Leela: An evening of solo acoustic guitar by Sanjay Divecha
In Sanskrit, Leela means “divine play”—the idea that creation itself is an act of joy. It's also the name of Sanjay Divecha's latest album, and the music at the heart of this recital: a set of original compositions for steel and nylon-string guitar, written with nothing between the artist and the instrument. Abbey 301's intimate room is the ideal space for this kind of listening, with just one guitar and a room small enough that every phrase lands. Expect a set drawn primarily from Leela, spanning three decades of Sanjay's musical journey across jazz, Indian classical influence, and folk—playful in places, meditative in others, and deeply personal— bringing together not only technical mastery but also a celebration of the quiet, expressive power of the acoustic guitar.Sanjay Divecha is one of India's most revered guitarists — a distinctive voice as both a player and a composer, shaped by a 35-year career that has taken him from Mumbai to Los Angeles and back again.He was a member of Crosscurrents, the acclaimed supergroup led by Zakir Hussain alongside Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Shankar Mahadevan, and Louiz Banks, and has performed and recorded with artists including Carlos Santana, Angelique Kidjo, Michael McDonald, and Dave Weckl. His film work includes A.R. Rahman's Academy Award-nominated score for Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, and his own score for Somnath Sen's Leela, which won a Special Jury Award at the Toronto Reel World Film Festival.An alumnus of the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles (1989), Sanjay is also a dedicated mentor to musicians across disciplines. With his latest album, Leela, he steps forward as a solo acoustic voice, an artist returning, as he puts it, to authenticity and to the joy of creation itself.
