a tabla accompanist under his elder brother, Pandit Pratap Narayan. He would frequently accompany Maniram in his solo vocal performances. He credits the vocalist, Begum Akhtar, as inspiring him to take up classical music. Jasraj began training as a vocalist at the age of 14, after renouncing tabla in reaction to how accompanists were treated at the time . He would practice singing close to 14 hours a day. In 1952 when he was 22 he performed his first stage concert as a vocalist in the court of King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal in Kathmandu. Before becoming a stage performer, Jasraj worked as a performing artist on radio for several years. He initially trained as a classical vocalist with Pandit Maniram, and later with Jaiwant Singh Waghela, a vocalist and beenkar, and Gulam Qadir Khan of Mewati gharana. In addition, he trained under Swami Vallabhdas Damulji of the Agra gharana. Technique and style Classical music Although Jasraj belonged to the Mewati gharana, a school of music known for its traditional performances of , Jasraj had sung khayals with some flexibility, adding elements of lighter styles, including the . During the initial stages of his career, he was criticised for incorporating elements from other schools of music, or , into his singing. Musicologist S. Kalidas has noted, however, that this borrowing of elements across gharanas has now become more commonly accepted. Jasraj created a novel form of called Jasrangi that is styled on the ancient system of , between a male and a female vocalist, who each sing different ragas at the same time. He was also known for presenting a variety of rare ragas including Abiri Todi and Patdeepaki. Semi-classical and popular music In addition to performing classical music, Jasraj had worked to popularise innovations in semi-classical musical styles, such as Haveli Sangeet, which involves semi-classical performances in temples. He had also sung classical and semi-classical compositions for film soundtracks, such as the song, 'Vandana Karo', composed in the raga Ahir Bhairav by the composer Vasant Desai, for the film Ladki Sahyadri Ki (1966), a duet with vocalist Bhimsen Joshi for the soundtrack of the film Birbal My Brother (1975), and a ballad, Vaada Tumse Hai Vaada for a horror film titled 1920 (2008) directed by Vikram Bhatt. In memory of his father, Jasraj organised an annual musical festival called the Pandit Motiram Pandit Maniram Sangeet Samaroh in