Vikku Vinayakram, one of India’s finest ghatam (a large clay pot percussion instrument) players, studied with his father, Harihara Sharma. He is in great demand in India and has accompanied nearly all the leading South Indian musicians and vocalists like Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, MS Subbulakshmi, Balamurali Krishna, Bhimsen Joshi, Hariprasad Chaurasia and VG Jog.
Vinayakram became known in the West as a member of the group Shakti, an innovative acoustic jazz/Indian fusion band with guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L. Shankar, and Zakir Hussain on tabla. He has also played under the direction of Zubin Mehta and shared the stage with internationally acclaimed musicians like Herbie Hancock, Peter Gabriel and Larry Corryell.
In 1991 he participated in the recording of lanet Drum as a music composer and co-producer together with The Grateful Dead’s drummer, Mickey Hart. The album featured other world class percussionists like Zakir Hussain and Airto Moreira. Planet Drum won the Grammy for Best World Music Album in 1991.
The extraordinary speed and precision of his duets with tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and mrdangam player Ramnad V. Raghavan have captivated listeners throughout the world. Vikku devotes much of his time to teaching at his own ghatam school in Madras. In addition to touring with Shankar and Zakir Hussain and accompanying other musicians, he has performed with J.G. Laya in an experimental group that includes pianists and other percussionists.
Vinayakram was featured in a percussion show called Drums of India, along with Zakir Hussain, sarangi maestro Ustad Sultan Khan, drummers Sivamani and Taufiq Qureshi and enchanted the audience with his dazzling performance.
Vinayakram has won numerous prestigious awards in India, including the Hafiz Ali Khan Award for “unmatched contribution in the field of music” (2000), the Padma Shri Award (2002), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship – the highest award in the performing arts in India (2012), and the Padma Bhushan (2014). .
He has many recordings to his credit and is also the author of several books on percussion in Tamil and English.
Vinayakram forged and led the group “The Mahaperiyava,” an ensemble of young, talented artists from Chennai.
He is the director of Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya in Chennai, India – the music academy started by his late father and teacher in 1958 that continues to generate new masters of Carnatic percussion.
His sons, V. Selvaganesh (hybrid drum set) and Umashankar (ghatam) are leading percussionists. His grandson, Swaminathan Selvaganesh is also a highlyskilled percussionists who plays kanjira (small frame drum) and konakkol (vocal percussion).
Discography:
A Handful of Beauty, with Shakti (columbia, 1976)
Natural Elements (1977)
Planet Drum (Rykodisc, 1991)
Mysterium Tremendum (360° Productions, 2012)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.