Member Since: 10/3/2006
Band Members: I'm currently focusing on expanding my repertoire as a solo musician, but always open to working with the right people on the right project.
Influences: Before we get into my long list of influences, along with links to most of their web pages, I'd like to share some of my favorite videos I've found online. The internet is such an amazing resource I just have to take a moment to thank Al Gore for inventing it...
Okay, the first video used to be a performance by one of my main sources of inspiration: one of the supreme tabla gurus, Lacchu Maharaj. This video got pulled unfortunately, so it can no longer be seen online. Still I must mention him, as he is personally my highest ideal in tabla, not to say that anybody is better than anybody else, but somehow I am always blasted into meditation by his first note, and like 'that' I remain until the last note. It's like all the forces of nature combined in their most subtle to most extreme forms, and that's the only way I can think of to describe it. That video clip will be missed. Hopefully the rest are here to stay...
Karaikudi Mani! I just found out about this impeccable, inimitable Guru, composer, calculator, and Mridangist! Mridangam mastery with some bonus percussion played on the Morsang, also known as the Jaw Harp or Jew's Harp. Please enjoy the masterful calculations of Karikudi Mani!
That last clip led me to this clip of a musician who plays different varieties of Jaw / Mouth Harps, and really I've never seen anyone do it better than this! For more of Steev Kindwald, check out www.steevkindwald.com !!
I know this isn't a tabla clip, but just to show how ethnically diverse my taste in music is, here's the multitalented and amazing Subash Chandran voice leading and playing Ghatam with two percussionists, one playing the one-handed Kanjira, and one playing the Thavil.
WARNING, DANGEROUSLY FUNKY INDIAN MUSIC!!
Speaking of FUNKY, check out Taal Kherwa by Ustad Tari Khan. If you like this, check out his Roopak!
The next clip is of an amazing up and coming tabla phenomenon, who's video speaks for itself. From what I understand, this artist was 14 at the time of this concert. Truly incredible; her name is Rimpa Shiv.
This next two clips feature Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, a tabla grandmaster and guru to gurus who has received the title of Taalyogi, meaning "master of the yoga of rhythm." This stuff is so far over my head that if dropped it would take three weeks to hit me. If anyone can explain the taal (plural!) on these clips to me, it would be much appreciated! I recently replaced the second short clip with a much longer clip with tabla starting after the vocal and harmonium intro at about 4 minutes, out of 20 minutes total. All tabla players and some percussionists should watch this!!!
I just found this clip of Satyajit Talwalkar, son of Taalyogi Suresh Talwalkar, shown above, playing tabla and doing some amazing vocal recitation while performing with a set drummer:
The next two clips are of a very famous and in demand tabla player, who I recently had the pleasure of seeing play with my Guru, Hasu Patel Ji, sitar student and teacher under Ustad Vilayat Khan Saheb. I've also seen him accompany other masters, such as Pandit Nayan Ghosh, and others. Always incredible!
A few words from Pandit Ravi Shankar regarding the whole world of tala, and some amazing demonstration and playing in Jhaptaal (10 beat cycle) by the legendary Ustad Alla Rakha, about whom nothing needs to be said to anyone who knows the word "tabla.".
Which brings us to Ustad Zakir Hussain, who is one of the most world renowned among Indian classical musicians, as well as among percussionists in general. And next to him playing in unison is the equally talented Fazal Qureshi. I just found out recently about this prodigy, so please forgive the "he could be his tabla stuntman" comment. It was meant with the highest respect. I bow to anyone who can mirror such a force of nature! Who could have known that... well, I guess it should have been obvious. For some great fusion projects featuring Fazal Qureshi, check out his band Mynta, and also Loius Banks has a phenomenal cd out called Ekatman that I strongly recommend. Both bands are filled with amazing talent. Incidentally, Fazal Qureshi and his brother Taufiq Qureshi, (equally tallented percussionist despite lack of footage) are brothers of Ustad Zakir Hussain, the three brothers being sons of the legendary Ustad Allah Rakha. The family is a mighty tree in the great forest of rhythm!
