Bobby Rozario

Jazz / Rock / Fusion guitar virtuoso of Indian and Brazilian-Portuguese descent, based in New York City, Bobby Rozario is a third-generation musician mentored by his parents in genres of World music, and grew up learning music playing a variety of eclectic and World Jazz Rock and Blues. His blazing, idiosyncratic style interprets melodic lines of Ragas and blends them into captivating lines injected with Afro-Latin and Jazz / Rock / Fusion vocabulary.

Recently, Bobby completed production on his second solo album released by Origin Records named “Spellbound”, which features a diverse range of world-class Grammy winning musicians, including drum icons such as Dennis Chambers and Robby Ameen, and bass wizards Gary Grainger and James Genus, Melvin Gibbs along with Puerto-Rican Jazz pianist Edsel Gomez, Jazz organist Radam Schwartz and keyboardist Neil Alexander.

“Spellbound” is a stunning piece of Jazz / Rock / Fusion music produced by Bobby Rozario which showcases guitar virtuosity and a distinctive playing style, and his expansive compositional mindset contributing to the rhythmic and melodic proficiency in the repertoire. The album features heavy Latin and Afro-Latin rhythms that keep the critical listener engaged, while also being entertaining for the common ear. On this album, Bobby also brings in vocalist Ismael Kouyate nephew to African singing legend Mory Kante from Guinea, Africa, along with Cuban / Puerto-Rican vocalist Jose Pepito Gomez and American vocalist Chris Alfinez who are featured on three separate tracks on this record. “Spellbound takes the listener on an experience of a captivating journey through a unique guitar playing style, fusing World, Latin Jazz and Rock elements to create a sound that is truly exceptional.

Bobby Rozario’s uncommon musicianship and virtuosity are evident throughout the album, as he brings together a lineup of over 15 world-class musicians to create new hybrids and blends their signature instrumentation which keeps the listener engaged from start to finish. “Spellbound is Rozario’s second self-produced record. A beautiful reflection of signature artistry and his dream of bringing different worlds of music and rhythms together, makes this record a multi-listen for anyone who connects to the HEART of music and rhythm.

Bobby is known to have an idiosyncratic style of interpreting melodic lines of Ragas along with fast musical motifs at times blended into captivating lines of Blues and Jazz / Rock fusion guitar playing. He has established himself as a stylistically distinctive American Jazz / Rock / Fusion guitarist, also skilled in generating and performing an acoustic guitar style of playing, which emulates the sound of instruments such as the Sarod and Sitar on a brass / steel body resonator guitar style showcased on his first album named Rudra which is a bow to the legendary guitarist John McLaughlin and the fusion group Shakti. He has had the privilege of sharing stage with some of the most renowned vocalists from India, including Sufi singer Hansraj Hans accompanied by Tari Khan on Tabla on US Tour, and Indian playback and ghazal singer Hariharan on his 2014 US Tour. Bobby has also been performing and touring extensively on several US Tours with Anup Jalota, one of the most celebrated non-film artists in Indian music who has 100 platinum and gold discs to his name.

Most recently, Bobby Rozario has been part of a US Tour with acclaimed Indian playback singer and Hindustani Classical vocal maestro Suresh Wadkar and the foremost maestro of Tabla Ustad Zakir Hussain on a recent US Tour in September of 2022 with performances taking place at the Crest Theater, Sacramento CA, Eldorado Musical Theater in Placentia CA, and San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose CA, to name a few.

In November of 2017, Bobby Rozario composed and produced his debut solo album “Rudra” with a record release show at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York followed by a number of performances. The album featured original compositions based on Hindustani Classical Ragas, Polyrhythms, performed by percussionists Swaminathan Selvaganesh, Ghatam Rajaram from South India alongside saxophonist Premik Russel Tubbs.

Bobby Rozario has also been a part of notable performances including the Great India Festival in 2018 in Ottawa ON, where Bobby Rozario and his band Rudra performed with band members Swaminathan Selvaganesh, Steve Sandberg, Premik Russel Tubbs, Patrick Carmichael followed by a performance by violin maestro L. Subramaniam. Recent Grammy winner V. Selvaganesh from legendary fusion group Shakti has also performed with Bobby Rozario.

In the summer of 2018, Bobby was a part of a live broadcast performance with sitar maestro Pandit Krishna Mohan Bhatt at TV Asia Studios in New Jersey. Rozario has also performed a the Coltrane Day Festival in New York and at the TD Niagara Jazz Festival in St. Catharines ON with his reimagined band Rudra in 2019 featuring Latin drum master Robby Ameen, bassist Melvin Gibbs, and alto saxophonist Premik Russel Tubbs.

Bobby Rozario has a background and education in Classical music and coming from a family of musicians and where his mother was an Indian Classical / Semi-Classical singer, and father – a drummer and great grandfather a band master in a fleet of the Brazilian Army.