Jeyaraaj Krishnan and Jaysri Jeyaraaj Krishnan (known as Jeyaraaj and Jaysri) belong to the direct Shishya Parampara of Nadajyoti Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar - who is one among the famous Trinity of Carnatic Music.
Jeyaraaj and Jaysri, both born and brought up in Kolkata, started their intensive training in vocal and veena music at a very tender age under the tutelage of Vainika Vidwan Late A. Anantharama Iyer and his sister Late A. Champakavalli who continued the Dikshitar Parampara they imbibed from their father Brahmasri Ananthakrishna Iyer, a direct disciple of Ambi Dikshitar, the great grand nephew of Muthuswamy Dikshitar. Jeyaraaj and Jaysri have also been extremely fortunate to receive tutelage from Sangeetha Acharya Late Vidwan Shri Chingleput Ranganathan.
'A' grade veena artistes of AIR Chennai, this husband and wife team has regaled audiences in India and abroad. They have had the privilege of performing at the National Program of Music before an invited audience in the studios of Chennai AIR.
They have been awarded the Titles 'Bharathi Kala Praveena' by Sri Sacchidananda Saraswathi Swamiji of SriMatham, Dharmapuri and 'nada Kala Vipanchee' by the organization Vipanchee of which Padma Vibhushan Dr. M Balamuralikrishna is the President They have also received the HR Padmanabha Sastry Award for Arts. They have received the 'Best Veena Players' award from The Indian Fine Arts Society at their annual festival and from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in their Gokulashtami series.
Jeyaraaj and Jaysri have also used the platform of Lecture Demonstrations to popularise and highlight the attributes of the Veena. The Indian Fine Arts Society, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and other organizations have featured Jeyaraaj and Jaysri in special programs during their prestigious annual festival, where, a rare insight was provided into the evolution of the instrument, tracing its history from the Vedic Ages to its contemporary pride of place in the world of Carnatic Music. They have had the privilege of presenting a lecture demonstration on Muthuswamy Dikshitar's Kritis in the August presence of Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswathiji at Arsha Vidhya Gurukulam, Anaikatti, Coimbatore, which was widely appreciated.
Firm in their belief that veena music should be representative of vocal music, the artists have presented many intricate pallavis in their concerts, including nadai pallavis and pallavis in 8-kalai. They have also performed Marathon Concerts extending 4 or more hours which have been very well received.
Novel thematic presentations have also been part of the artists’ renderings, some of them being concerts based on Dasavathara, Subramanya, and those comprising exclusively of Dikshitar Krithis, or Thyagaraja compositions.
Jeyaraaj and Jaysri have been regularly called upon to participate in concerts organized by 'The Veena Foundation', New Delhi in various parts of the country. Apart from the famed December Music Season in Chennai, the artists have been featured in prestigious festivals around the country.
They are passionate Vainikas who believe that Veena holds a revered place in Carnatic Music and have dedicated themselves towards preserving and propagating the ‘Gayaki’ style of playing the Veena.
The couple has started an organization called 'veenavaadhini', with multifarious objectives, namely, teaching keen students the art of veena playing; conducting chamber concerts to provide an accessible platform for musicians; retracing Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s pilgrimage and singing the kritis that he has composed on various gods and goddesses enshrined in the respective temples; and undertaking a Mammoth Archival Project Of Recording 1000 Compositions And 100 Raga Alapanas played on the veena by the duo.
Their latest offering is ‘Subramanya’, a CD and Cassette released by Mudhra Recording Company, in which they have rendered Muthuswamy Dikshitar's Krithis on Lord Subramanya. This was featured among the Top 10 Classical Instrumental Releases of the year.They have also recorded with HMV.
Jeyaraaj and Jaysri have been regularly called upon to participate in concerts organized by ‘The Veena Foundation’, New Delhi in various parts of the country. Apart from the famed December Music Season in Chennai, the artists have been featured in prestigious festivals in various parts of the country like the Chembai Music Festival in Guruvayoor, Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of R.R. Sabha Kolkata, Sunadavinodhini Electronic Veena Festival organized by Radel, etc.