Neeraj Mehta

Neeraj Mehta has been playing percussion for 15 years, and specializes in Latin and Afro-Cuban music as well as western contemporary and classical percussion. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he performed with the Tony Castaneda Latin Jazz Sextet, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and led the Mehta Jazz Group in addition to freelancing in the area. He also performed weekly with legendary funk drummer Clyde Stubblefield of the James Brown band. He has studied with Cuban percussionist Roberto Vizcaino Guillot, as well as San Francisco Latin percussionists John Santos and Michael Spiro.Neeraj currently lives in Ann Arbor, MI where he is completing his Master of Music degree at the University of Michigan, and is a Graduate Student Instructor teaching percussion methods as well as non-western percussion. He studies with world-renowned percussionist and composer Michael Udow, as well as Brian Jones, timpanist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular substitute with local Latin bands in the area, and is currently working on a new Latin jazz project with local artists Jonathan Ovalle, Brian DiBlassio and Jacob Chmara. The CricketSoda Myspace Editor!