# Aki Kumar > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aki_Kumar > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aki_Kumar.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aki_Kumar > Source revision: 1349949464 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Infobox musical artist | name = Aki Kumar | image = Aki_Goes_to_Bollywood_in_Berkeley,_CA,_July_20_2018.jpg | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1980}}{{cite news | url=https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/music/software-engineer-turned-bluesman-goes-back-to-bollywood-for-new-inspiration | title=Software engineer turned bluesman goes back to Bollywood for new inspiration | date=May 17, 2018 | newspaper=Edmonton Journal | author=Roger Levesque | access-date=July 28, 2018 }} | birth_place = [Mumbai](/source/Mumbai), [India](/source/India) | genre = Blues, Bollywood | website = https://akikumar.com/ }} '''Akarsha "Aki" Kumar''' (born 1980){{cite news |author=Andrew Gilbert |url=http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/Aki-Kumar-takes-his-blues-to-Bollywood-9376180.php |title=Aki Kumar fuses blues and Bollywood |website=SFGate ([San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)) |date=October 2, 2016 }} is an Indian-born [blues](/source/blues) musician now living in [San Jose, California](/source/San_Jose%2C_California). After working at a technology job, he is now a [harmonica](/source/harmonica) player and vocalist. ==Early life, education, and former career== Kumar was born and grew up in [Mumbai](/source/Mumbai), where his parents' upbringing and eclectic tastes—his father was a [Kannadiga](/source/Kannadigas), his mother a [Telugu](/source/Telugu_people)—exposed him to a broad range of sounds—everything from rock 'n' roll and pop to the more traditional sounds of Bollywood film scores and [Indian classical music](/source/Indian_classical_music).{{Cite web |author=Sanjoy Narayan |title=Christmas blues with a Bollywood twist|url=https://epaper.livemint.com/Home/ShareArticle?OrgId=c05dd459&imageview=0|date=December 21, 2019 |access-date=May 27, 2021 |website=LiveMint}} In his youth, he studied both keyboards and [tabla](/source/tabla), and acquired his first harmonica from his father.{{cite news|author=Nick Veronin|date=October 19, 2016|title=Bollywood Blues: Channeling Memphis and Mumbai, Aki Kumar Crafts a Bi-Continental Sound|pages=12+|newspaper=[Metro Silicon Valley](/source/Metro_Silicon_Valley)|url=http://activate.metroactive.com/2016/10/channeling-memphis-by-way-of-mumbai-aki-kumar-crafts-bi-continental-blues/}} He listened to "everything from [Bach](/source/Johann_Sebastian_Bach) to [John Denver](/source/John_Denver), from [Stevie Wonder](/source/Stevie_Wonder) to the [Police](/source/The_Police)" in addition to music that dominated the Indian subcontinent.{{cite news|author=Jonny Whiteside|date=January 16, 2016|title=Music Review: Blues harmonica player Aki Kumar seeks to find the truth in music|newspaper=Glendale News-Press|url=http://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/entertainment/tn-gnp-blues-harmonica-player-aki-kumar-seeks-to-find-the-truth-in-music-20160117-story.html}} He moved to the US in 1998 to study computer science, initially in [Oklahoma City](/source/Oklahoma_City) and then at [San Jose State University](/source/San_Jose_State_University) in [Silicon Valley](/source/Silicon_Valley). He was first attracted to American [oldies radio](/source/oldies_radio), and then discovered the blues by visiting nightclubs and bars in the [Bay Area](/source/San_Francisco_Bay_Area).{{cite news |author=Andrew Gilbert |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/07/18/aki-kumar-makes-the-blues-his-calling/ |title=Aki Kumar makes the blues his calling |newspaper=[San Jose Mercury News](/source/San_Jose_Mercury_News) |date=July 18, 2014 }} Soon after completing a degree, he went to work at [Adobe](/source/Adobe%2C_Inc.). He turned to music full-time after Adobe eliminated his department and laid him off in 2013.{{Cite web |author=April Peavey |title=I wanted to be bigger than Bill Gates — but I fell in love with the blues|url=https://theworld.org/stories/2016/07/01/aki-kumar |date=July 5, 2016 |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=[The World](/source/The_World_(radio_program)) |publisher=[Public Radio International](/source/Public_Radio_International) |type=audio interview }} ==Music career== Kumar's harmonica playing is rooted in the classical style invented by [Little Walter](/source/Little_Walter) and others, but his blues style is eclectic. He developed his skills by studying with [David Barrett](/source/David_Barrett_(musician)), who operates the School of the Blues in San Jose. He played regularly in the band Tip of the Top for several years before forming his own band and launching a solo career. Kumar expresses his pride in his Indian heritage by blending melodies from Hindi movies and [Indian classical music](/source/Indian_classical_music) with American blues, creating a fusion of East and West that he calls "Bollywood blues". He formulated the concept while humming along to a song from his homeland one day and realizing that it had a blues progression and that he could sing it "with a [Jimmy Reed](/source/Jimmy_Reed) feel". Titled "Ajeeb Daastaan Hei Yah (This Is a Strange Tale)", it appears as the final track of his first album, ''Don't Hold Back'', which was released in 2014.