Sivamani is a highly acclaimed percussionist, known for his innovative techniques and showmanship in both the carnatic rhythmic style as well as Western jazz drums. He is the only Indian drummer to be conferred with the prestigious ‘Padma Shri’ by the Indian Government in 2019. On stage he can be seen surrounded by an impressive display of percussion instruments. His concert is nothing short of genius when it comes to percussion.
Sivamani is part of International Jazz Day in Mumbai taking place on April 30 at the St Andrews auditorium. Besides Sivamani, the 14th edition will cover a wide array of artists over a span of over 3 hours, and will showcase an electrifying mix of classic jazz standards and original compositions as well as Jazz Fusion.
Curated by the Godfather of Jazz in India and living legend, Louiz Banks, International Jazz Day 2025 is brought to you by Gigatainment.
The ace percussionist talks bout his long innings and plans for celebrating 50 years in the business later this year.
Excerpts from the interview
What have you planned for this year’s International Jazz Day?
I am really looking forward to playing with the jazz man Louiz Banks and Ranjit Barot. I dedicate the show to Ustad Zakir Hussain.
So can you tell about working with Zakirbhai over the years and how his work inspired you.
From 1982 to 2024, I learnt a lot from Zakirbhai, he showed this world to me that there can be so many places in the world to perform. He recognized my talent the first day he saw me. He introduced Mumbai to me when I played at the Rang Bhavan in 1984. What he left was the rhythm, we continue it and we celebrate the legacy. We take this forward to our generations. I really miss him, he is with us.
Can you share any challenging performance experience you have encountered and how you overcame the difficulties?
My first jazz concert was with jazz trumpeter Frank Dubier. That was my first introduction where I played jazz. We met in the studio with session musicians. Frank really liked my drumming. He said, “Siva, you have to play with me at this jazz concert with the big band”. So that was the first time I played with him on such a big platform. But everything changed when I went on stage. I played for a few minutes, when suddenly the audience began throwing bottles and eggs on me. I was a light music drummer playing jazz. But that did not put me off, and so from then on I began to focus more on my work and didn't care about anything. I focused on my playing and finally I ended up playing with Louiz Banks. From then on, I played with Ustad Zakir Hussain and that is how my beautiful journey in jazz began. I also feel all my riyaz really helped me a lot.
Going back in time, can you recall the first time you took to playing the drums and how did your career move on from there?
Nine months in my mum’s womb, I did the riyaz of timing taal, and when I came out, my father recognized I had the talent. He introduced me to the music of Noel Grant, and then I heard Billy Cobham, Trilok Gurtu and Louis Prakasam. These are my idols, my inspirations. From there SP Balasubramaniam recognised my talent. I started my life with him and then my journey started till today. I love my drums, I’m born for drums.
You can transform any object into a source of music using your fingers. How do you get this feeling that a particular object can produce a sound and then you use it in your shows?
I have to thank Lakshmi Anandan, my mom who helped me when I was a small kid. I would run around and disturb in the kitchen. I used to use everything in the kitchen, be it plastic, metal, and start playing. I did that riyaz when I was small. So that really helped me to understand which is a good sound. Sound is everywhere. So I put that into the music.
You have worked and traveled with A. R. Rahman multiple times as his lead percussionist. What would you say you have learned from this great composer?
I am really honored to be working with Rahman, because he's a born genius, because I that from childhood he worked hard. Working with him is a great feeling.
What are some of the challenges and opportunities you see in the music industry today?
You have to be a good player in the music industry. There are a lot of musicians everywhere. You have to do something phenomenal. So once you practice and keep practicing you can achieve whatever you want. If you practice and you do riyaz, you will surely sell anywhere in the world. If you keep on practicing, you get better and it will help you for the future. For me, I enjoy whatever is there. I just want to create something.
There are very few female drummers and percussionists India? What is your take on this?
There are a few good female drummers, one of them being Bangalore’s Priya Andrews. She plays really well and has a good hand at her work. God has given a gift to everybody. Whether female or male, each and everyone has got talent.
There are many artists who try to emulate others. Did you also go through this phase?
I only copied Trilok Gurtu. I was inspired by the way he was playing, but at the same time I was doing my own different style. I see people on Instagram playing with a bottle or some object. When I see it, I smile, as it not something new to me, because I have already done that. But what I want to mention to you is about the hand drum, or hand pan (a steel pan percussion instrument). It has now become a very famous instrument and many people are playing it. I was at the Womad Festival in London and there were these two guys showing me this instrument. I played it and then I turned the instrument around and used our ghatam technique to play it. Both the guys were so impressed to see how I was playing it. I showed them that the hand pan can be played in a different way too. I bought this instrument in Switzerland and have used it in many film scores.
It’s been almost 50 years that you've been a percussionist. How do you look back on your illustrious career?
It’s been 50 years since I started. It was way back on 12th March 1975. My life as a drummer started the day I was in my mom's womb, I played to the sound of my mom's heartbeat. My father is a drummer and he recognized my talent. I joined at the age of 12 with SP Balasubramaniam’s orchestra. From then on I started playing for South Indian films and big names in the music industry. I’m planning on having a World Rhythm Festival to commemorate my 50 years as percussionist and it will be held on my birthday (1st December) this year. It is a milestone, so I'm thinking of calling some percussion players from all over the world. I will also be releasing my album ‘Mahila 2’ on that day.
So are you working on anything new?
Yes I am working on my album ‘Mahila 2’ and also working with my wife Runa Rizvi on her album, as a percussion player.
Could you take us through a day in your life, starting with a morning routine and how much time you devote to practice?
The sound of rhythm is everywhere, even in the car, the fan, wherever I hear that click sound, it’s rhythmic, I start practicing along with it. My mind is always focused on rhythm. In the beginning I used to practice six hours nonstop, now even when I travel I practice, so practice is very important, I do riyaz, I love my riyaz.
Your son is also into percussion. Have you worked together?
My son is a good programmer and he works with the A.R. Rahman. I played together at Symbiosis when he was in college. We also jam at home too.
Can you describe your creative process when you write or compose music. Is percussion more challenging to innovate?
Yes, some songs are challenging, but when I work for others the magic comes naturally, but when I do my own work, I take more time to add my own percussion magic. I experienced that for my first film ‘Arima Nambi’ and ‘Kanithan’, which are both Tamil films. I also must mention about my Bollywood award winning film ