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{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}

{{BLP sources|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Asha Puthli
| image = Asha Puthli Bollywood awards.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|2|4}}
| birth_place = [[Bombay]], India
| genre = [[Jazz music|Jazz]], [[Pop music|pop]], [[disco]], [[electronica]]
| occupation = Singer
| years_active = 1970–present
| label = [[Columbia Records|CBS]]/[[Sony]], [[PolyGram]], [[TK Records|TK]], Autobahn, Top of the World
| website = {{URL|theashaputhli.com}}
}}

'''Asha Puthli''' is a [[singer-songwriter]], [[Record_producer |producer]], and [[actress]] born on February 4, 1945, and raised in [[Bombay]], [[India]]. She has recorded solo albums for [[EMI]], [[Columbia Records|CBS]]/[[Sony]], and [[RCA]].<ref name=":0">{{cite news|last=Pareles |first=Jon |title=Asha Puthli, an Indian Singer Who Embraces Countless Cultures |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 12, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/12/arts/music/12puht.html |accessdate=4 August 2018}}</ref> Her recordings cover [[blues]], [[Pop music|pop]], [[Rock music|rock]], [[Soul music|soul]], [[funk]], [[disco]], and [[techno]] and have been produced by [[Del Newman]] and [[Teo Macero]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Mandel |first=Howard |title=Reclaiming Singularity: Asha Puthli |magazine=[[DownBeat]] |date=February 2007 |volume=74 |issue=2 |page=26}}</ref>

==Early life==
Puthli was born into a [[Hinduism |Hindu]] family. She is a niece of [[Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay]].<ref name="Asha Puthli: jazz legend comes to Mumbai to spellbind music lovers">{{cite news |last1=Kothari |first1=Sunil |title=Asha Puthli: jazz legend comes to Mumbai to spellbind music lovers |url=https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-asian-age/20181029/281852939564547 |access-date=19 March 2021 |publisher=The Asian Age |date=29 October 2018}}</ref> Her father was a businessman, and her mother was a homemaker.<ref name="Asha Puthli: Lady sings the blues">{{cite news |last1=Khurana |first1=Suanshu |title=Asha Puthli: Lady sings the blues |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/lady-sings-the-blues-5574449/ |access-date=19 March 2021 |publisher=The Indian Express |date=10 February 2019}}</ref> Like many upper-middle-class Hindu children at the time, she attended [[English-medium education#India|English-speaking]] [[Catholic schools]].<ref name="Asha Puthli Is In The Studio Recording Once Again">{{cite web |last1=Montague |first1=Joe |title=Asha Puthli Is In The Studio Recording Once Again |url=http://www.rivetingriffs.com/Asha%20Puthli.html |website=Riveting Riffs |publisher=Riveting Riffs |access-date=19 March 2021}}</ref>

Puthli began training at an early age in [[Indian classical music]] and [[opera]]. She listened to jazz and pop music on the radio, which led to her interest in [[Jazz_fusion |fusion]].<ref name="Marmorstein">{{cite book |last1=Marmorstein |first1=Gary |title=The label: The story of Columbia Records |date=2007 |publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press |isbn=978-1-56025-707-3}}</ref> At thirteen, she won a contest in which she sang "[[Malagueña_(song) |Malagueña]]". The victory encouraged her to begin improvising with a jazz band at local [[tea dance]]s. [[Ved Mehta]] described her singing in his book ''Portrait of India''.<ref>Jhaveri, Niranjan, "Features" in ''Jazz Forum: The Magazine of the European Jazz Federation'', No.17 (3/72), June 1972, page 69.</ref> She went to a university in Mumbai.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Puthli, Asha|url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002276309|access-date=2021-05-18|website=Grove Music Online|year=2015|language=en|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2276309|last1=Murchison|first1=Gayle|isbn=978-1-56159-263-0}}</ref>

