eric fraser - bansuri flute artist
Raised in the rare, immersive intimacy of Kolkata’s Guru-Sishya Parampara tradition, Eric Fraser plays the bansuri flute as a living extension of the human voice. Living and studying directly alongside his Guru, Pandit Gopal Roy, Eric received extensive oral teachings (taleem) within a distinguished lineage (gharana) traced back to musical stalwarts like Pannalal Ghosh, Gour Goswami, and Ustad Amir Khan. His instrument carries the distinct gayaki ang—a soulful, vocal style of flute playing that evokes the nostalgia and depth of old-world Kolkata.
Beyond Indian classical tradition, Eric is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording artist whose original work bridges deep classical roots with long-form instrumental music and indie songwriting. A co-founder of the renowned Brooklyn Raga Massive collective and a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar, Eric moves fluidly across traditional, innovative, and cross-cultural fusion landscapes.
Outside the performance stage, Eric translates the healing dimension of sound into clinical practice. He is a Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC), a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist (LCAT), and the founder and director of Sound and Nature, a licensed mental health practice based in Germantown, NY.
Gayaki bansuri gharana
my lineage
The Bengal flute lineage, or "Gayaki Flute Parampara", whose founder was the legendary Pannalal Ghosh, is purely from the Maihar Gharana in it's origins. This lineage has a distinctive sound that is rarely heard today, a style of Bansuri playing that incorporates a Gayaki Khyal structure (the structure and style of Khyal Vocal music). The rich confluence of traditional approaches in our lineage has evolved as a unique sound on Bansuri that conveys depth and grandeur.As Indian classical music is an oral tradition that can only be transmitted in person from gurus to disciples, it is important to mention the sources of taleem (oral teaching) that have converged in our gharana (lineage). The legendary founder of the bansuri in classical Indian music, Pannalal Ghosh, was a disciple of Ustad Allaudin Khan, the founder of the Maihar Gharana. Pandit Gour Goswami was a disciple of Pannalal Ghosh, and he became the guru of my guru, Pandit Gopal Roy, and Steve Gorn.
I learned the art of bansuri playing from the late Pandit Gopal Roy - June 5th, 1955 - May 13th, 2020. He was a master of the unique Gayaki (vocal) style of North Indian classical flute.
Pt. Gopal Roy began his musical journey in March, 1968 as a student of the legendary Kolkata flutist Pt. Gour Goswami. Pt Gour Goswami was a leading disciple of Padmabhushan Pannalal Ghosh. With full blessings to take the flute deeply into the heritage of Gayaki Ang (vocal style), Pt. Gopal Roy learned concurrently and in depth from Pt. Srikant Bakre, a leading disciple of the great Ustad Amir Khan Sahib, from Dr. G.N. Goswami (violin), a legend in the adaptation of Gayaki Ang to an instrument, and lastly from Pt. Ajoy Sinha Roy (famous as Jentu Baba), a disciple of the founder of the Maihar gharana, Ustad Allaudin Khan.
Pt. Gopal Roy's music is both unique and profound, integrating the style and soul of some of India's most accomplished masters of music into his flute. A distinct "old world" sound resounds in his flute, capturing an era of unique depth and artistry.
Residing in Baidyabati (WB), Pt. Gopal Roy recently retired from All India Radio in Kolkata, where he had been resident flute artist since 1990.
