GuruGanesha is one of those rare individuals who combine the heart and soul of an artist with the clear, quick mind of a businessman and the easygoing warmth of a born raconteur. By the time he started Spirit Voyage Records in January of 2000, he had already made substantial financial success as founder and CEO of Sandler Training Institute of Virginia, a sales training company for the high-tech industry. For many people, that would suffice as a life’s achievement, but for GuruGanesha it was just the prelude to a stellar musical career as a producer, guitarist, singer, songwriter and all-around prime mover in the burgeoning world devotional music genre. His latest project, The GuruGanesha Band, takes his unique vision into bold new aural dimensions.

“It’s something new, in that it’s bringing a guitar band sound into the world devotional music arena,” says GuruGanesha. “The sound of guitar bands is something that many people grew up with, and something that unites several generations. But here we’re using it in service of a higher purpose. I’m 60 years old now and I’ve dedicated the last twelve years of my life to sending healing music out to the world. And The GuruGanesha Band is a project that’s been in my heart for all of those years. Right now seems the perfect time to roll it out.”

Although GuruGanesha has been playing music professionally since the late ’60s, when he performed with the rock band Cat’s Cradle, his emergence on the world devotional music stage took place in the first year of the 21st Century. In collaboration with his good friends, Guru Singh and Thomas Barquee, he released the album A Game of Chants with the Grammy-winning singer Seal. He also began to record as part of the Peace Family, a group featuring the angelic voice of Snatam Kaur. Becoming Snatam’s manager as well as her guitarist and support-vocalist in 2001, GuruGanesha guided her through a series of much-loved and top selling releases on the Spirit Voyage label, including Prem, Shanti, Grace, Anand, Liberation’s Door and Snatam Kaur Live in Concert. In a similar way, GuruGanesha has fostered the careers of the devotional duo Mirabai Ceiba, producer Thomas Barquee, singer Nirinjan Kaur, and others.

GuruGanesha’s shimmering, evocative acoustic guitar melodies and supple chordal rhythms played an integral role in creating Snatam’s signature sound. But he has always had his own muse to follow as well. In 2004 GuruGanesha made his debut as a solo artist with the album Grateful Ganesh, a title that pays playful tribute to the artist’s all-time favorite band, the Grateful Dead. This was followed by Pure Ganesh in 2006, an album that ranks in the top ten of Spirit Voyage’s all time best-selling records. GuruGanesha’s solo career continued with Joy Is Now in 2008 and his newest release, 2011’s Kundalini Surjhee. All these discs are remarkable for their blend of heartfelt songcraft, profound devotional mood and sterling guitar work embracing a cornucopia of musical styles, from jazz to rock to raga.