==Music career==
After receiving her degree, Puthli worked as a [[British Airways]] flight attendant. For her training, she spent two months in [[London]], where she later recalled she "would get to hear real jazz". While vacationing in America, she auditioned for a dance scholarship from [[Martha Graham]], which she received. She resigned from British Airways and relocated to New York. [[John H. Hammond]] at [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] had read Ved Mehta's portrait of her in ''Jazz in Bombay''.<ref name="Marmorstein"/> After hearing a rough demo, he signed her to [[Columbia Records|CBS Records]]. She sang lead vocals on the [[Peter Ivers]] Blues Band's cover version of "[[Ain%27t_That_Peculiar |Ain’t That Peculiar]]", which was reviewed favorably in ''[[Cashbox_(magazine) |Cashbox]]'', ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', and ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. The single, released in 1971, entered the [[Billboard charts]]. ''Take It Out On Me'', the band's album featuring Puthli, was finally released in 2009.<ref>Frank, Josh, and Charlie Buckholtz. ''In Heaven Everything Is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers and the Lost History of'' New Wave Theatre. New York: [[Simon & Schuster]], 2008, p. 80.</ref><ref name="Asha Puthli Is In The Studio Recording Once Again"/>

Hammond sent her to audition for avant-garde jazz saxophonist [[Ornette Coleman]], who was looking for a singer for his album ''[[Science_Fiction_(Ornette_Coleman_album) |Science Fiction]]'' (1971).<ref name="Huey">{{cite web |last1=Huey |first1=Steve |title=Science Fiction |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/science-fiction-mw0000537516 |website=AllMusic |accessdate=20 September 2018}}</ref> For the album, Puthli sang on two songs, "What Reason Could I Give" and "All My Life".<ref name="Marmorstein"/> For her work on ''Science Fiction'', she shared the ''[[DownBeat]]'' Critics' Poll award for Best Female Jazz Vocalist.<ref name=":0" />

Puthli's popularity grew not in the U.S. but in Europe<ref name="Bush">{{cite web |last1=Bush |first1=John |title=Asha Puthli |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/asha-puthli-mn0000663643 |website=AllMusic |accessdate=20 September 2018}}</ref> where she signed a record deal with CBS. Her solo albums reflected her interest in pop, rock, soul, funk and disco. She gravitated toward the glam world of [[Elton John]] and [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]]. Her self-titled debut was produced by Del Newman, and it included cover versions of songs by [[JJ Cale]] and [[Bill Withers]]. She hired Pierre LaRoche (makeup designer for [[David Bowie]] and [[Freddie Mercury]]) and photographer [[Mick Rock]] to shoot the cover.<ref name="Pareles">{{cite web |last1=Pareles |first1=Jon |title=Asha Puthli, an Indian Singer Who Embraces Countless Cultures |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/12/arts/music/12puht.html |website=The New York Times |accessdate=20 September 2018 |date=12 August 2006}}</ref> The album included a disco version of "I Am a Song" by [[Neil Sedaka]].<ref name="Jurek">{{cite web |last1=Jurek |first1=Thom |title=Asha Puthli |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/asha-puthli-mw0000849758 |website=AllMusic |accessdate=20 September 2018}}</ref>

==Film and fashion==
Her first film was shot with Indian director [[Mani Kaul]] in 1968. During the 1970s, Puthli starred in lead roles in [[Merchant Ivory]]'s ''[[Savages (1972 film)|Savages]]'', which was screened at the [[1972 Cannes Film Festival]], and [[Bruno Corbucci]]'s ''[[The Gang That Sold America]]'' (Italian title:''Squadra Antigangsters'').<ref name="Pareles"/> She also appeared in a [[Louis Malle]]<ref>Name=“Long, Robert Emmet” James Ivory in Conversation,2005 “University of California Press” pg 124</ref>
''[[Cinéma_vérité |cinéma vérité]]'' film as “Nadja” based on [[André Breton]]’s [[Nadja_(novel) |novel of the same name]], and German documentary “Reden meine Droge – Singen mein Sex ...“ for [[Norddeutscher Rundfunk]] on her life.
Her sense of fashion brought her visibility. A headliner at [[Studio 54]], she was dressed by designers [[Michaele Vollbracht]] and [[Manolo Blahnik]] and photographed by [[Richard Avedon]], [[Andy Warhol]] and [[Francesco Scavullo]], appearing in the [[centerfold]] of the last's book of photographs 1948-1964.

In the twenty-first century, she sang on ''Asana Vol. 3'' by [[Bill Laswell]] and ''Hey Diwani, Hey Diwani'' by Dum Dum Project. In 2005, she returned to the UK charts with "Looking Glass" from the album ''Fear of Magnetism'' by Stratus.

