ABOUT ---------- Ashok Bhatt is a gifted vocalist and songwriter who composes and performs bhajans (Hindu devotional songs), Gujarati folk music and Hindi/Urdu ghazals. His latest collection of original devotional songs spans three CDs: "Ganesh Vandana," "Matru Vandana," and "Guru Vandana" – all available for purchase at CDBaby.com/ashokbhatt. Written by Ashok Bhatt and arranged and orchestrated by the illustrious musician Shree Ashit Desai (www.ashitdesai.com), the songs on these three CDs are sung by Ashok and his daughter and son. BIOGRAPHY ---------- Hailing from the city of Vadodara in Gujarat, India, Ashok Bhatt won numerous awards for his musical ability as a child and a young adult and was well known in the Vadodara musical community. Ashok moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1967, where he quickly became a fixture in the local Indian community. Over the past 40 years, he has given hundreds of performances across the United States. A dedicated cultural ambassador, Ashok was twice invited by the Smithsonian Institute to perform Gujarati folk music in Washington, D.C. – in 1976 at the Bicentennial Celebration and in 1984 at the Festival of American Folklife. A devoted patron of the arts, Ashok has organized and sponsored hundreds of concerts in the Chicago area for leading Indian classical, light-classical and folk musicians. In 1995, Ashok released his first three albums of original devotional songs entitled: "Shree Rama Naam Smarana," "Shri Krishna Naam Smarana," "Shri Shiva Naam Smarana." CREDITS ---------- Lyricist, Composer and Vocalist: Ashok Bhatt Music Arranged and Conducted by: Shree Ashit Desai Recorded at Ajivasan Sounds Studio, Mumbai, India Recording Engineer: Pramod Ghaisas Assistant Recording Engineer: Mandar Wadkar Flute: Pandit Ronu Majumdar Keyboard: Deepak Shah Tabla: Manoj Bharti Pakhawaj: Madhav Pawar Vibraphone: Rajesh Deo Spanish Guitar: Chintu Singh Bass Guitar: Dnyanesh Deo Percussion: Navin Manraja Sitar: Umashankar Shukla Sarod: Pradeep Barot Belabahar: Babulal Gandharva Shahnai: Madhu Dhumal iTUNES ---------- To purchase Ashok Bhatt's "Guru Vandana" on the iTunes Music Store, please paste the following URL into your browser: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=193171723