{{cite web |author=Marty Gunther |url=http://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/aki-kumar-dont-hold-back-album-review/ |title=Aki Kumar – Don't Hold Back: Album Review |website=Blues Blast |date=January 9, 2015 }} His second effort, ''Aki Goes to Bollywood'' (2016), on blues man's Jim Pugh's [Little Village Foundation](/source/Little_Village_Foundation) label, fuses [Chicago blues](/source/Chicago_blues) and [Bollywood music](/source/Bollywood_music).{{cite news |author=Kelly Whalen |url=https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2016/08/25/blowin-the-blues-bollywood-style-with-aki-kumar/ |title=Blowin' the Blues Bollywood-Style with Aki Kumar |publisher=[KQED](/source/KQED_Inc.) |location=San Francisco |date=August 25, 2016 }} Republished [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/mumbai-meets-muddy-waters-bluesy-tribute-bollywood ''Art Beat''], [PBS](/source/PBS), September 26, 2016. The cover art resembles graphics on a Bollywood movie poster. Kumar released his third album, ''Hindi Man Blues'', in 2018, and his fourth, ''Dilruba'', on Sony Music India in 2020,{{Cite web|date=2019-09-06|title=Aki Kumar talks Bollywood Blues, his Band & Life in USA|url=https://www.desiblitz.com/content/aki-kumar-talks-bollywood-blues-his-band-life-in-usa|access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=DESIblitz }}{{Cite web|title=Latest Hindi Song 'Dilruba' Sung By Aki Kumar |newspaper=Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/entertainment/music/hindi/latest-hindi-song-dilruba-sung-by-aki-kumar/videoshow/70701825.cms|access-date=March 20, 2021 }} and a single, ''Zindagi'', on Little Village in 2021.{{cite web |author=Dennis McNally |url=http://www.gratefulweb.com/articles/aki-kumar-releases-new-video-zindagi |title=Aki Kumar releases new video, 'Zindagi' |website=Grateful Web |date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=May 27, 2021 }} Kumar mainly performs around the San Francisco Bay Area with his quartet, hosts blues jams, and works as a session musician. He performed at [Hardly Strictly Bluegrass](/source/Hardly_Strictly_Bluegrass) in 2016 and 2018. In late 2019 he toured in India for the first time, playing in [Delhi](/source/Delhi), [Gurugram](/source/Gurugram), and [Mumbai](/source/Mumbai). ==Personal life== {{As of|2016}}, Kumar and his wife live in the [Cambrian Park](/source/Cambrian_Park) neighborhood of San Jose. ==Discography== * 2009 ''Depot Street Blues'' (with Tip of the Top) (Delta King Records) * 2010 ''Rock Tonight'' (with Tip of the Top) (Delta King Records) * 2011 ''From Memphis to Greaseland'' (with Tip of the Top) (Delta King Records) * 2014 ''Don't Hold Back'' (Greaseland Records) * 2015 ''It Takes Three: Three Generations of South Bay Blues Harmonica'' (with Gary Smith and [David Barrett](/source/David_Barrett_(musician))) (Greaseland Records) * 2016 ''Aki Goes to Bollywood'' ([Little Village Foundation](/source/Little_Village_Foundation)) * 2018 ''Hindi Man Blues'' (Little Village Foundation) * 2020 ''Dilruba'' (Sony Music India) * 2021 "Zindagi" (single) (Little Village Foundation) * 2025 ''God Bless the USA'' (Little Village Foundation) {{Cite web|title=Aki Kumar {{!}} Album Discography|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/aki-kumar-mn0002961099|access-date=2021-03-03|website=AllMusic|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Aki Kumar|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/3959478-Aki-Kumar|access-date=2021-03-03|website=Discogs|language=en}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.akikumar.com/ Official website] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Aki}} Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Mumbai Category:Blues harmonica players Category:Blues singers Category:San Jose State University alumni Category:1980 births Category:Indian emigrants to the United States Category:American people of Kannada descent Category:American people of Telugu descent --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aki Kumar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aki_Kumar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aki_Kumar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.