Background
Ravish Momin is an Indian-born drummer, electronic music producer and educator residing in New York City. A Structural/Civil Engineer by training, Momin also privately studied with Jazz master-drummer Andrew Cyrille for years while he worked as an engineer in New York City in the late 1990s. He quit his engineering practice in 2003 to become a professional musician. His unique approach quickly led him to work as a sideman with a diverse cast of musicians ranging from to legendary avant-saxophonist Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre (of the AACM) to pop-star Shakira. Momin is the recipient of grants/commissions from New Music USA, Meet The Composer, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, US Artists International and NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts.)
Sunken Cages
Momin started working under the moniker Sunken Cages in 2019, in order to showcase his unique production style which involves layering live-loops and manipulating them in real-time to blur the lines between composition and improvisation. While rooted in Indian folk and Black Music traditions, Momin is also influenced by the street sounds of South African G’com, Angolan Kuduro and Egyptian Mahraganat.
Leading Other Projects
Momin currently leads the live electronic music duo ‘Turning Jewels Into Water’ with Haitian percussion virtuoso Val Jeanty. In the past, he led the Global/Jazz shape-shifting band Tarana whose line-ups had included violinist Jason Kao Hwang, oudist/bassist Shanir Blumenkranz, trombonist Rick Parker, singer Areni Agbabian and many others over the years. Tarana performed on international stages for over 14 years and recorded several albums to critical acclaim.
Side Person
Momin currently performs in a duo with synth maven Thollem McDonus. In the past has performed with US Jazz luminaries such as saxophonists Sabir Mateen and Peter Epstein, guitarist Brad Shepik, bassists Wilber Morris and William Parker, violinists Billy Bang and Sam Bardfeld, drummer Susie Ibarra, trumpeters Roy Campbell and Raphe Malik, and pianist Ursel Schlicht. He has also worked with Hip-Hop artist Oktopus (Dalek/MRC Riddims) and the rock band Fulton Lights. In addition to OnTheCorner Records, he has recorded for Astral Spirits, Babani, C.I.M.P, CleanFeed, Delmark, NuBop, Entropy Stereo, BlueRegard, Plasma Torus, and FPE Records.
Teaching
While not on tour, Momin has worked as a teaching-artist across New York City for the past 14 years. He has been working with public-school students, and covers a wide range of subjects such as snare drumming, hand percussion and electronic music production.
Performing Experience
Val Jeanty, Shakira, Greg Heffernan, Skye Steele, Kalaparush Maurice McIntye, Sam Bardfeld, Sabir Mateen, Peter Epstein, Billy Band, Jason Kao Hwang, Kamyar Arsani, Rick Parker, Fulton Lights, Is What?, Raphe Malik, Ursel Schlicht, Sunny Jain, William Connell, Akim Funk Buddha, Brandon Terzic, Jane Wang, Kevin Shea, Trina Basu, Brian Prunka, Tanya Kalmanovitch, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, Adam Lane, Jesse Dulman, Patricia Parker
Selected Festivals/Highlights (2000-2011)
The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Urbana, IL
w/Tarana (Trina Basu); Jan. 22, 2011
San Servolo Jazz Meeting, Venezia, Italy
w/Tarana (Greg Heffernan); Nov. 4, 2010
w/Tarana (Greg Heffernan); Sept. 17, 2010
Festival De L’Outaouais Emergent, Hull, ON, Canada
w/Tarana (Greg Heffernan); Sept. 12, 2010
The Guelph Jazz Festival, Guelph, ON, Canada
w/Tarana (Greg Heffernan); Sept. 11, 2010
The Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA (Sudden Sound Series)
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Greg Heffernan); June 25, 2010
New Music and Sound Summit, Austin, TX
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Henna Chou); June 19, 2010
Aguascalientes Music Festival, Aguascalientes, Mexico
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Greg Heffernan); May 8, 2010
Creative Soundspace Festival, The Outpost Space, Albuquerque, NM
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Greg Heffernan); April 1, 2010
NBC/Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
w/Shakira; November 17, 2009
Performance on “The Rachel Ray Show” (ABC)
w/Shakira; November 17, 2009
Performance on “The View” (ABC)
w/Shakira; November 16, 2009
The Yardbird Suite, Edmonton, Canada
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Greg Heffernan); October 31, 2009
JazzLent Stage, JazzLent, 2009, Maribor, Slovenia
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Greg Heffernan); June 28, 2009
Cantos Music Foundation, Calgary Jazz Festival, 2009, Canada
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Greg Heffernan); June 23, 2009
