This week, Ira Sternberg spoke with Jarrett and Raja.
Vegas magic duo of Jarrett & Raja, co-starring in "One Epic Night,” along with performers from "American Idol," "The Voice" and an all-star band at the Plaza Hotel & Casino.
J&R just appeared on ABC’s hit TV show “Shark Tank” where they performed and stood before Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec. Jarrett & Raja were one of only 140 entrepreneurs selected from over 43,000 applicants to the ABC show, produced by Mark Burnett Productions.
The magic duo has also been seen on NBC’s #1 hit show, “America’s Got Talent” as semi-finalists and were Howie Mandel’s favorite Wild Card pick (season 7) where they produced a full orchestra on stage. They also appeared in SyFy’s “Wizard Wars” with Penn & Teller (2014), BBC’s “The Slammer” (2013), and are currently on their third season of The CW’s “Masters of Illusion” hosted by Dean Cain (2014 – 2016).
The two talents came together in an impromptu performance at The Friar’s Club in NYC. They first performed as a cabaret act in Greenwich Village, Lincoln Center, and at Hollywood’s prestigious Magic Castle. After moving to Las Vegas, they immediately landed a residency at The Regent Hotel in Summerlin. They could also be seen in the popular “Golden Rainbow” shows in Las Vegas.
Magician Jarrett Parker studied under the legendary Harry Blackstone, Jr. and was mentored by the creative mind behind Doug Henning and numerous Broadway hits, Charles Reynolds. Currently he and Raja work with Johnny Thompson as a consultant for shows and television.
Pianist Raja Rahman is a graduate of The Juilliard School, having studied with Seymour Lipkin, Jerome Lowenthal, Byron Janis, and Lev Vlassenko. Raja has toured Europe with legendary conductors Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Georg Solti, and Iona Brown. In addition, he has taught at The Juilliard School and currently teaches privately in Las Vegas. When not performing with Jarrett & Raja, Raja is a concert pianist with frequent appearances at the Met in NYC. He performed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in October of 2015.