Trilok Gurtu is one of my gurus: Sivamani

Trilok Gurtu

Sivamani considers Gurtu as one of the artistes whose work captured his imagination; the maverick artiste even calls him his guru. “I have five gurus — my father SM Anandan, Noel Grant, Billy Cobham, Louis Prabhakaran and Trilok Gurtu. Trilok bhai is responsible for opening my third eye. This is the happiest day of my life as I get to perform with him,” he explains.

Ravi Chary

Ask him what he plans to play and he says, “I don’t know what will happen on stage. It will be a surprise.” Sivamani credits his father, who was also a drummer, for influencing him to start drumming, “and because I had a drum kit for free at home,” he jokes. Like Banks, who is known for his work in the Indian Jazz scene, Sivamani too started out with a Jazz band: “When I went to Germany with the band, I saw the number of percussion instruments that one could experiment with and I realised that a band needs more than just drums. I then started playing the congo, African drums, mridangam and more.”

Sivamani working his magic

Apart from the concert, Sivamani, who has been the man behind the drums for several soundtracks by AR Rahman, is busy composing the music for his first Tamil film that will star the likes of Vikram Prabhu (Sivaji Ganesan’s grandson). A personal album is on the cards as well that will feature Sufi singer Runa Rizvi, and Stephen Devassy.

On: Today, 7.30 pm onwards
At: Nehru Centre, Worli.
Passes At venue (24964680), Rhythm House (43222727) and www.bookmyshow.com

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!