Her song "Space Talk" from the 1970s, a popular tune with [[David Mancuso]]'s ''The Loft'' crowd, has been sampled by [[P.Diddy]], [[The Notorious B.I.G.]], [[Dilated Peoples]], Governor featuring [[50 Cent]], and [[Redman (rapper)|Redman]]; and her cover of [[George Harrison]]'s "[[I Dig Love]]" was sampled in 2005 for the chart-topping track "Reload It" by UK [[MOBO_Awards |MOBO Award]]-winner [[Kano (rapper)|Kano]]. She has co-writer credits with [[Jay-Z]], [[P.Diddy]], [[The Neptunes]], [[Jermaine Dupri]], [[SWV]], and [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] on the track "The World is Filled" from the multi-platinum album ''[[Life After Death]]''.<ref name="Pareles"/>

In August 2006, she headlined [[Central Park]] Summerstage in New York City on an eclectic bill with [[DJ Spooky]], [[Talvin Singh]], Outernational, and [[Prefuse 73]], and special guests [[Dewey Redman]] and [[Dres (rapper)]] of the hip-hop group [[Black Sheep (group)|Black Sheep]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Sisario, Ben|title="Listings: Asha Puthli, Prefuse 73, Talvin Singh (Sunday)"|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 11, 2006|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/theater/11thea.html}}</ref>

==Praise by critics==
Music critic [[Ann Powers]] in ''[[The New York Times]]'' called Puthli a "fusion pioneer".<ref>{{cite news|last=Powers |first=Ann |title=Critic's Notebook; From India, Many Sounds, All Pulling Inward | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 30, 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/30/arts/critic-s-notebook-from-india-many-sounds-all-pulling-inward.html |accessdate=4 August 2018}}</ref> Music critic [[Robert Palmer (writer)|Robert Palmer]] called her singing "extraordinary".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |last=Palmer |first=Robert |title=Mardi Gras Indians-And a Sound Like Raga Meeting Aretha Franklin |date=July 30, 1976}}</ref> Her third solo album, ''The Devil is Loose'', was called an instant classic by ''The New York Times''. Thom Jurek of [[AllMusic]] called it " a masterpiece of snakey, spaced-out soul and pre-mainstream disco."<ref name="Devil">{{cite web |last1=Jurek |first1=Thom |title=The Devil Is Loose |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-devil-is-loose-mw0000853926 |website=AllMusic |accessdate=20 September 2018}}</ref>

==Discography==
* ''Asha Puthli'' (CBS, 1973)
* ''She Loves to Hear the Music'' (CBS, 1975)
* ''The Devil Is Loose'' (CBS, 1976)
* ''L'Indiana'' (CBS, 1978)
* ''1001 Nights of Love'' (Autobahn/Philips 1979)
* ''I'm Gonna Kill It Tonight'' (Autobahn 1980)
* ''Only the Headaches Remain'' (Woorell 1982)
*''Hari Om'' (Sony 1990)
* ''Lost'' (Kyrone 2009 )
* ‘’Je crois c’est ca l’amour’’ (MKMM 2021)

===As guest===
* ''[[Science Fiction (Ornette Coleman album)|Science Fiction]]'', [[Ornette Coleman]] (Columbia, 1971)
* ''Mirror'', [[Charlie Mariano]] (Atlantic, 1972)
* ''Squadra Antigangsters'' ([[Cinevox]], 1979)
* ''[[Easily Slip Into Another World]]'', [[Henry Threadgill]] (Novus, 1989)
* ''Export Quality'', Dum Dum Project (Times Square/Groovy, 2001)
* ''Mpath - Wanderer'', [[Gardner Cole]] (Triloka, 2003)
* ''Accerezzami'', [[Fausto Papetti]] (2003)
* ''Asana Vol 3: Peaceful Heart'', [[Bill Laswell]] (Meta, 2003)
* ''Fear of Magnetism'', Stratus (Klein, 2005)
* ''Asana OHM Shanti'', [[Bill Laswell]] (Meta, 2006)
* ''Asha's Kiss'', [[Raveena Aurora| Raveena]] ([[Asha's Awakening]], 2022)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060804062133/http://ashaputhli.com/ Official Site]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puthli, Asha}}
[[Category:American actresses of Indian descent]]
[[Category:American actresses]]
[[Category:American electronic musicians]]
[[Category:American musicians of Indian descent]]
[[Category:American women musicians of Indian descent]]
[[Category:American women singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American jazz singers]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni]]
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:American women in electronic music]]
[[Category:Singers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Women musicians from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:American Hindus]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women singers]]

Asha Puthli - Revision history

WikiDwarfBOT at 04:31, 22 July 2023