hugely influential mentors such as Kris Allen, Gregg August, Mike Kolodny, and Devesh Chandra. After graduating from Williams, I moved to NYC to pursue my master’s in music at NYU Steinhardt studying with renown musical professionals on the jazz scene such as Dezron Douglas, Billy Drewes, Alan Ferber, Tony Moreno, Tivon Pennicott, Rich Perry, Dave Pietro, Chris Potter, Mike Richmond, and Brad Shepik.

The opportunity to study with these masterful musicians and soak in the invaluable lessons from NYC’s rich jazz community in jam sessions and on busking gigs has informed my ears and molded me into the musician I am today. Not only do I feel that I am an extremely competent and thoughtful improviser, but I have also taken inspiration from my mentors as a composer and am beginning to really enjoy the process of discovering my compositional voice. Finally, my educational experiences thus far have been complemented by opportunities to teach privately, at NYU as a Graduate Adjunct Instructor, and at the Litchfield Jazz Camp as a part of the residential life team. I am excited to continue working as a bandleader, sideman, composer, and educator sharing my passion for music with all of those who will listen!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the chance to explore the vastness of one’s imagination. As long as you are clear about your intentions and are willing to put in the time and effort required to see your vision through, the possibilities to stimulate listeners through music are endless. Being able to express myself in a way that is logical and coherent within a musical tradition (for me jazz), yet is simultaneously exciting for those who may just be uninformed listeners is thrilling. In other words, I would say being an artist gives one the opportunity to take the overwhelming infinitude of one’s creativity and focus it into a refined experience that can be enjoyed on simple terms as well as from a nuanced perspective. This feeling of connection with others on multiple levels, cultivated through both introspection and perspiration, is truly magical.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Though it may seem rather dramatic, my creative journey is guided by a sense of duty to past and present. I feel a sense of duty to myself to create and share music as a means of expressing my authentic self in a given moment. At the same time, I feel that in order to most honestly express myself, I have an obligation to study the history of the musical context I am operating within, which for me has been the jazz tradition. Thus, the goal of any art I try to produce is to chase the creative novelties that inhabit my dreams in a given moment in a manner respectful of the precedents set by the legends of my craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://adimusic.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avaidhyan02/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559737234481
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adithya-vaidhyan-4aa15b230

Image Credits

Raisa Akhtar & Stephan Papandrea