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There are various organizations which have recognized the grand array of
work which Mani has done in the field of music and awarded him
with various titles and awards.
Some of the important awards which have come his way:
Sir Henry Wilson Award
-
Madras Music Academy
Laya Kala Nipuna
-
Percussive Arts Centre, Bangalore
Mridanga Kala Shiromani
-
Percussive Arts Centre
Gana Kala Bhushana
-
Karnataka Ganakala Parishat
Karnataka Kalashree
-
Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya academy
Mridanga Chakravarthi
-
Avani Shankar Mutt
Talavaya Chakravarthi
-
Ganajyothi Kalamandira, Bangalore
Honour for service in music
-
Rotary club, Bangalore - North
Kaliyuga Nandi
-
Sri Vignershwara Welfare Association
Kala Jyothi
-
Tyagaraja Bhajana Sabha, Malleswaram
Kala Thapasvi
-
Muralidhara Sangeetha Vidyalaya
Honour for service in Music
-
Samskaara Bharathi
Life Time Achievement award
-
Naarada Gana Sabha, Chennai
T.A.S. MANI
Principal
&
R.A. RAMAMANI
Vice-Principal
#93/2, 17th cross, West Park Road,
Malleswaram, Bangalore - 560 055, INDIA
Phone / Fax : 091 - 80 - 23441515
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
www.karnatakacollegeofpercussion.com
Mani has the distinction of blending the south Indian traditional music with western and
Jazz music to produce modern and experimental music. Through this bold approach he
has taken Indian Music right into the core of Jazz festivals.
Some of the m ajor Western & Jazz Musicia ns with whom Ma ni h as worked:
sMaynard Ferguson
sBurhan Oecal
sTrilok Gurtu
sBraz Gonsalves
sPaquito D' Rivera
sUrzula Dudziak
sChristian Burchard
sDoug Hammond
sRonan Guilfoyle
sIain Ballamy
sCharlie Mariano
sJasper Van'thof
sLouis Banks
sLenart Aberg
sJohny Dyani
sChris Hinze
sFriedman Josch
sRamesh Shottam
sOkay Temiz
sSteve Coleman
sShivamani
sMike Nielson
sBobo Stenson
sMike Herting
Some of the major groups with home Mani has been associated in performances
and creating music albums:
Sangam
Oriental Wind
Embryo
Seda India and Bangalore
Dissidenten
Mani has also been instrumental in producing many music
albums with these musicians and some of the prominent albums are:
Sangam
Jyothi
Dissidenten
Charlie Mariano & KCP
Sankirna
Shivaganga
Jungle Book
Malayamaruta
Tala Tarangini
Crossing Roots
Embryo
Vishesh
a Laya
City Life
Vinyasa
Blue Glass
Vol - 3
River Yamuna
Mishram
Amalgama
Madhura Ganam
Bangalore
By: Kar
nataka
Kala Shr
ee Vid.
T.A.S. M
Naada Vilasini
ani
Makara
Creatio
ns Pres
ents
A
artanam
Mridan on
gam
Tani Av
Makara
Creatio
ns
Vishesh
Present
s
a Laya
Vinyasa
Vol - 2
Tani Av
a
A
rtanam
Mridan on
gam
By: Kar
nataka
Kala Sh
ree Vid
.
T.A.S. M
ani
As a performer he started his career at the age of ten. He
has been performing for over five decades across the
country and abroad. Rated as an "A-Top" artist by the All
India Radio he has given many performances in AIR and
Doordarshan including National Program of Music,
Sangeet Sammelan, Outside Broadcast concerts etc.,
apart from performing in many other private TV
Channels.
Mr. Mani has toured all across India and abroad for performances in all the
leading music gatherings, Institutions (Sabhas) and music festivals. As a
performer of South Indian Percussion instrument-Mridangam, he is a preferred
accompanist for many leading vocal and instrumental musicians in the South.
His style of playing blends excellently well with the vocal music and provides the
necessary support to make the concert successful. He is a disciplined player and
follows all the traditional norms of the South Indian Percussion music. His
fingering techniques are a treat to listen to and when combined with the tonal
quality he produces from the instrument makes his playing style unique and
distinct. He has performed for over 25 years consistently in the prestigious
Madras Music Academy.
