Ranjit Barot
Ranjit Barot (born around 1955) is an Indian film score composer, music director, music arranger, drummer and singer. He is a longtime associate of A. R. Rahman.
He has been described by guitar legend John McLaughlin as "one of the leading edges in drumming", and is now part of John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension, touring Europe in July 2011.
Born into a family steeped in Indian classical music and dance, melody and rhythm has always been an integral part of Ranjit's life. His mother was the renowned Kathak dancer, Sitara Devi.
His response to the western drum kit, even at the age of 12, was almost organic and his natural flair, ease and craft catapulted him onto becoming one of India's leading artists on the instrument at the age of 17. In 1980 he performed at the Jazz Yatra in Europe with the Jazz Yatra Sextet (with Louis Banks), besides performing with Pandit Ravi Shankar's ensemble on the same tour. This phase saw journeys to Europe and the West with leading Indian jazz/pop and classical musicians. Between 1980 and 1982, Ranjit performed at European festivals which also featured jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Al Foster, Billy Higgins, Cecil Taylor and Louie Bellson, among others.
Ranjit draws from his ancestry from the North of Indian (Uttar Pradesh) and from the West of India (Gujarat). His father is Gujarati and his mother is from Varanasi.
Ranjit has also had a long career in composition and music production, working out of his own state-of-the-art studio facility in Mumbai. It is in this connection that he had the honour of working with the sound and music production industry legend, the amazing Bruce Swedien, who mixed Ranjit's songs on Vande Mataram 2 and Senso Unico, an Indo-Italian feature film. Bruce has had a great influence on Ranjit's musical life and approach to a lot of his contemporary work. Combined with his strong roots in the Indian classical tradition, his world view of music gave him a unique perspective on the Indian Film genre.
His journey in this prolific industry started in the 80s and he has been a featured drummer and arranger for Industry giants such as R.D. Burman, Laxmikant – Pyarelal, Kalyanji – Anandji, continuing through the eras of Anu Malik and Ismail Darbar, and to the present, as one of the most sought after arranger/ producers.
His work in this field has also earned him much acclaim and recognition as a Music Composer and Arranger for Album Projects and Feature Films.
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