Witness the talent of a new generation of percussionists at Mumbai Drum Day

We know rhythm even before we know our own voicerdquo says Gino Banks as he picks up this writerrsquos call in the middle of a shoot The drummer is in the middle of preparations for his annual celebration of Mumbai Drum Day this Friday ldquoThe idea began as a means to celebrate the art of percussion and drummersrdquo he chuckles For the last six years the annual celebration has witnessed Banks bring together percussionists of varied ranges from the late Ustad Zakir Hussain and Taufiq Qureshi to Sivamani and Ranjit Barot to perform in the city This year Banks will join Trilok Gurtu and Sangeet Haldipur as they lead a new generation of percussionistsTrilok Gurtu at the 2024 No Borders Festival For the veteran Gurtu the performance relies on the audience ldquoIt is the audience and their response that transforms such an experiencerdquo he explains Coming off the back of his travels to Europe the 73yearold admits that he is not too familiar with what is lsquohiprsquo in music today ldquoThat is precisely what excites me about this performance mdash an opportunity to visit my hometown listen to and perform alongside new talent and perhaps even learn from themrdquo he saysGino Banks during a previous performanceThe presence of Gurtu also shapes the global theme of the drum day performances Banks points out ldquoThere are very few percussion festivals that take place in the country let alone the city Zakir Bhai would host one on his late fatherrsquos Ustad Allarakha Khan barsi but it understandably leaned towards Hindustani classical rhythms We are looking towards a more diverse soundrdquoThe theme mdash India Unlimited mdash is reflective of this ambition ldquoI wanted to get drummers from around the country and we have a diverse unit Whether that is Jivraj Singh from Kolkata Suyash Gabriel from Delhi Joshua Vaz from Mumbai Manjunath Sattyasheel from Chennai they are young talents who are unfamiliar to a Mumbai audiencerdquo Banks notesJivraj Singh and Suyash GabrielThis writer admits to being familiar with some of them Singh for instance is part of Parekh amp Singh while Gabriel has performed with a range of bands from Kraken to Komorebi Banks notes ldquoThe focus is drumsheavy this year I wanted to focus on the skill itself but then we have a master percussionist in Trilok Gurtu leading the way So he can bring in his inimitable skill to everything from the djembe and tabla to hybrid drumsrdquoA moment from an earlier edition of the festivalGurtu says ldquoWe India do not have a drum culture a la Brazil or Latin America Over the years what I have learned is to bring nature into play My music brings in sounds from birds the trees the wind and everything around it to influence my rhythmsrdquo From his collaboration with saxophonist Jan Garbarek to musical projects with Robert Miles in Europe Gurtu has been busy at work There is a new album already underway ldquoMy next project is with a string quartet from Europe Titled Mirror it should come out in March or April I am working towards a special focus on folk music and my own global influences Perhaps this will be one for posterityrdquo he reveals adding that he might disclose more during his concert in Bengaluru next monthIf it feels too rhythmheavy pianist Sangeet Haldipur disagrees ldquoIn the end music is a language It is all about having a conversation We have been rehearsing and sometimes it is a lot more fun to rehearse than it is to performrdquo he admits ldquoMusic is about sharing I would love to travel just play music and explore new sounds I hope I can do a tour in India in the coming months it would be excitingrdquo Gurtu concursON February 21 630 pmAT St Andrewrsquos AuditoriumSt Dominic Road Bandra WestLOG ON TO inbookmyshowcomCost Rs 500 onwards