TABLA PLAYERS - AMERICA & INDIA
Ustad Alla Rakha (1919-2000) - Once in a great while, there emerges a musician who, through his genius, injects that certain spark necessary to elevate an instrument to another level of expression and appreciation. For tabla, Ustad Alla Rakha was such an artist, having brought his instrument a stature and respect never before enjoyed. A disciple of Mian Kader Baksh, the great guru of the Punjab gharana, Ustad Alla Rakha was, in his lifetime, the most celebrated exponent of this style. Ustad Alla Rakha continues to be a brilliant and transforming force in not only the genre of Classical Indian music, but in the music world at large. www.momentrecords.com
Ustad Zakir Hussain is today appreciated both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon. A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, his consistently brilliant and exciting performances have not only established him as a national treasure in his own country, India, but gained him worldwide fame. The favorite accompanist for many of India's greatest classical musicians and dancers, from Ali Akbar Khan and Ravi Shankar to Birju Maharaj and Shivkumar Sharma, he has not let his genius rest there. His playing is marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational dexterity, founded in formidable knowledge and study. www.zakirhussain.com
Pandit Anindo Chatterjee is recognized as one of India's most eminent tabla players. He was inspired to take up tabla by his uncle, the sitar player Pandit Biswanath Chatterjee, when he was just four years old. At five he was All India Radio's youngest artiste. At six Anindo became a disciple of Padmabhushan Gyan Prakash Ghosh, and studied with him for over twenty years. His guidance gave Anindo's art a firm foundation. As an accompanist, he is known for his sense of balance and proportion, crisp tonal quality, modulation of sound production and rapport with soloists. Anindo has accompanied all of the top musicians (Notably, sitarist Pandit Nikil Banerjee) and has toured with them all over the world. He has received numerous honors including Presidents Award in 1970 and the House of Commons in 1990. www.anindochatterjee.com
Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri is a phenomenon in the arena of Indian Classical Music. Musicians honor him as one of the most highly respected Tabla players, worthy of highest regard all over the world. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy Award from the Government of India, and the American Academy of Artists Award, both of which are reserved only for those artists who have attained the highest level of artistry. He has received the Excellence in Performing Arts Award from the Global Indian Congress in San Francisco, and has been nominated to the esteemed International Percussive Arts Society's Hall of Fame. It was Swapan’s beloved parents, through their own passion for music, who initiated his formal musical training and inspired him in the field of Tabla, paving the path that would eventually lead him to virtuosity. www.swapanchaudhuri.com
Fazal Qureshi began his training early under the keen eye of his father and guru, Ustad Allarakha. With encouragement and inspiration from his elder brother Zakir Hussain, Fazal has developed a style distinguished by a fine sense of rhythm, versatility and eloquence. He has performed both as a soloist and as an accompanist in prestigious "Sangeet Sammelans" in India as well as major festivals abroad. The remarkable ease, with which Fazal accompanies veteran as well as young Indian classical instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers of both North and South, as well as Western instrumentalists, speaks of the discipline and dedication with which this young, talented artist has pursued music.
Dr. Michael Lewis is a senior disciple of the legendary Ustad Zakir Hussain. Michael has been taught the art of accompaniment by Pandit Nikil Banerjee in Calcutta, and spent intensive periods of study with Gyan Prakash Ghosh, Anindo Chaterjee and of course the great Ustad Alla Rakha. Michael is a member of Zakir Hussain's “Rhythm Experience” and performs with many of the world's great artists. Since 1992, Ty has learned from Micheal and has been inspired by Michael's beautifully melodic tabla playing.