While we're on that subject, a could never choose a favorite band, but there are those bands that it just doesn't get any better than, and this is one of them! REMEMBER SHAKTI w/ Selvaganesh, U. Shrinivas, Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin - if you like these clips check out their new DVD, "The Way of Beauty" with 3 hours of better footage than this.
As much as I would like to keep pasting on tabla videos, I'm going to move on to an another rare glimpse of a musical marvel. That is, the singing of multiple tones at the same time by one person. Sometimes known as harmonic overtone singing, or simply throat-singing, these particular clips feature artists from Tuva, which is located in the geographical center of Asia. It's vitally important to keep in mind, and I can't stress this enough, that there are no effects or trickery of any kind applied to the voices in these recordings. It would sound the same in an open field, where it is usually practiced. (By the way, between you and me, I heard that it's possible that ancient sacred languages like Sanskrit and Hebrew were harmonically intoned...)
The first clip is a Sygyt solo by an artist in the group Huun-Huur-Tu, with some awesome explanation. (Try the river thing.)
The second clip is a Kargyraa solo by an arist in the same band.
Here are some other great random clips I found:
Fula Flute - Djandjou
Is tabla the only amazing percussion instrument in India!?! How about seeing similar rhythms played with only one hand!? Master Selvaganesh of SHAKTI, and son of the legendary Vikku Vinayakram plays the Kanjira, a drum played with one hand only and modulated with the other. It is a very delicately tuned instrument made out of monitor skin.
This is another video of Shri Subash Chandran shown above doing the voice leading, this time playing solo on the South Indian Ghatam, or clay pot:
This woman totally blew my mind at the Cleveland Ingenuity Festival downtown this year. A master drummer that taught me how much I have to learn on Dumbek, also known as Tabla in Egypt. The first clip is her solo, the second is a wonderful clip of her with her band. Raquy and the Cavemen! Check them out on myspace.
Okay, I have a few more with Ms. Raquy that are must-see's and one without her, featuring some BEATBOX by Pete List and some FACE PERCUSSION...
DRUM OVERLOAD!!!!
A have to include one of my favorite drummers, Steve Smith , who not only has mastered and made a name for himself in western jazz, but who also has studied and absorbed the tala traditions of India, and has toured with Zakir Hussain, Vijay Ghate, Trichy Sankaran, and many others in the Classical Indian tradition. In this short clip he explains an important element out of the classical music of India, the Tihai. He has many excellent DVDs available from ViC FiRTH besides the one this clip came from, including Drumset Techique/History of the U. S. Beat , with over four-and-a-half-hours of info and demonstration, as well as performances by his band, Vital Information. A must have for any serious drummer, encompasses the history of the modern drumset from the first drum ever made up 'till now.
Here's a new find for me that is totally proof of reincarnation! I hope I can be as solid rhythmically as this young master! Anybody who's heard African polyrhythms before will know how "on" these are! Beyond that, it's like, the essence of the spirit of drumming, isn't it?
"Woooooooo!!!!"
Last one of these, some Konnakol from the young master!
One of my favorite Musical Philosophers is Steve Coleman . He helped me to see how music can express nature in its many forms. He is a professor and teaches advanced use of symmetry, expression of ancient mythology through music, musical expressions of sacred geometry, and many other areas. He is part of a group called M-BASE , which stands for "Macro - Basic Array of Structured Extemporizations." The first clip is him playing here at a music school in my home town (I missed it!?), the second clip is some nice voice-leading, and the third and fourth clips are some explanation about music and nature, and the relation between the two.
And last but CERTAINLY not least, one of the people who converted me to listening to actual music, as opposed to what I was listening to before. (I don't want to mention any name(tallica)s)... the one and only, Victor Lemont Wooten playing a good ol' Amazing Grace bass solo with the Flecktones. Never miss him if he comes around! "How sweet the sound..."
