# Sunny Jain

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{{short description|American drummer}}

{{Infobox musical artist
| name               = Sunny Jain
| image              = Sunny Jain on the dhol.jpg
| background       = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_date         = {{birth year and age|1975}}
| birth_place        = [Rochester](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York), New York, U.S.
| genre               = [Jazz](/source/Jazz), [world](/source/World_music), [bhangra](/source/bhangra_(music)), [drum and bass](/source/drum_and_bass)
| occupation        = Musician, record producer
| instrument        = [Dhol](/source/Dhol), drums, percussion
| years_active      = 1993–present
| label                 = Sinj 
| associated_acts = [Junoon](/source/Junoon_(band)), Red Baraat
| website             = {{URL|www.sunnyjain.com}}
}}

'''Sunny Jain''' (born 1975) is an [Indian American](/source/Indian_Americans) [dhol](/source/dhol) player, drummer, and [Indo jazz](/source/Indo_jazz) composer. He is recognized as a leading voice in the burgeoning movement of [South Asian-American](/source/South_Asian_Americans) [jazz](/source/jazz) musicians.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sunny Jain|url=http://sunnydrums.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/jazzizfeaturehires.jpg|accessdate=20 December 2012|newspaper=Jazziz|date=December 2011}}</ref> His albums have received international acclaim for their "groundbreaking synthesis" (''Coda Magazine''), as he brings together the ancient sounds of his cultural heritage, jazz and a host of other sounds.

==Career==
Jain has performed/recorded with [Kiran Ahluwalia](/source/Kiran_Ahluwalia), Asphalt Orchestra, [Joey Baron](/source/Joey_Baron), [Kenny Barron](/source/Kenny_Barron), [Marc Cary](/source/Marc_Cary), Samir Chatterjee, [DJ Rekha](/source/DJ_Rekha), [Kyle Eastwood](/source/Kyle_Eastwood), [Peter Gabriel](/source/Peter_Gabriel), [Grupo Fantasma](/source/Grupo_Fantasma_(American_band)), [Norah Jones](/source/Norah_Jones), [Junoon](/source/Junoon_(band)), [Andres Levin](/source/Andres_Levin), [Rudresh Mahanthappa](/source/Rudresh_Mahanthappa), [MarchFourth Marching Band](/source/MarchFourth_Marching_Band), [Q-Tip](/source/Q-Tip_(musician)), [Soul Rebels](/source/Soul_Rebels), [Martha Wainwright](/source/Martha_Wainwright), [Kenny Wollesen](/source/Kenny_Wollesen), and [Himanshu Suri](/source/Himanshu_Suri).

Jain has been a recipient of composition and performance grants from the Aaron Copland Music Fund, Chamber Music America, Meet the Composer, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and globalFEST, and received the Arts International Award in both 2003 and 2005 to enable touring India with his jazz group, Sunny Jain Collective. In 2002, Jain was designated a [jazz ambassador](/source/Jazz_ambassadors) by the U.S. Department of State and [the Kennedy Center](/source/the_Kennedy_Center),<ref>{{cite web|title=Sunny Jain|url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/explorer/artists/?entity_id=70039&source_type=A|work=The Kennedy Center|accessdate=20 December 2012}}</ref> for which he toured West Africa. Jain is the author of two instructional drum books for Alfred Publishing: ''The Total Jazz Drummer''<ref>{{cite book|last=Jain|first=Sunny|title=The Total Jazz Drummer|year=2007|publisher=Alfred Publishing|isbn=9780739038529|pages=1–127}}</ref> and ''Drum Atlas: India''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jain|first=Sunny|title=Drum Atlas: India|year=2009|publisher=Alfred Publishing|isbn=9780739053003|pages=1–48}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sunny Jain|url=http://www.alfred.com/Search/SearchResults.aspx?q=sunny+jain&type=Contributor|work=Alfred Music Publishing|accessdate=20 December 2012}}</ref>

In 2007 Jain became the first artist endorser for India's largest and oldest musical manufacturer, Bina Music.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sunny Jain|url=http://www.vater.com/artists/artistpage.cfm?ID=856&Country=artists|work=Vater Percussion|accessdate=20 December 2012}}</ref>

