NEHA JIWRAJKA: THIS ‘DREAMER’ PLAYS FOLK, CLASSICAL … AND ALL THAT JAZZ

As early as she can remember, Neha Jiwrajka wanted to be a musician. “Like my mother, I was always drawn to music,” she tells Brooklyn Roads. “She studied classical Indian music in Varanasi and Kolkata, where she grew up.” Her mom also played the Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald, Carole King, Frank Sinatra and Fleetwood Mac.

Piano Pose /photo by Nicole Sweet / courtesy of the artist

“I think all of these styles of music have a place in the music I create and perform today,” says Neha (who goes professionally by her given name). “My singing style has elements of classical Hindustani singing, and my songwriting [is] very representative of all the different types of music I heard as a child.”

Neha started playing the piano around age five and studied seriously until she left for college. However, while her traditionally minded parents encouraged music as a hobby, “they were very clear about wanting it to be nothing more than that,” she says. “My dad and mom … felt that there was no solid or steady future in the world of arts.”

While she describes her four post-college years working for Google as “wonderful,” she tells Brooklyn Roads that, “I couldn’t deny an intense yearning for something else,” and thus pursued a master’s degree in jazz vocal performance.

Neha Jiwrajka / photo by Nicole Sweet/ courtesy of the artist

Living in Dumbo for the past five years helped fuel her creativity because, Neha says, “there is an undercurrent and energy” unique to Brooklyn, as well as “a sense of community that really nurtures each artist.” Also, she tells us, “There is access to anything and everything. On a given night, I could go to C’mon Everybody and hear R&B, rap, or soul, or head to Barbès and be transported to France or Argentina.” She finds herself continually inspired “to explore outside my musical box. I’ll hear something and it will bury itself deep within me, and then come out in my music.”

Among her favorite places to perform in are Barbès and the Jalopy Theatre. “I think what makes these two venues so special is [their] warmth and intimacy. Also, there is a palatable energy in both of these places; you know that everyone who is there … came to be a part of the music.”

A pair of Brooklynites — Carole King and Sufjan Stevens — are on Neha’s who’s who of artists she would love to collaborate with. Others include Feist, Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple, Joni Mitchell and Madeleine Peyroux. “I’m really drawn to strong women,” she explains, “but there are also many incredible male artists that I would love to make music with.” Among this latter group are Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bon Iver and João Gilberto. Her time-travel fantasy would have her dueting with the likes of Nina Simone, Edith Piaf and one special, gone-too-soon British chanteuse.

“Amy Winehouse … is such an inspiration to me,” she tells us. “She also came from a jazz background, and it’s such a treat to hear what she does to a traditional standard. She sings with so much heart.”

Neha On Guitar at Lizard Lounge / photo courtesy of the artist

While it was jazz that originally inspired Neha to write and play, her tastes and influences expanded as she grew, adding folk and classical music to the mix. “As a performer and composer, I try not to think so much about the style of music … but rather just let the spark of whatever I’m feeling inspire me,” she says.

Neha, whose album, The Dreamer, is available on Bandcamp, is currently working on a classical Italian aria, while also writing a song inspired by jazz from the 1930s. “So really,” she says, “anything goes!”