Badal Roy was an Indian tabla player, percussionist, and recording artist known for his work in jazz, world music, and experimental music.
18 Facts About Badal Roy
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Badal Roy's mother, Sova Rani Roy Chowdhury, was a homemaker, while his father, Satyenda Nath Roy Chowdhury was a government official in Eastern Pakistan.
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The name Badal Roy, was given to him by his grandfather after he began crying in the rain as a toddler.
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Badal Roy spoke the Bengali, English, Hindi, and Urdu languages.
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Badal Roy was introduced to music, in particular the percussion instrument Tabla, by his uncle.
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An early inspiration for Badal Roy was American popular music, and he particularly enjoyed the music of artists such as Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, and Nat King Cole.
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Badal Roy came to New York City in 1968 to work on a PhD with only eight dollars in his pocket, he began working as a busboy and waiter in various Indian restaurants in the New York area, including Pak Indian Curry House, Taste of India and Raga.
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Badal Roy later settled in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey.
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Badal Roy later received lessons from Alla Rakha, a tabla player who performed with the sitar player Ravi Shankar and was Zakir Hussain's father.
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Badal Roy died from COVID-19 in Wilmington, on 18 January 2022, at the age of 82.
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When Badal Roy moved to New York, he worked as a waiter in Indian restaurants in the region.
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Davis invited Badal Roy to join his group, and he recorded on Davis's albums On the Corner, Big Fun, and Get Up with It.
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Badal Roy subsequently performed and recorded with many leading jazz musicians, including Davis, Dave Liebman, Pharoah Sanders, John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock, Herbie Mann, Pat Metheny, Lester Bowie, Airto Moreira, Charlie Haden, Purna Das Baul, and Ornette Coleman.
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Badal Roy has collaborated with Ken Wessel and Stomu Takeishi in a fusion trio named Alankar.
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Badal Roy has appeared and offered workshops at RhythmFest, the Starwood Festival, and at the SpiritDrum Festival, a special tribute to the late Babatunde Olatunji with Muruga Booker, Jim Donovan of Rusted Root, Halim El-Dabh, Richie "Shakin'" Nagan, Jeff Rosenbaum and Sikiru Adepoju, among others.
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In 2004, Badal Roy worked with Richie Havens on the album The Grace of the Sun.
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In 2008, the album Miles From India, a tribute to Miles Davis on which Badal Roy appeared, received a Grammy nomination.
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Badal Roy often played a set of up to eight tabla and two baya at a time, which he played melodically as well as rhythmically.