Suphala Patankar is a tabla player, a producer, and an artist that surpasses the obvious through her unique and visionary musical style. A clever and sophisticated transition between Indian classical and high-tech modern sound, Suphala's music is truly universal. Suphala's talent has been embraced by several prominent artists in American and European music and has led to collaborations with Perry Ferrell, Vernon Reid, Michael Bland, Lady Ms. Kier, 4Hero, DJ Logic, and Norah Jones. Suphala trains as a classical tabla player under the great masters Ustad Allarakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain. www.suphala.com
Benjy Wertheimer is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Ancient Future world fusion music ensemble. An award-winning musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist (playing tabla, congas, percussion, esraj, guitar, and keyboards), Benjy has toured the US, Canada, Europe, Central America and Japan, and has opened for such artists as Carlos Santana, Paul Winter, and Narada Michael Walden. He now tours and records regularly with such artists as Krishna Das and Deva Premal. He has studied Indian classical music for over 25 years with some of the greatest masters of that tradition (including Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain, Ali Akbar Khan and Z. M. Dagar). He has recorded with numerous A&M, Windham Hill, Narada, Nippon Phonogram, and Rounder recording artists. Benjy was also a contributing composer and member of the Zakir Hussain Rhythm Experience (along with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead). www.benjymusic.com
Geoff Johns - Cross-cultural percussionist vocalist Geoff Johns is a dynamic performer and enthusiastic teacher. He uses music to bring people together in celebration of life. In his work, he integrates and articulates a wealth of knowledge about the historical, cultural, psychological, and spiritual context of world music traditions. He plays a vast array of instruments and sings in several languages. He has traveled widely, studying and performing with such master musicians as John Amira, Zakir Hussein, Kobla Ladzekpo, Mamady Keita, Erica Azim, and Jorge Alabe. He has developed a comprehensive system of notation for non-European percussion and produced three CDs: DRUM! How to Play the Rhythms of Africa and Latin America; Bakongo Drumming Music for Dancers; and The Conga Drummer's Friend. www.rhythmjoy.com
Tim Witter began his tabla training with Ustad Alla Rakha in 1980. He has studied since 1985 with Pandit Swapan Chauduri, the resident tabla teacher at the Ali Akbar College of Music. He has made numerous trips to India for study and performance, and in 1994-1995 completed a research/performance grant awarded to him by the American Institute of Indian Studies. Tim has taught at the Ali Akbar College of Music in Basel, Switzerland and has performed throughout Europe. Currently he is a staff teacher at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California as well as being an active performer and composer in Bay Area Indian classical and contemporary music scenes. In addition to studying tabla, Tim has lived in Madras, India and studied South Indian drumming from T.H. Subash Chandran. Tim was a co-recipient of the 1997 Isadora Duncan Award for Best Original Music for a New Dance Piece for his work in creating the score for "Sacred Text." www.ancient-future.com/tablarasa.html
Jim Santi Owen has been working teaching and performing in the Bay Area for since 1991. He performs and records with Ancient Future, Trance Mission, Tock, Pharaoh Sanders, Mobius Operandi, and the Ali Akbar College Tabla Ensemble. Jim studied tabla (a North Indian pair of drums with goat-skin heads) with Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. From his South Indian drumming teachers T.H. Subash Chandran and K.Shekar, he learned thavil (a rare two-headed barrel drum played with a stick in one hand and finger caps on the other), morsing (a mouth harp), ghatam (a clay pot played with the fingers), and kanjira (a small frame drum with a lizard-skin head). www.ancient-future.com/jimowen.html
Jeffrey Rodgers has been playing the tabla since 1974. His long years of devotion to practice and perfection show in his precision, passion and tone - every note crystal clear. He studied under Surendrenath Jena. In 1981 he was fortunate to become the student of the late great tabla maestro Ustad Alla Rakha, and continued to study with his son, Ustad Zakir Hussein, in California and Bombay, India. He has performed with many Indian Music Artists throughout the U.S.A and Canada, and gives private lessons, lecture/demos, and workshops in schools and Universities throughout the Midwest. www.yogitar.com/jeffrey.html
Vincent Pierce has studied Tabla with Pandit Divyang Vakil since 2003. In this time he has learned a great deal from Delhi, Punjab, and
Ajrada Gharana's. He has studied and performed in India and teaches
at the Taalim School of music based in New Jersey. Vincent is a multi
instrumentalist and has worked to bring Tabla strokes and compositions
onto instruments such as Cajon and Drum set. He received a degree
from Rutgers University, where he studied both Jazz and Classical
music. Vincent is a Modern and African dance accompanist and has done
many live performances and scores for Modern dance and Theater. He
has toured with different groups since the age of 14 and from 2005 to
2011, he toured extensively with Natural Breakdown playing national
festivals and sharing stages with legendary Acts.
http://vincentpiercepercussion.com/
Ajrada Gharana's. He has studied and performed in India and teaches
at the Taalim School of music based in New Jersey. Vincent is a multi
instrumentalist and has worked to bring Tabla strokes and compositions
onto instruments such as Cajon and Drum set. He received a degree
from Rutgers University, where he studied both Jazz and Classical
music. Vincent is a Modern and African dance accompanist and has done
many live performances and scores for Modern dance and Theater. He
has toured with different groups since the age of 14 and from 2005 to
2011, he toured extensively with Natural Breakdown playing national
festivals and sharing stages with legendary Acts.
http://vincentpiercepercussion.com/
TABLA PLAYERS - JAPAN
U-zhaan (Hironori Yuzawa) is considered to be one of Japan's foremost tabla players. He is a disciple of the legendary tabla maestro Pandit Anindo Chatterjee. He has also studied seriously with the world renowned maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain. U-zhaan's many projects and collaborations, span the wide array of genre in Japan. From the traditional music of Japan and Classical music of India, to modern fusion and contemporary music, his tasteful and inspiring musicianship shines through, touching everyone who comes to listen. http://u-zhaan.com/
Ayako Ikeda is Japan's leading woman tabla player and one of the countires most sought after accompanists. She is a student of Japan's top tabla player, U-zhaan and studies in India as well. She is a joy to watch and has a very musical touch on the tabla.
