KEENAR is a collective of multi-talented musicians, founded by James Waterman, Neel Agrawal, and Rajib Karmakar. Keenar weaves together a unique tapestry of sound that is both dynamic and unforgettable, drawing from diverse musical genres such as North/South Indian music, West African rhythms, Persian music, jazz, fusion, and Latin percussion. Through their seamless integration of different musical traditions, Keenar brings audiences on a journey that transcends cultural boundaries and leaves a lasting impact.

NEEL AGRAWAL (he/him/his) is a multi-percussionist incorporating various musical styles into his own unique sound. He performs with leading musicians in a wide range of contexts, including jazz, world fusion, Indian and Western classical, rock, jazz, electronic, hip hop, and film soundtracks.

In 2022, Neel was recognized by Mayor of LA Eric Garcetti for his work in South Asian arts, education, and advocacy. Neel received the 2021 COLA Individual Artist Fellowship from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. He also completed a fellowship at the Harvard Library Innovation Lab for his groundbreaking research on African Drumming Laws. In 2016, Neel participated in “Celebrate the Connections”, an intensive urban arts and education tour of India sponsored by the U.S. State Department (coordinated by Cultural Vistas in New York).

Neel has performed with L. Shankar, Lord Huron, Young the Giant, Ethnotronika (Ireesh Lal, Norton Wisdom, and Aalok Mehta), Janapriyan Levine, Rajib Karmakar, James Waterman, The Brothers Landau, Johannes Moller, the UC Santa Barbara Music of India Ensemble, New Music Works, and the UC Santa Cruz Percussion Ensemble. Additionally, Neel was the section leader of the Michigan State University Drumline, where he received two national tenor drumming awards from Percussive Arts Society. He is grateful to study with incredible gurus such as Navjot Sandhu, Aloke Dutta, Ken Dalluge, William Winant, Jon Weber, and Todd Ohme.

JAMES WATERMAN (he/him/his) is a multifaceted percussionist, composer, songwriter, and teaching artist based in Los Angeles. James is devoted to the exploration of all areas of percussion and has extensively studied Western Classical solo repertoire, orchestral percussion, Arabic drumming, Trinidadian Steel Drums, jazz vibraphone, Cuban and Haitian folkloric percussion, drum set, Indian tabla and tala systems, and Brazilian percussion. He also has traveled to Ghana where he studied gyil (Ghanaian xylophone) with master musician Bernard Woma, Ashanti Kete drumming, and Ewe drumming and dancing.

James has regularly collaborated with prominent ensembles and organizations including Bridge to Everywhere, four larks, and Dhara, and has performed and premiered new works at venues such as SFJAZZ, PASIC, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, The Getty Villa, REDCAT, and the NAMM Show.

James’s original compositions span from the stage to the screen, and include the original score for Sharine Atif’s award-winning film Jebel Banat (Festival de Cannes and Tribeca Film Festival). He was also commissioned by the dance company DANCE AEGIS to compose original music for Kennesaw State University’s performance of choreographer Andrea Gise’s Unearthing.

As an arts educator, James has presented lectures on Ghanaian music and drumming, world music, percussion, and music pedagogy at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), CalArts, Mount Saint Mary’s University, and Glendale Community College. He is currently the Program Manager for the CalArts Community Arts Partnership (CAP), overseeing free art programs for thousands of youth participants in Los Angeles County.

RAJIB KARMAKAR (he/him/his) is a Los Angeles based performance artist, composer and educator Rajib has been performed in many countries including India, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland for Ministry of Spain (Spain), Ottawa Council for Arts (Canada), Boom Festival (Portugal), Festival of India (USA and Canada), NAMM (Los Angeles), Cal Performances (USA), National Arts Center(Ottawa), Straz Center (Tampa) , Castello Di Romeo (Italy), Shrine Auditorium (Los Angeles) and many more.  He has played and has been featured in various movies and T.V. shows for Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Universal, A&E Network and others and also has been an artist in residence for various colleges and universities all over the world. Rajib’s versatility and ability has allowed him to adapt his skills and knowledge to his various world music projects with his own creation “Mayur Tantri” -the world’s first double necked sitar. Rajib received his MFA in Music from California Institute of the Arts and currently he is the Artistic director of Los Angeles International Music and Arts Academy.