Ustad Zakir Hussain is an Indian tabla player, composer, percussionist, music producer and film actor. He is the eldest son of tabla player Alla Rakha. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023, by the Government of India. On 8 February 2009 for 51st Grammy Awards, Hussain won the Grammy in the Contemporary World Music Album category for his collaborative album Global Drum Project with Mickey Hart, Sikiru Adepoju & Giovanni Hidalgo.
Trilok Gurtu is an Indian percussionist and composer whose work has blended the music of India with jazz fusion and world music.
Pandit Taranath Ram Rao Hattiangadi was a performer and teacher of Indian classical percussion, known for his knowledge of rare talas and old compositions. He represented the Farukhabad, Delhi, and Ajrada gharanas of tabla, and the Nana Panse tradition of pakhavaj. He studied formally for 47 years—an exceptional amount of time, even in the Indian master-disciple system—under many pandits and ustads, most notably Shamsuddin Khan. He had numerous disciples and students of special training.
Greg Ellis is an American drummer and percussionist, known for his work in film and world music, living in Los Angeles. He has performed and recorded with artists from almost every continent, including Zakir Hussain, Airto, KODO, Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum, Juno Reactor, Billy Idol, Sonu Nigam, Sussan Deyhim, Hamed Nikpay, Bickram Ghosh, Chiwoniso Maraire, Sugizo and many more.
Paṅjāb Gharānā, is a style and technique of tabla playing that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, now split between present-day Pakistan and India. The Punjab Gharana is considered one of the six main styles of tabla, the others being Delhi, Ajrada, Banares, Lucknow, and Farrukhabad. The repertoire of the Punjab Gharana is heavily influenced by the Pakhawaj.
Sikiru Adepoju is a Nigerian percussionist and recording artist, primarily in the genres of traditional African music and world music. He plays a variety of instruments and styles.
Trichy Sankaran is an Indian percussionist, composer, scholar, and educator. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2011. As a mridangam vidwan, he has been called a "doyen among the percussionists of India" in Sruti magazine. Since the early 1970s, he has performed and recorded in a number of cross-cultural projects. In 2017, he was awarded the "Tiruchirapalli Carnatic Musicians Lifetime Achievement Award".
Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram, also known as Vikku Vinayakram, is an Indian percussionist. He is also known as the God of ghatam. He plays Carnatic music with the ghatam, an earthen pot, and is credited with popularising the ghatam.
Lenny Seidman is a tabla player, a composer, a co-director of the Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra, and a World Music/Jazz curator at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia.
Ustad Ahmed Jan Khan "Thirakwa" was an Indian tabla player, commonly considered the pre-eminent soloist among tabla players of the 20th century, and among the most influential percussionists in the history of Indian Classical Music.
Mark Nauseef is an American drummer and percussionist who has enjoyed a varied career, ranging from rock music during the 1970s with his time as a member of the Ian Gillan Band and, temporarily with Thin Lizzy when Brian Downey left for a short time, to a wide range of musical styles in more recent times, playing with many notable musicians from all over the world.
Planet Drum is a world music album by Mickey Hart, a musician and musicologist who was a member of the rock band the Grateful Dead.
Ustad Taufiq Qureshi is an Indian classical musician. He is a percussionist and composer.
Global Drum Project is an album by Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo. It was released by Shout! Factory on October 2, 2007.
Spirit into Sound is a percussion-based world music album by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. It was released on CD on January 25, 2000. Most of the compositions were co-written by Hart and Rebeca Mauleón, both of whom play a wide variety of drums and percussion instruments on the album. Mauleón also sings on many of the tracks. Zakir Hussain plays various drums and contributes to most of the tracks. Additional musicians include Ustad Sultan Khan on sarangi and Bob Weir on acoustic guitar.
Mickey Hart's Mystery Box is an album by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. It was released on CD and cassette by Rykodisc Records on June 11, 1996. The album combines Hart's percussion-based world music with the vocal harmonies of the British singing sextet the Mint Juleps. Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics for all the songs.
George Brooks is an American saxophonist known for combining jazz and Indian classical music. He is the founder of the jazz fusion groups Summit, Aspada, Bombay Jazz, the Raga Bop Trio, and Elements.
Deepak Bhatt is an Indian dhol player, musical producer, and composer. He has been in the Indian music industry for over a decade, having started at a very young age. Deepak, in his professional career, has played with various national as well as international artists so far, and his talent and dedication towards his instrument has brought him a place amongst the Masters of percussion.
In the Groove is an album by Planet Drum, a percussion-based world music ensemble led by Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo. It was released on August 5, 2022.
