Jayani is Max Patel, an NYC-based singer-songwriter of Gujarati and American heritage, born and raised in Hong Kong.

Max developed his first connections with music as a singer in church and the HKIS school chorus, as well as growing up in the era of 2000s popular music, listening to artists such as Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo, Taylor Swift, among others.

In transitioning across the planet to attend boarding school in Connecticut, Max deepened and expanded his musical roots immensely. He explored Classical European and Hindustani vocals, acted in musical theater productions, directed his own study on songwriting, completed programs at Berklee College of Music and NYU Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, and graduated from Choate’s Arts Concentration program while writing, performing and releasing his own original music: “Solipsism” (2017) and “Progressions” (2017) as Max Patel, and “City” (2018), which has amassed over 110,000 streams, as the debut of artist project Jayani.

The next steps in Max’s journey took him to Columbia University in New York City, where he completed a BA degree in Music and Business. This environment led to many exciting opportunities such as Max co-founding the Music Industry Club of Columbia, performing on campus and around the city, modeling in fashion shows, dancing competitive Garba raas, acting in an off-Broadway musical, and freelancing as an independent music artist— performing live and writing personalized songs for clients on platforms like Songfinch.

Living and navigating post-graduate life in NYC, Max now prepares to launch exciting projects with Jayani in 2024. On a constant path of discovery to learn, grow, explore, and gain mastery in the world of music, Max looks forward to advancing as a professional musician and engaging with more opportunities in a variety of avenues: performing, writing, teaching, and beyond.