About Me
Named after a famous train in India, Satabdi Express is the brainchild of guitarist/songwriter/composer Dave Cipriani. Satabdi Express combines the ancient with the modern, while striving to maintain authenticity and a sense of heart. Combining the sounds of North Indian Classical music with classic jazz instrumentation and sensibility, the music also brings in other American influences such as country blues, folk and funk, with hints of middle eastern and flamenco sounds as well. A set of music by Satabdi Express would include several originals by Cipriani, then maybe some modal jazz standards, a Django Reinhardt tune, a Ravi Shankar piece written for jazz musicians, or other well-known songs reinterpreted for Indian guitar.Dave Cipriani has received awards from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Baltimore Office of Promotions and the Arts, in part for his work with Satabdi Express. Dave studied classical guitar at St. Mary’s College of Maryland with Scott Horton, and also studied jazz privately for a year and a half with the late jazz guitar legend Charlie Byrd, who joined Cipriani for his final college recital. After that he attended master class with renowned classical guitar virtuoso Christopher Parkening. He led several bands after college, combining his knowledge with the singer-songwriter and rock traditions.In 1998 Dave began studying Hindustani or North Indian Classical Music, on slide guitar, first with sitar Maestro Jay Kishor, then in 2003 with Indian slide guitar master Pandit Barun Kumar Pal, one of the senior most disciples of Ravi Shankar. Cipriani traveled to India in 2004, 2005 and 2007 to study with Pal, and plays a custom handmade 20-string guitar that was commissioned from one of the top luthiers of India.Rounding out Satabdi Express are Alan Munshower on drums, and Melissa Hullman on Violin.Drummer Alan Munshower, recognized for both his light touch and imaginative playing, has become one of the busiest freelance drummers in the Baltimore/DC region. Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1979, Alan began pursuing drums at the age of 10 and moved to Baltimore in 1998 to study music on scholarship at Goucher College. Since earning his B.A. in music, Alan has performed at a variety of festivals including Jazz a Vienne (France), Canadian Music Week, and the All Good Festival, and at venues such as The Blue Note New York, the 55 Bar, the Knitting Factory, and Twins Jazz. His duet, A-UN, with pianist Nobu Stowe has a forthcoming album on the Soul Note label, featuring tabla master, Badal Roy. As a sideman, Alan can be seen regularly with Eva Castillo, Satabdi Express, MacGregor Burns Band, and Sac Au Lait. Alan maintains a small private studio of percussion students in addition to teaching at studios in Annapolis, Maryland and Ellicott City, Maryland. He leads a regular Jazz Jam at Charlotte’s in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore.Melissa Hullman enjoys a diverse performance career as a Western classical violinist and cross-over artist. Her versatility as a player has taken her from concerts as a recitalist and orchestral musician to engagements with a kaliedoscope of musicians, including alt-country songwriter Caleb Stine, jazz guitarist Michael Harris, tabla master Debu Nyack, and Carnatic singer KS Resmi. She holds a Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan, a Masters of Music in Violin Performance and Pedagogy from the Peabody Conservatory, and has served on the faculty of the Peabody Institute for the past seven years.
