Tor Dietrichson is a multi percussionost, multi bandleader, vocalist and composer who plays a wide variety of music from all around the world. He has worked and/or recorded with many world renowned artists such as India's top tabla player Zakir Hussain, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Santana percussionist Karl Perazzo, virtuoso violinist Steve Kindler, guitarist Joaquin Lievano, flutist Paul Horn, Brazilian vocalist Flora Purim, and numerous others. He was an original member of the legendary Diga Rhythm Band with Zakir Hussain and Mickey Hart, joining the band while still a teenager. He currently has numerous bands performing around the Seattle area featuring many of the Pacific Northwest's finest artists.
He is equally at home singing Blues with his Blues band "Troy D. Trixon Blues Machine", playing congas in his Salsa/Afro Cuban Jazz band "Mambo Cadillac", playing his many original compositions with his World Fusion ensemble "Global Village", accompanying Indian classical musicians on the tabla drums or in his Indian Fusion collboration "Nada Brahma",playing in his trio of roots rock music where he also sings called "The Pleasure Seekers" or working as a sideman in whatever ensembles may come his way. He has two recordings of his own music. The first one, "Global Village", charted high nationally and was released worldwide on Global Pacific/CBS/Sony Records and the second one, "Cosmic View", has not been released yet. Both recordings feature many world renowned artists including all of the artists listed above except Mickey Hart. He has trained hundreds of people on both Afro Cuban congas and East Indian tabla drums and has personally assisted Zakir Hussain in teaching master classes in advanced tabla studies where he has written down all the music for the students. He is also known for his tremendous recitation orally of the tabla compositions. Tabla drums have a word for each sound produced on the drum that sounds very much like the drums and through vocal recitation is how Indian drums have been taught for several thousand years. He is the only person in the world to have recorded duets with Zakir Hussain both on tabla and conga drums. These duets can be heard on his recordings which can be heard by going to his website at
www.tordietrichson.com -- He received the prestigious Min On Art Award from the Soka Gakkai International President Daisaku Ikeda . The Soka Gakkai is a Buddhist lay organization of 15 million members worldwide that is working towards world peace and betterment. Tor Dietrichson has been a member of The Soka Gakkai since 1968. The members of The Soka Gakkai chant the Buddhist Mantra ---NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO---- Which is the Title of the Highest Teaching of Buddhism, The Lotus Sutra, in order to attain Supreme Enlightenment and to help others do the same as part of their Buddhist practice. He has been very active around the Greater Seattle area in the field of World Music.