He has accompanied a wide galaxy of artists of the South Indian Music and
some of the Prominent artists with whom he has performed are:
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bagavathar
Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
Dr. M S Subbalakshmi
D K Pattamal
M L Vasanthakumari
Dr M Balamuralikrishna
M D Ramanathan
T Chowdiah
Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu
Dr V Doraiswamy Iyengar
Dr R K Srikantan
B S Raja Iyengar
Sathur Subramanya Iyer
T.K. Rangachari
S.V. Parthasarathi
R.R. Keshava Murthy
B. Devandrappa
T.R. Subramaniam
Salem Desikan
Lalagudi G Jayaraman
T R Mahalingam
Emani Shankar Shastri
Bellary Brothers
R K Venkataramashastri
Shirkazhi Govindarajan
Trichur V Ramachandran
Chintanapalli Ramachandra Rao
Maharajapuram Santhanam
Chitti Babu
Nedanuri Krishnamurthy
Palaghat K V Narayanaswamy
K J Jesudas
Dr S Balachander
Madurai T N Seshagopalan
Dr S Ramanathan
Sikkil Neela & Kumjumani
C Saroja & C Lalitha
Radha & Jayalakshmi
Dr N Ramani
Dr. L Subramaniam
T N Krishnan
M S Gopalakrishnan
Trichy Swaminatha Iyer
Kalyana Krishna Bagawathar
Madurai Somasundaram
Karnataka College of Percussion (KCP), Bangalore, India, has been training
young musicians who are eager to learn various percussion instruments and vocal
of South India. This college has trained a large number of students from India and
from abroad since 1964. Many of them have obtained distinction in Tests and
have become professional musicians. As part of their curriculum,
periodic programs are arranged to promote art and culture and encourage
talented youngsters.
.
KCP is known worldwide for its vibrant percussion ensemble Tala Tarangini
(Waves of Rhythm) and for presentation of the best traditions of percussion
and vocal of South India. T.A.S Mani is the director of the ensemble and R.A.
Ramamani is the lead vocalist. Percussion instruments used are
Mridangam - a double headed drum, Ghatam - clay pot, Kanjira - similar to
tambourine, and Morsing - a Jewish harp. A Special feature of this ensemble is
Konnakol, a traditional vocalization of percussion language which may sound to
the Western audience at times like scat singing in jazz. Tala Tarangini combines
an exuberant rhythmic drive with soaring ecstatic lyricism. Rhythmic cycles
unfold in a spellbinding crescendo, releasing the increasingly technical virtuosity
of each percussionist. KCP has performed in Asia, Australia, America, Africa and
Europe. They have participated in numerous International Percussion Festivals
and have many acclaimed recordings to their credit. Many musicians worldwide
from diverse musical cultures such as rock, jazz, classical and flamenco have
performed with them. KCP thus has been providing a stimulating bridge between
the East and the West. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has
sponsored KCP on several tours to USA, USSR, UK, Australia, Japan, Croatia,
Canada, Scotland etc., as Cultural Ambassadors of India.
The Roots
Mani comes from an illustrious family of musicians. He is the third generation
musician in his family. The first generation was his Grand Uncle - Palghat
Ananthram Bhagavatar (Vocalist). In the second generation his father Palghat
Arunachala Bhagavatar and Palghat Someshwar Bhagavatar were renowned
vocalists of their time. In his generation along with him his sister Jayam &
Bhagyam (Vocalists) were musicians of repute. His wife Ramamani is a world
renowned vocalist. The baton of Music tradition of the family has passed on to the
fourth generation with Mani’s son Karthik Mani making waves in the field of
percussion as an extraordinarily talented drummer.
South Indian Percussion music has evolved over centuries and the tradition has been
passed on from generations through families which have been professionals in Music.
Artists maintain the tradition and improvise on the same through their style of playing
and presentation. However the lessons and fingering techniques are taken from the
tradition.
Mr Mani has widely moved out of this tradition and has created a unique fingering
technique and new format of lessons which is scientific, logical and easy to learn, and
pleasing to present. The work he has done in the field of creating new Sholkats is very
inventive. The sholkat is an integral part of any rhythmic cycle. Sholkat is a percussion
phrase which is played at the end of every rhythmic cycle and provides a punchy ending
to every cycle. Sholkat is also a critical for Improvising the percussion rhythms and
cycles. The quality of improvisation depends on the quality of the sholkat and the
percussionists capability to produce sholkats with different lengths of letters (for
e.g.,an 8 beat cycle comprising 32 letters). Usually the limitation of the basic lessons
available to form these sholkats restricts the quality and length. Mani has done a total
displacement in this category where he has created new combinations of letters to form
these sholkats. The fingering for these is very innovative and the methodology of
creating these sholkats allows the player to create with ease any length of the sholkat
(with as many letters as he wishes), thus enlarging his improvisation scope on
percussion music. This new methodology is helpful for both professionals and learners.