Okay, I hope you enjoyed! Here's that list, (work in progress...)
FAVORITE BANDS:
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
Remember Shakti
Farmer's Market
Tribal Tech
Garaj Mahal
Autorickshaw
Tabla Beat Science
Facing East
John Mayer's Indo-Jazz Fusion
World On A String
Ojos De Brujo
Alkimia
Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet
Michael Wolff's Impure Thoughts
Secret Chiefs 3
Estradashpere
Mr. Bungle
Niacin
Good Things
Sakesho
Mynta (with Fazal Qureshi)
Raquy and the Cavemen
(INDIAN) TABLA:
Lacchu Maharaj
Ustad Zakir Hussain
Fazal Qureshi
Trilok Gurtu
Pandit Suresh Talwalkar
Pandit Satyajit Talwalkar
Ramdas Palsule
Ustad Tari KhanBikram Ghosh
Arup Chattopadhyay
Rimpa Shiv
Ed Hanley
Ritesh Das
Meena from Asian Crisis
"Tabla Girl" Tina Sugandh
Suphala
Badal Roy
Karsh Kale
and last but not least, ther person who introduced me to the world of tabla, and the reason I immediately fell in love with the instrument:
Sandip Burman
SOUTH INDIAN PERCUSSION
"Vikku" Vinayakram
V. Selvaganesh
Sri Subash Chandran
Ganesh Kumar
U. Sivaraman
Bhavani Shankar
Trichy Sankaran
A. K. Palanivel
G. Harishankar
GENERAL PERCUSSION:
Futureman
Trilok Gurtu
Taufiq Qureshi
Karsh Kale
Giovanni Hidalgo
Glen Velez
Cacau Arcoverde
RAQUY DANZIGER
LIRON PELED
YOTAM BE'ERI
BRIAN CARTER
SET DRUMMERS:
Mukul Dongre
Steve Smith
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez
J. D. Blair
Terry Bozzio
Dennis Chambers
Billy Cobham
Dave Weckl
Mike Clark
Stanton Moore
Steve Gadd
Greg Bandy
Carter Beauford
Jack DeJohnette
Jean Philippe Fanfant
THROAT SINGING:
Kongar Ol'Ondar
Huun Huur Tu
Ay Kherel
Yat-Kha
Chirgilchin
BASS GUITAR:
Victor Wooten
Kai Eckhardt
Doug Johns
Franc O'Shea
Gary Willis
Billy Sheehan
Stuart Hamm
Marcus Miller
Larry Graham
Michael Manring
Otiel Burbridge
Michel Alibo
GUITAR:
John McLaughlin
Fareed Haque
Steve Vai
Scott Henderson
BRASS / WIND:
Steve Coleman
Michael Brecker YOU WILL BE MISSED!
Skerik
Jeff Coffin
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
PIANO / KEYBOARDS / ORGAN:
McCoy Tyner
Jackie Warren
Bebo Valdez
Chucho Valdez
Chuchito Valdez
Scott Kinsey
Robert Walter
Reuban Wilson
Howard Levy
Tom Coster
Hiromi
Tony MacAlpine
Mario Canonge
OTHER:
Steel Pans:
Andy Narell
Harmonica:
Howard Levy
Buckets of Water: (lol)
Trilok Gurtu
Sounds Like: A master tabla player with extremely impaired motor skills.
A tabla player who got into an accident with a ban-saw... at the elbows.
A tabla player who has never seen or heard a turntable before... playing a turntable... with his elbows.
Like a Grateful Dead cover band, except with classical Indian music.
Terry Bozzio's left leg.
Trilok Gurtu's moustache.
Cloned offspring of Futureman in an experiment that went horribly awry.
DJ Trajic
A drummer who started when he was three years old... and is now almost four.
STOMP, on both uppers and downers.
The Blue Man Group, except not blue, and not a group.
...and most of all...
Sounds like:
I should keep practicing!
Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None