Thirty five years ago I released my first album, Footprints. Most of the music was created in my attached garage using the cheapest and lowest fidelity sampler and sequencer available on the market. I never expected that anyone would actually listen to this music, much less appreciate it. I enjoyed making the album and that was enough.

When I started to get rave reviews and concert requests I panicked. Although I had a clear musical and spiritual vision, I didn’t have a clue how to manifest that vision. I was stumped!

Several years earlier, I had met some amazing musicians in my cover band, The Motofonics. Really, they were way too good to be in a Motown cover band, but we all needed to make some money and we connected on some invisible level. So when the time came to actually do a concert, I called them, gave them copies of Footprints, and asked if they would be interested in performing the music. Much to my surprise, they said yes. This handful of musicians quickly evolved into The Pagan Love Orchestra, an 11 piece band playing the most outrageous combination of Indian music, kirtan, jazz, reggae, rock and the rest of the kitchen sink. At the time, no one was doing this.

How was I so lucky? How did our personal and musical lives intersect? They were groundbreaking jazz musicians and I was a singer of Sanskrit devotional mantras who had been deeply immersed in North Indian classical music for decades. How did these musicians understand the music I was hearing inside of my head and heart. This is what I call destiny.

Over the course of these last three and a half decades we’ve had so many crazy adventures together and so many cathartic and blissful musical experiences. Although some band members have changed, the core group remains the same. There were times when we performed quite often and there were other periods when the band was on the back burner. But we never lost touch with each other and our friendship grew and grew. Now, The Pagans have become my loving extended family. In addition, for me one of the greatest joys in my life is that now my son, Ezra Uttal, is a full part of the band, playing keyboards and melodica What could be better? This is what I call destiny. And very good luck!

Last February we performed our annual Valentines Day concert at The Freight, in Berkeley, California. I asked the couple behind the sound board if they could make a multitrack recording of the concert, thinking we might have one great song to release as a single. The concert was revelatory! It was as if a wave of unity flowed over all the musicians and the audience. There were deep soulful tears, and even deeper belly laughs. It was an awesome night.

I asked my bandmate, Jeff Cressman, if he could make a rough mix of the recording so I could hear what was there. We listened and both loved what we heard. The great vibe of the concert came through loud and clear. So I said “Let’s make an album! Let’s not work too hard, get obsessive or be perfectionists. Let’s just go with the rough mixes without overdubs or ‘fixes’, and see what happens.”

And this is what happened: “Destiny! The Adventures of Jai Uttal & The Pagan Love Orchestra LIVE!”

LISTEN HERE

DESTINY! The Adventures of Jai Uttal & the Pagan Love Orchestra: LIVE!!!

Sadhu’s Chant (Radhe Shyam) 3:40
Campfire Sri Ram 2025 7:06
Rama Rama Ram (Guru Prayer) 7:48
Radha Lila (Sri Radhe Govinda Part 1) 5:32
Rasa Lila (Sri Radhe Govinda Part 2) 7:32
Let Me Be Sky 2025 8:07
Vrindavan (Part 2) 7:51

Recorded live by Brian Walker & Tesser Call at The Freight in Berkeley, California on February 15, 2025
Jai Uttal & The Pagan Love Orchestra
Jai Uttal - vocal, guitar
Peter Apfelbaum - sax & melodica
Jeff Cressman - trombone
Sandy Cressman - flute & vocals
Brianna Prajna Vieira - vocals, harmonium & melodica
Ezra Uttal - keyboards
Ben Leinbach - bass
Deszon Claiborne - drums
Ami Molinelli - percussion
Produced by Jeff Cressman with Jai Uttal
Horn parts composed by Peter Apfelbaum
Mixed by Jeff Cressman
Mastered by Micheal Fossenkemper/Turtle Tone Studios