There are three special Cds - Vishesha Laya Vinyasa which Mani has produced and
the books published by him incorporate these in the lessons. Mr Mani has published
five volumes of lessons Sogasuga Mridanga Talamu which are text books on
Mridangam which contains lessons for beginners and takes them through to
professional level.
The books also provide the fingering techniques which also enables initial self
learning. Mani's lessons are simple to understand, structured to provide a gradual
learning process and rich in musical quality. This scholarly work is appreciated by all
learners and professionals of South Indian Percussion Music.
Mani learnt Mridangam from his guru Palghat C.K. Ayyamani Iyer who was the
disciple of the legendary Palghat Subba Iyer.
Mani is a living legend in the field of teaching South Indian Percussion music. He
started his teaching career five decades back and has trained an unparalleled number of
students. He has one of the highest numbers of trained professionals who are performing
across the country as professionals. Mani's student family has also grown over four
generations.
His teaching method is easy to follow and slowly makes the student participate in the
learning process thereby increasing his or her passion and interest in the field of
percussion music. Every student is analyzed for their strength and is made to take on the
percussion instrument suitable to his or her strength. Even the style of playing is tuned to
their strengths. There are a large number of artists thus created over years of learning.
This style of tutoring has also enabled him to create a host of first generation artists who
have moved to a professional platform.
On understanding the interest among students in the percussion music he founded the
Karnataka College of Percussion in 1964. Since inception Karnataka College of
Percussion under Mani's guidance has nurtured and created artists of National and
International repute. There are six branches of this institution in Bangalore and two
locations outside Bangalore. This has enabled students from various locations to have
easy access to learn percussion music.
Mr Mani is also on the teaching faculty at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore for
percussion music. He has served for eight years as Lecturer in the Bangalore University,
Music Department. He is also a member of the “Audition Board” of the All India Radio, and
has also served as Chief Examiner for the Percussion Exams conducted by the Music
Examination Board, Govt of Karnataka.
He was a faculty for the short-term diploma course at the “University of Poland”. He has
given numerous lecture demonstrations across India and in universities across the world.
Apart from students in India, Mr Mani has also trained professionals from outside India
on South Indian Percussion music. He has given lecture demonstrations across India and
in Swtizerland, Germany, Australia, Austria etc.
Gauging the interest amongst the audiences across India and the world Mr Mani started the
Tala Tarangini a new concept of creating a 90 minute concert with percussion instruments
from across different parts of India. This was a novel and unique concept during 1975, and
he thus has the distinction in India for being the first to a start percussion ensemble. There
are many more percussion ensembles that have started off late.
Tala Tarangini has received overwhelming response in India and abroad, and is one of the
longest serving groups. Tala Tarangini has become the engine through which Indian
percussion music has been presented to audiences across the world.
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The countries and festivals where Mani and his group have performed:
Shrewsbury International Youth Festival - 1980
Jazz Jambourie, Poland - 1980
Universiade Edmonton Festival, Canada - 1983
Music tour of USA - 1983
International Percussion Festival, Germany - 1984
Aberdeen Music Festival, Germany - 1984
North Sea Jazz Festival, Holland - 1984
International Drummers Festival, Hongkong - 1986
Festival of India, USSR - 1988
Music Tour of England, British Arts Council - 1989
Jazz Festival, Austria - 1992
Festival of Perth, Australia - 1993
International Bulk Festival, South Korea - 1993
Min-on Association tour of Japan - 1993
International Percussion Festival, Brazil - 1994
Sangam Tour of Australia and China - 1994
Concert Tour of Germany Ireland and Turkey - 1995
Zurich Television concert tour - 1997
Berlin Jazz Festival - 1998
Festival of Divine Voices, Morocco - 1999
Canicule Tour of Bangalore, Stuttgart - 1999
Jazz Festival, Moers - 1999
Jazz Festival, Delmenhorst 1999
Promotional tour of crossing roots, Europe 2000
World Festival of Sacred Music, India 2000
Music Tour of Switzerland - 2004
Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Croatia - 2006
Ethnoland Festival, Russia - 2006
Ruhr’s Triannale festival of century songs, Germany - 2008
Project Concert with Bujazoo Germany - 2009
Concert with London Phil harmonic UK Orchestra - 2009
Mani’s Concert tour - Protugal, Italy, Moscow, Spain - 2009
Percussion festival Turkey, Istanbul - 2010
T.A.S. MANI
Principal
&
R.A. RAMAMANI
Vice-Principal
#93/2, 17th cross, West Park Road,
Malleswaram, Bangalore - 560 055, INDIA
Phone / Fax : 091 - 80 - 23441515
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
www.karnatakacollegeofpercussion.com