==Red Baraat==
In 2008, Jain founded the Brooklyn [bhangra](/source/Bhangra_(music)) band Red Baraat.<ref>{{cite news|last=Boilen|first=Bob|title=Bob Boilen's Favorite Live Shows of 2011|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2011/12/22/144139186/bob-boilens-favorite-live-shows-of-2011|work=All Songs Considered| date=27 December 2011 |publisher=NPR|accessdate=20 December 2012}}</ref> In 2011 Red Baraat performed over 100 club shows and festivals across the world, including [Bonnaroo Music Festival](/source/Bonnaroo_Music_Festival), [High Sierra Music Festival](/source/High_Sierra_Music_Festival), and a performance at the [White House](/source/White_House) and the [Paralympics](/source/Paralympics) closing ceremony in London.<ref>{{cite news|last=Iqbal|first=Nosheen|title=Red Baraat: Indian wedding sounds with attitude|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/05/red-baraat-indian-wedding-attitude|accessdate=20 December 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=5 September 2012}}</ref> The band consists of [dhol](/source/dhol), drums, percussion, [sousaphone](/source/sousaphone), and horns, melding North Indian rhythm of bhangra with [funk](/source/funk), [go-go](/source/go-go), Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and jazz.

The group's debut album, ''Chaal Baby'', was voted a top world-music album of 2010 by ''The Boston Globe''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mitter|first=Siddhartha|title=Siddhartha Mitter's top 10 world music CDs of 2010|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/12/19/mitter/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223022656/http://members.boston.com/reg/login.do?dispatch=loginpage&redirect=wall|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 23, 2010|accessdate=20 December 2012|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=19 December 2012}}</ref> The group's 2011 follow-up album, ''Bootleg Bhangra'', was recorded at Brooklyn's Southpaw concert on the band's second anniversary.

Red Baraat has performed at globalFEST, Montreal Jazz Festival, Sunfest, Festival De Louisiane, Quebec City Summer Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Madison World Music Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival, [SXSW](/source/SXSW) Music Festival, Pori Jazz Festival (Finland), Molde Jazz Festival (Norway) and Chicago Folks & Roots Festival.

Red Baraat appeared on John Schaefer's Soundcheck WNYC-FM 93.9, an NPR affiliate, in which they were picked as a top live radio performance of 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=Red Baraat|url=http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/2009/sep/10/red-baraat/|work=Soundcheck|publisher=New York Public Radio|accessdate=20 December 2012|date=10 September 2009}}</ref> They also recorded the credit roll theme song for the movie ''[The Yes Men Fix the World](/source/The_Yes_Men_Fix_the_World)'' and performed for the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (NYC) for Ports 1961 runway models. The group has been featured in ''[National Geographic](/source/National_Geographic_(magazine))'',<ref>{{cite web|last=Dede|first=Mehmet|title=The Nat Geo Music Interview: Red Baraat|url=http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/article/content.article/red_baraat_interview/en_US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205070105/http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/article/content.article/red_baraat_interview/en_US|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 5, 2010|work=National Geographic|accessdate=20 December 2012|date=19 January 2010}}</ref> ''[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal)'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Catton|first=Pia|title=A Big Band for the World|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704862404575350971618546994|accessdate=20 December 2012|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=7 July 2010}}</ref> ''[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker)'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Goings on About Town|url=http://sunnydrums.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/138/the-new-yorker/|accessdate=20 December 2012|newspaper=The New Yorker|date=22 March 2010}}</ref> ''Relix'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Jarnow|first=Jesse|title=Red Baraat|url=http://www.relix.com/on-the-verge/2010/04/12/red-baraat|accessdate=20 December 2012|newspaper=Relix|date=12 April 2010}}</ref> ''[PopMatters](/source/PopMatters)'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Red Baraat perform at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on December 14, 2012|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/166570-red-baraat-14-december-2012/|accessdate=5 February 2013|newspaper=PopMatters|date=21 December 2012}}</ref> and Songlines.

