Absolute Focus

Santoor & Tabla · Hindustani Classical

A centuries-old tradition, made immediate and alive.

Book Absolute Focus Watch them live
Jas Ahluwalia on tabla and Kamaljeet Ahluwalia on santoor, performing in black and white

Watch them live

Millennium Stage, The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC. November 7, 2024.

Video still: Jas Ahluwalia on tabla at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage Play the Kennedy Center performance

Watch: youtube.com/watch?v=uxKhpvpnSBI

Bio

Short bio 25 words

Absolute Focus delivers Hindustani classical santoor and tabla that make an ancient tradition feel immediate. Based in Los Angeles, they’ve performed at the Kennedy Center.

Program bio 100 words

Absolute Focus is Kamaljeet Ahluwalia on santoor and Jas Ahluwalia on tabla, a husband-and-wife Hindustani classical duo based in Los Angeles. Their concerts take audiences on a journey from meditative introspection to dazzling, energy-filled heights. Kamaljeet’s most transformative training came under the late Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Jas studied tabla under Ustad Tari Khan. They have performed at the Kennedy Center, the Norton Simon Museum, and Segerstrom Center with Pacific Symphony. Their studio work includes major television and film clients such as Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon, Disney, and Facebook. Now booking 2027–2028, including an East Coast tour in July 2027.

Film & television

Their portfolio includes work with major television and film clients such as:

Selected performances

What presenters say

The duo was the perfect artist for our Diwali show, introducing both seasoned and burgeoning audience members to the magic of Indian classical music. Everyone was captivated by the santoor and tabla and appreciated the thoughtful explanation of this ancient artform.

Thérèse LaGamma Director, Public Program, Social Impact, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC

…their music was beautiful, captivating and an audience favorite for sure. On top of that, they couldn’t have been nicer and easier to work with.

Kurt Mortensen Director of Audience Engagement, Pacific Symphony

Their balance of musicality and sheer virtuosity spellbound our audience for nearly 2 hours…

Miles Shrewsbery President and Founder, San Diego Raga Collective

Kamaljeet and Jas enchanted our sold out audience at the Festival of Tabla as the grand finale artists.

Rupesh Kotecha Executive Director, Ravi & Shashi Bellare Arts Foundation

This is a presentation guaranteed to educate and entertain people with varying levels of familiarity with Indian music, from beginning to advanced.

Walter A. Clark Professor of Musicology, Department Chair, UC Riverside

Press

…perfect for creating moments of reflection and complete immersion.

Eugene Ulman Sydney Morning Herald, Australia. Review of Shakar Shack Vol 1: Gulaab Jammin’ by Qais Essar & Absolute Focus, 4½ stars.

Formats & durations

Concert, with or without Q&A
60–120 min
Music of India: guided performance
45–120 min
Festival performance
30–60 min
Cross-cultural collaborations
45–60 min
Museum collection interpretation, with Q&A
60–120 min

They tour as a duo with minimal technical needs. Performing arts centers, chamber and world-music series, museums and galleries, festivals, and sacred-music spaces present them.

Technical needs

Stage

  • Riser, 8 ft × 4 ft × 2 ft
  • A clean Persian or Oriental rug. They perform seated on the floor.
  • One cushion and one bottle of water per performer

Sound

  • They bring their own microphones and a stage rack with preamps.
  • The rack sends to front of house as analog XLR or Dante.
  • Venue supplies 3 short boom stands, XLR cables, and power at the stage.
  • Venue supplies the FOH mixer, house speakers, and 2 side-fill monitors (front wedges if side-fills aren’t available).

Schedule

  • 1-hour soundcheck
  • Venue gear set up before the artists arrive

Hospitality

  • A quiet, private green room for tuning and changing
  • Tea, juice, water, and vegetarian snacks
  • A hot vegetarian meal after the performance

Full rider and stage plot on request.

Photos

Full-resolution JPGs for programs, posters, and press, in horizontal and vertical.

Jas on tabla and Kamaljeet on santoor, performing in black and white against a dark background
Performing, black and white Horizontal · 5760 × 4275 Download JPG (2.7 MB)
Jas and Kamaljeet behind tabla and santoor under pink light
Portrait with instruments Vertical · 2557 × 3180 Download JPG (2.0 MB)
Kamaljeet plays santoor on stage at the Festival of Tabla 2025, with Jas on tabla behind her
Live at the Festival of Tabla, 2025 Horizontal · 2048 × 1365 Download JPG (0.7 MB)
Seen from above, Jas plays tabla and Kamaljeet plays santoor on a blue and pink lit floor
Playing, from above Horizontal · 5760 × 3840 Download JPG (6.7 MB)
Jas on tabla and Kamaljeet on santoor, seated on the floor in cream outfits against a yellow and pink backdrop
Performing, yellow backdrop Horizontal · 5760 × 3840 Download JPG (3.9 MB)
Jas with tabla and Kamaljeet with santoor, seated back to back, seen from above
Back to back with instruments Horizontal · 5760 × 3840 Download JPG (3.6 MB)

Downloads

PDF One-sheet, 2027–2028Printable summary · 0.8 MB

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