Ekta: The Unity Project

Jasnam Daya Singh plays piano and leads PJCE in a performance of his Ekta: The Unity Project, an evening-length piece dedicated to cultivating a collective sense of belonging. Presented in cooperation with PDX Jazz.

Singh's Ekta, commissioned by PJCE for the Montavilla Jazz Festival in 2017, is a multi-movement suite that incorporates a wide-range of tributaries of the jazz stylistic river—Brazilian choro and samba of Singh's country of birth, expansive European jazz and classical styles, and high-energy straight-ahead jazz. The piece embodies Singh's musical interests but also expresses personal truths drawn from his journey as an immigrant and eventual citizen of the United States and his conversion to Sikhism.