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/ayako0109
Ayako Ikeda is Japan's leading woman tabla player and one of the countires most sought after accompanists. She is a student of Japan's top tabla player, U-zhaan and studies in India as well. She is a joy to watch and has a very musical touch on the tabla. http://blog.goo.ne.jp/ayako0109
TABLA PLAYERS - AUSTRALIA
Glen Kniebeiss is a Tabla player and a teacher in Melbourne Australia. Glen has studied Delhi gharana tabla with Ustad Anthony Dass. He has also trained with Sri Pankaj Kumar, Sri UmaKanta Dash, and Sri Akhilesh Gundecha. Glen has a degree in improvisation from the Victorian College of the Arts. He has undertaken several tabla study tours to India. His recent trip was funded by the Australia Council for the Arts and Ian Potter Cultural Trust. Glen has performed live radio broadcasts for ABC Radio National, 3PBS, 3RRR, 3MBS, and 3CR. His music is featured on many CD recordings, and several television documentaries: 'Beyond the backyard' (ABC TV 2006), 'Islam Explained' (2004) and 'Hazaribag' (2002). Glen is currently teaching and performing tabla with Chris Sprague, Ria Soemardjo, Afghani sitar virtuoso Ustad Khalil Gudaz, sarodist Sabyasachi Bhattacharya. www.melbournemusic.info
Shen Flindell started learning tabla in Melbourne from Sri Debapriya Bhattacharya in 1994 and soon went to the Holy city of Varanasi in India to study under Pt. Kaviraj Ashutosh Bhattacharya, a great tabla master of the Benares Gharana. He has performed and recorded widely as a tabla accompanist and soloist in Australia, Japan and India, not just Indian classical music but also collaborations with an eclectic range of world & western music artists. Shen's EthnoSuperLounge events bring together these musicians to share their songs and sounds in the spirit of unity, healing and transcendence. Shen's tabla playing is noted for his clear sound, comfortable rhythmic sense, intuitive accompaniment, sensuous bayan (bass) and a feeling of sincere devotion to Guru, Saraswati, Music and Tabla, thanks to many blessings from his Guru-ji. He also teaches, supplies and repairs tabla. www.ethnosuperlounge.com/shen/index.html
Sam Evans - Over the past decade Sam has evenly divided his time between Australia and India performing concerts as soloist and accompanist in both traditional and modern music. He has performed live on Indian and Australian television, on national and international radio and at numerous international jazz and world music festivals. He is currently teaching Indian and world music at Monash University where he co-founded and directs the innovative and highly successful World of Music Orchestra. Raised in rural Australia, Sam was a member of the popular Machine Translations and later spent a decade in Calcutta with funding assistance from The Australia Council for the Arts, The Ian Potter Foundation and Monash University studying tabla under one of the world's most renowned tabla players, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee. Sam has also studied with the famous tabla master Ustad Zakir Hussian in America as well as Ustad Sabir Khan, Aubijit Bannerjee and Debasis Brahmachari in India. http://2drums.net/index.html
TABLA PLAYERS - EUROPE
Pete Lockett is one of the most versatile and prolific percussionists in the World. His percussive skills range from North and South India to Japanese taiko drumming, Arabic hand drumming and drum set; from blues, funk and rock to classical, folk and ethnic. Having worked in virtually every field of music conceivable both live and in the studio he has recorded and/or toured with Björk, Peter Gabriel, Zakir Hussain, Nitin Sawhney, Bill Bruford, Texas, The Verve, Viku Vinayakram, Selva Ganesh, Mel C, Steve Smith, Craig Armstrong, Afro Celt Sound System, Bedlam, Beth Orton, Kulu Shaker and Vanessa-Mae amongst others. He also has many film credits, playing on the three most recent Bond movies, as well as the City of Angels, Moulin Rouge, The Insider, Plunkett and Maclean, and the Guy Ritchie movie Snatch. Pete has released four solo albums which have received international acclaim. His web site is one of the most thorough free percussion resources on the net. www.petelockett.com
One of the finest tabla players of his generation in the UK, Gurdain Rayatt has studied the tabla from his father Harkirat Singh, his grandfather Bhai Gurmit Singh Virdee and is a prominent disciple of Pandit Shankar Ghosh. Based in North London, he has performed at various prestigious festivals and venues inside and outside India, accompanied instrumentalists and vocalists, performed cross-cultural music and tabla solos. He regularly delivers tabla classes in his area.
http://www.gurdain.com
http://www.gurdain.com
