Wynne Paris

Wynne Paris is a world beat artist/producer and musician with a special focus on Yoga music and Kirtan, the call-and-response singing of Bhakti yoga. Wynne's artistic sound is derived from 20 years of musical adventures and spiritual experiences. He spent most of his twenties playing rock guitar and singing the blues at nightclubs around Washington DC. In 1994, at the age of 30, Wynne took up yoga, dated a belly-dancing astrologer, and had a series of spiritual and mystical experiences that transformed not only his musical style, but his vision of the world. In 1996, one of the songs he co-wrote with Maura Moynihan, "Prayer for the Pure Land", won first place (out of 1900 entries) in the SAW National Songwriting Contest. That year Wynne was invited to jam with the Indian Saint Ammachi. His latest project is the band called SuperTrine a world beat band consisting of Yoga Musician Wynne Paris and Singer/Dancer Lumina Devi. Their debut single "Heaven is Dancing" drops on June 25th and is available on iTunes. Wynne performs on Sarod, Harmonium and guitar, and Lumina sings and dances. Special guest musicians will be joining SuperTrine on stage.

He has played hundreds of gigs across the country, including at Constitution Hall, the Smithsonian music series at the National Zoo, the Millenium celebration in Washington DC, CB's Gallery (CBGB's) in New York, the Health and Harmony Festival in northern California, Karmapalooza in Florida, and the Starwood Festival, and sang at a Washingtonian event that featured H.H. the Dalai Lama. Wynne has performed with Krishna Das at such venues as the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York (the largest yoga center in the U.S.), Yogaville, the Satchidanda Ashram in Virginia, and museums, holistic resorts, bookstores, raves, churches, temples, and private gatherings. At his live shows he sings in English and Sanskrit and plays guitar, Sarod (a 26 stringed, sitar-like instrument from India) and percussion with dance loops, and delivers a set that includes Kirtan chanting, American music (jazz, gospel, rock), world beat rhythms and raga scales. His latest project is the band called SuperTrine featuring Lumina Devi.

Wynne has recorded with many of the best-known New Age musicians including Shahin and Sephir, Sophia, Bhagavan Das, and Girish,. He played guitar, sarod, and saz (a stringed instrument in the lute family) on the groundbreaking Krishna Das CD, "Pilgrim Heart," one of the genre's defining albums, which also featured Sting. Wynne also played sarod on the Krishna Das CD "All One," and composed the music for the Krishna Das single Prayer to Rudra on the CD "Planet Yoga." Wynne's own CDs include "Ghandarva Cafe", "Emptiness and Ecstasy", and his latest, "Groovananda," which features Rick Allen (drums - Def Leppard), John 'JT' Thomas (organ - Bruce Hornsby), Mark Karan (guitar - Ratdog), Badal Roy (tabla - Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman), Gary Grainger (bass - John Scofield), Doug Derryberry (mandolin - Bruce Hornsby), Perry Robinson (clarinet), and singers Krishna Das, Mary Ann Redmond, Amikaeyla Gaston, John Wubbenhorst (bansuri), and Hans Christian and Kim Waters (Rasa).

The Art and Practice of Kirtan

Kirtan is the art of call and response chanting performed in India’s bhakti devotional traditions. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments. Wynne has been a kirtan musician, touring yoga studios and festivals for over 15 years. He has played and recorded with Krishna Das and many other popular kirtan artists. Wynne teaches some of the popular chants, rhythms and melodies of call and response chanting. Through music, melody and rhythm, he teaches people how to invoke divine energy in a simple musical ritual that anyone can perform.