How2BE
- How to be enlightened in 48 hours?-

An evening to relax...away from the constant search in life for action and instant happiness....

The beauty and mystic of the Indian Nights will become a magnet for you.
Lay Back & Relax!

How2Be brings you an exiting musical evening: one moment you will hear the beautiful (almost whispering) singing of Indian Vocalist Sandhya Sanjana, as though she greets a new morning. A few minutes later you will hear relaxing trendy lounge music and before you know it... It sounds like you hear the flamboyant playing of the legendary trumpet player Miles Davis.

A real musical happening for everybody who like to be surprised.

Relax, enjoy and dream .....

The music of HowBe is not easy to describe in a few words. You can call it Buddha-bop, you can call it a mixture of Indian music, jazz, funk and lounge music. It is trendy, it is authentic, it is real!

The musicians of How2BE are all very in demand musicians in The The Netherlands.

Saxophone player Ben van den Dungen is famous throughout Europe. He has his own quintet which has been rewarded several times with Dutch and European prices. He is also a band member of the legendary latin jazz group Nueva Manteca, and with this band he toured all over the world and he performed with legendary latin giants like Amrando Peraza, Orestes Vilato, Claudio Roditi and Luis Conte. The bass player of How2Be, Jeroen Vierdag, is also the bass player of Nueva Manteca. He often plays during performances of this group the special Baby Bass. Also Jeroen tours regularly through the The Netherlands (and Europe) with country singer Ilse de Lange (a very famous singer in The The Netherlands).

Trumpet player Michael Varekamp is in great demand, especially for his Louis Armstrong repertoire and sound-alike. He performed for years with the famous Dutch Swing College Band, is a band member of several groups and has his own local jazz radio-programme.

Keyboard player Wibout Burkens and drummer Eric Hoeke are active musicians in several scenes in Holland. Lounge, pop and jazz scene, but also in the production scene they are highly appreciated.

Guitar player Ed Verhoeff toured, for years, through the world with singer Mathilde Santing. A few years ago he founded his own group, a quintet called EDition.

Al musicians belong to the top of the Dutch (and European) jazz and latin scene.

Ben van den Dungen and Michael Varekamp are the artistic leaders of How2be. They started the band, and they were the first members who went on a studytrip to India, to study Indian vocals and music.

More study trips (also with the other band members) followed.

Soon they met Indian vocalist Sandhya Sanjana. Sandhya became the singer of How2Be and her voice and stunning performance always receives great reviews in the press.

Sandhya Sanjana was born in Bombay, India and her musical journey began at the age of two. She was raised in New Delhi where she was part of a culturally active group. Participating in musical shows since the age of five, she absorbed various folk and classical influences from ancient and contemporary India. From an early age, she studied Indian classical vocals under several Gurus, absorbing the styles from various 'gharanas'. In her teenage years, she discovered rock and pop music. This new and youthful energy so fascinated her that she sang in some rock groups in Bombay. Then she heard Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Her world was turned around once again. In order to expand her musical scope, she sang in several jazz clubs all over India. Then she travelled the world with the group DIVYA.

While performing at the Jazz Jamboree in Poland, Alice Coltrane heard Sandhya sing and was most impressed with her effortless blending of Indian classical styles with jazz and contemporary settings. She invited DIVYA to perform for the 5th John Coltrane festival. While in Los Angeles for the festival, Alice Coltrane invited Sandhya to record some tracks on Glorious Chants, her CD of spiritual music. A year later, Alice was invited to perform on a BBC television series "Rhythms of the world". She invited Sandhya to sing with her on the show.

Some venues Sandhya performed at :

John Coltrane Jazz Festival - Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Jazz Jamboree - Warsaw, Poland
Expo 2000 - Hanover, Germany
Theater de Lieve Vrouw - Amersfoort, The The Netherlands
Sju Jazz Podium - Utrecht, The The Netherlands
Debrecen Jazz Days - Debrecen, Hungary
Montmartre Jazz Club - Copenhagen, Denmark
Jazz Club Nefertiti - Gotenburg, Sweden
Jazz Club Fasching - Stockholm, Sweden
Roxy, Tropical Museum, Melkweg, Paradiso, Meervaart - Amsterdam
Festival Mundial - Tilburg, The The Netherlands
The Jazz Club - Hong Kong
Malaysian Jazz Festival - Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia
Summer Jazz Festival - Tokyo, Japan
Thailand Jazz Festival - Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand
Jazz Yatra - Bombay, India
Jazz Clubs - Dresden, Cologne, Leipzig etc. in Germany
Bar 55 - New York City, U.S.A.
Festival of India - Moscow and Alma Ata, U.S.S.R.

Last but not least, Bansuri player (Indian flute) Ofra Avni joined the group. She studied at the World music - Indian department of the Rotterdam Conservatory and is considered the new talent on Bansuri in Europe.

© Jūratė Kučinskaitė