Jaya Bhaskar took to Mridangam at the age of nine. He received his training in Gurukula System from Padma Sri Dr. Yella Venkateswara Rao, who belongs to the Guru-Shishya Parampara of Mridangam Maestro Palgat Mani Iyer. He was awarded the Government of India Senior Scholarship for Mridangam.. He started giving performances from the age of twelve and soon emerged as a much sought-after mridangam artiste.
He has accompanied many musicians of great eminence such as Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna, Dr. Sripada Pinakapani, Dr. Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, T.N. Sesha Gopalan, T.V. Sankar Narayanan, T.R. Subramanyam, T.K. Gonvida Rao, Smt. A. Kanyakumari, U. Srinivas, Kumaresh Ganesh, Pandit Viswamohan Bhatt and many others. His expression of and control over of Laya, Naadham and Gamakam is a treat. As an accompanist, he is at ease with different styles of vocal or instrumental music, synchronizing them in perfect harmony and anticipation.
He was appointed Staff Artist in AIR at the age of twenty-two. He also specialised in the solo rendition of Mridangam, and has also performed in many Taala Vaadya Kacheris (Percussion Ensembles), Jugalbandis,etc. He was a Member of the National Orchestra, Vaadyabrinda in A.I.R. New Delhi. He performed in several Akashvani Sangeeth Sammelans and National Programmes of Music of A.I.R. and Doordarshan. He also gave several lecture-performances in reputed institutions such as the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, IRCEN, CCRT etc. He is an empanelled artiste of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, ICCR.