The band has performed two [Tiny Desk Concerts](/source/Tiny_Desk_Concerts), one in 2012 and one in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Red Baraat: Tiny Desk Concert|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/02/14/146691937/red-baraat-tiny-desk-concert|access-date=2020-08-26|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Red Baraat: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgmw41CY1Fo&feature=youtu.be |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/lgmw41CY1Fo |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|access-date=2020-08-26|website=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Junoon==

Jain is also the drummer and dhol player for [Junoon](/source/Junoon_(band)), the biggest [rock](/source/Rock_music) band to emerge from South Asia. In 2011, they recorded the single "Open Your Eyes" featuring [Peter Gabriel](/source/Peter_Gabriel) to raise awareness and funds for Pakistani flood victims. In 2010, Junoon delivered a Concert for Pakistan at the United Nations in NYC, for displaced refugees in the Swat Valley.<ref>{{youTube|id=B_pw9Kah6t0|title=Concert for Pakistan @ The United Nations (part 1)}}</ref> The band closed out 2007 with a milestone performance at the [Nobel Peace Prize concert](/source/Nobel_Peace_Prize_concert) in Oslo, Norway, playing for Nobel Laureates [Al Gore](/source/Al_Gore) and Rajendra Paucharia. Jain played dhol/percussion in the first Indian Broadway show, ''[Bombay Dreams](/source/Bombay_Dreams)'' (2004), and made his Hollywood debut playing dhol in the movie ''[The Accidental Husband](/source/The_Accidental_Husband)'',<ref>{{IMDb name|2623540|Sunny Jain}}</ref> starring [Uma Thurman](/source/Uma_Thurman), [Colin Firth](/source/Colin_Firth), and [Isabella Rossellini](/source/Isabella_Rossellini).

==Wild Wild East==

Jain is the band leader and drummer for the group Wild Wild East. Their first album was released in 2020 by [Smithsonian Folkways](/source/Smithsonian_Folkways).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wild Wild East|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sunny-jain-wild-wild-east/|access-date=2024-02-21|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref> The group performed a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sunny Jain's Wild Wild East: Tiny Desk Concert|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIYIn7yTtTo|access-date=2024-02-21|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>

==Discography==
===As leader===
* ''As Is'' (NCM East, 2002)
* ''Mango Festival'' (Zoho 2004)
* ''Avaaz'' (SinJ, 2006)
* ''Taboo'' ([Brooklyn Jazz Underground](/source/Brooklyn_Jazz_Underground), 2010)
* ''Asphalt Orchestra'' with [Asphalt Orchestra](/source/Asphalt_Orchestra) (Cantaloupe Music, 2010)

;with [Red Baraat](/source/Red_Baraat)
* ''Chaal Baby'' (SinJ, 2010)
* ''Bootleg Bhangra'' (SinJ, 2012)
* ''Shruggy Ji'' (SinJ, 2013)
* ''Bhangra Pirates'' (Rhyme & Reason , 2017)
* ''Sound The People'' (Rhyme & Reason , 2018)

;with [Wild Wild East](/source/Wild_Wild_East)
* ''Wild Wild East'' ([Smithsonian Folkways](/source/Smithsonian_Folkways), 2020)

===As sideman===
* [Grupo Fantasma](/source/Grupo_Fantasma_(American_band)), ''American Music Vol. VII'' (Blue Corn Music, 2019)
* [J. C. Hopkins](/source/J._C._Hopkins), ''Underneath a Brooklyn Moon'' (Tigerlily, 2005)
* [Michael Leonhart](/source/Michael_Leonhart), ''Seahorse and the Storyteller'' (Truth & Soul, 2010)

==Written works==
*''Drum Atlas: India'' (Alfred Publishing)
*''The Total Jazz Drummer'' (Alfred Publishing)

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.sunnyjain.com Official website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jain, Sunny}}
Category:American jazz drummers
Category:1975 births
Category:Musicians from Rochester, New York
Category:Living people
Category:Junoon (band) members
Category:20th-century American drummers
Category:American male drummers
Category:Jazz musicians from New York (state)
Category:21st-century American drummers
Category:American male jazz musicians
Category:American musicians of Indian descent
Category:20th-century Indian Jains
Category:21st-century Indian Jains
Category:American Jains
Category:Brooklyn Jazz Underground members
Category:Drummers from New York (state)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sunny Jain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_Jain) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_Jain?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.