Vijay Tellis-Nayak
KEYBOARDIST, PRODUCER, ENGINEER, MIXER
Vijay Tellis-Nayak has received accolades for his prodigious musical talents since childhood and is currently sought after as one of the top musicians in Chicago as a keyboardist, producer, composer/arranger, and engineer.
Vijay began studying classical piano at the age of 5 and by 11 had won numerous awards for his symphonic compositions. He began playing electric guitar at 13 and by 16 was performing professionally. Vijay attended Northwestern University receiving an undergraduate in Music Technology and a masters degree in Rhetoric/Mass Media.
As a keyboardist he has performed top artists in genres ranging from jazz to pop to musical theater. Some of these include Jennifer Hudson, Chuck Berry, Randy Brecker, Wicked, The Supremes, The Lion King, Howard Levy, Joe Piscopo, Umphrey’s McGee, Fareed Haque, Bill Dickens, and Congolese Soukous legend Diblo Dibala. He has also been featured in Keyboard/EQ magazine as ”Unsigned Artist of the Month” for his work with fusion super-group Kick the Cat; and has recently been employed by the Hammond organ company to be the face (and hands) demoing their new line of SK keyboards.
Vijay’s passion for recording began in high school progressing from homespun devices to a cassette 4-track. For several years after college he ran a successful recording studio out of his home, turning out many of the city’s top jazz recordings. Outgrowing the space and with several successful productions under their belt, Vijay partnered with Steve Gillis in 2007 to build out their dream facility, Transient Sound.
Vijay’s passion for jazz and acoustic recording has since put him at the helm of scores of projects featuring internationally renowned artists and grammy winners.
