Dr. JSM

Reviews of live performances by group members:

'Flabbergasting': Mike Bourne, Downbeat, USA

'On a scale of one to ten, eleven!': The Daily, Bombay

'virtuoso displays sometimes difficult to credit to mortal beings' : John Fordham, The Guardian, UK

'sublime raga showcased the virtuoso young singer with Bollywood looks' : Sue Steward, London Evening Standard

The musicians are all disciples of the top Carnatic percussion guru, the late Sri TR Harihara Sarma. He revolutionised the teaching of percussion and founded India's no.1 rhythm academy: Sri JGTV Academy (Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya, Chennai/Madras).

Selvaganesh, probably the world's no.1 young hand percussionist, also plays with guitar legend John "Mahavishnu" McLaughlin in Shakti. His solos repeatedly brought a packed Royal Festival Hall (London) to its feet. Sold-out concerts in major venues across the US, Europe, Far East and Middle East have won him many fans.

The group's original songs come from another Sri JGTV Academy alumnus, the Goan songwriter/producer/performer dr.Joel. Goa is located where north and south Indian musics meet.

Mahesh was trained in the vocal style of India's no.1 singer, the late MS Subbulakshmi. He is the singer from super-bassist Jonas Hellborg's group.

umaShankar is a ghatam virtuoso whose super-human solos invariably bring the house down.

The music revolves around songs and rhythms: incredible percussion, big sing-along choruses, soulful classical vocals and irresistible grooves.

The Sri JGTV Academy trains students regardless of ability to pay. Several Sri JGTV Academy alumni have become percussion legends - including the great guru's own sons Vikku Vinayakram who won a Grammy for the Planet Drum album with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead; and TH Subash Chandran, now the top Carnatic percussion guru, who recorded with jazz legend Max Roach and Americana virtuoso Bela Fleck.

Selva's appearances with Shakti, 2003:
Sept. 16th Boulder Theatre, Boulder
Sept. 18th Royce Hall/UCLA, Los Angeles
Sept. 19th Monterey Festival, Monterey
Sept. 20th Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkley
Sept. 21th Garden Theatre, Saratoga
Sept. 23rd Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts, Vancouver
Sept. 24th Winspear Centre, Edmonton, Cananda
Sept. 25th Moore Theatre, Seattle
Sept. 26th Schnitzer Hall, Portland
Sept. 28th Verizon Wireless Theater, Houston
Sept. 29th Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis
Sept. 30th Weigel Hall Auditorium, Columbus
Oct. 1st Chicago Theatre, Chicago
Oct. 3rd Town Hall, New York
Oct. 4th Lisner Auditorium, Washington DC
Oct. 5th Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto
Oct. 9th Flynn Theatre, Burlington
Oct. 10th Sanders Theatre, Cambridge
Nov. 2nd Edinburgh, UK
Nov. 3rd London Royal Festival Hall, UK
Nov. 4th Nottingham, UK
Nov. 5th Bristol Colston Hall, UK
Nov. 7th Lighthouse, Poole, UK
Nov. 8th Manchester, UK
Nov. 9th Dome, Brighton, UK
Nov. 10th Villach, Austria
Nov. 11th Vienna, Austria,
Nov. 12th Kiev, Ukraine
Nov. 15th Geneve, Switzerland
Nov. 16th Lucerne, Switzerland
Nov. 17th Warsaw, Poland
Nov. 19th Freiburg, Germany
Nov. 20th Stuttgart, Germany
Nov. 21st Munich, Germany
Nov. 22nd Frankfurt, Germany
Nov. 23rd Berlin, Germany
Nov. 24th Dusseldorf, Germany
Nov. 25th Dortmund, Germany
Nov. 26th Hamburg, Germany
Nov. 27th Bremen, Germany
Nov. 28th Nuremberg, Germany
Summer 2004, major venues & festivals in Europe
Early 2005, India/Japan/Korea/Middle East

October-Nov 2005, Dr. JSM UK tour (see calendar)