Plazuela Miguel Auza, Cultural Festival Zacatecas, 2009, Mexico
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Greg Heffernan); Apr. 11, 2009
Qingdao Concert Hall, Qingdao, China
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Peter Scherr); Nov. 27, 2008
AACM Concert Series, New York City, NY
w/Kalaparush Ahra Difda Ensemble (Will Conell, Michael Logan); Nov. 14, 2008
Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI
w/Trio Tarana (Sam Bardfeld, Brandon Terzic); Oct. 30, 2008
Ironworks (presented by Coastal Jazz & Blues Society) Vancouver, Canada
w/Trio Tarana (Sam Bardfeld, Brandon Terzic); Oct. 11, 2008
Jazz Ao Centro Festival, Coimbra, Portugal
w/Trio Tarana (Sam Bardfeld, Brandon Terzic); June 13, 2008
Jazz Nos Capuchos Festival, Almada, Portugal
w/Trio Tarana (Sam Bardfeld, Brandon Terzic); June 12, 2008
Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol, UK
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Brandon Terzic); April 13, 2008
The Bluecoat, Liverpool, UK
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Brandon Terzic); April 9, 2008
The Yardbird Suite, Edmonton, AB, Canada
w/Trio Tarana (Skye Steele, Brandon Terzic); Dec. 7, 2007
Queens Museum of Art
w/Trio Tarana (Sam Bardfeld, Brandon Terzic); June 10, 2007
Documenta XII, Kassel, Germany
w/Ursel Schlicht, Jamie Baum, Thomson Kneeland, Vladiswar Nadishana, David Kuckhermann, et al; May 21- May 28, 2007
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
w/Trio Tarana (Sam Bardfeld, Brandon Terzic); Mar. 16, 2007
Leonardo Da Vinci Center: Mira et Saputo Theater, Montreal, Canada
w/Trio Tarana (Sam Bardfeld, Brandon Terzic); Feb. 24, 2007
The Rotunda @ The University of Pennsylvania, Philadalphia, PA
w/Trio Tarana (Sam Bardfeld, Brandon Terzic); Jan 18, 2007
Mediawave Festival, Gyor, Hungary
w/Trio Tarana (Jason Kao Hwang, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz); May 1, 2006
Tel Aviv Jazz Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel
w/Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, Jesse Dulman; Feb. 18, 2006
Magazine Feature: “Indians in NY” by Antonio Branco, in Jazz.pt; Nov. 2005
New Music Circle: Christman Studios, St. Louis, MO
w/Trio Tarana (Jason Kao Hwang, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz); Sept. 2, 2005
Smithsonian Museum’s Freer Gallery: Meyer Auditorium, Washington, DC
w/Trio Tarana (Jason Kao Hwang, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz); July 21, 2005
Jazzin’ Tondela, Portugal
w/Trio Tarana (Jason Kao Hwang, Ken Filiano); June 11, 2005
Radio Interview for KZSU (90.1 FM, Stanford, CA); May 13, 2005
Rubin Museum of Art Concert Series, NYC
w/Trio Tarana (Jason Kao Hwang, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz); April 8, Nov. 18, 2005
Sons D’Hiver Festival, Paris, France
w/Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, Adam Lane, Jesse Dulman; Feb. 11, 2005
6th Taipei Arts Festival, Taiwan
w/Trio Tarana (Jason Kao Hwang, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz);Oct. 29, 30 2004
9th Annual Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival
w/Trio Tarana (Jason Kao Hwang, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz); Oct. 16, 2004
Guelph Jazz Festival, Canada
w/Ursel Schlicht’s Ex Tempore; Sept. 11, 2004
Detroit Institute of the Arts
w/Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, Adam Lane, Jesse Dulman; July 16, 2004
Vision Festival 9,NYC
w/SabirMateen, Raphe Malik, Jane Wang, Raymond King; May 29, 2004
Erie Art Museum Concert Series, Erie, PA
w/Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, Jesse Dulman; Sept. 6, 2003
Guelph Jazz Festival, Canada
w/Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, Jesse Dulman; Sept. 5, 2003
Chicago Jazz Festival
w/Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, Jesse Dulman; August 29, 2003
Kerava Jazz Festival, Finland
w/Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, Jesse Dulman; June 7, 2003
Era Jazzu, Tour of Poland
w/Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre, Jesse Dulman; March 3-6, 2003
Documenta XI, Kassel, Germany
w/Ursel Schlicht, Tomas Ulrich, Jamie Baum, Hakim Ludin, et al; Aug. 28- Sept. 5, 2002
Vision Festival 7, NYC
w/Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre Trio; May 25, 2002
CUNY: Elebash Recital Hall
w/Susie Ibarra; March 2, 2002
Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai, India
w/Trio Dissolve; Feb. 17, 2002
East West Encounter, Bangalore, India
w/Trio Dissolve; Feb. 16, 2002
Austin Center for the Arts, Trinity College, Hartford, CT
w/ Susie Ibarra; December 1, 2000
Omiya (Japan)-Pittsburgh (US) Cultural Exchange Tour
w/Lee Robinson; Nov. 2-Nov. 12, 2000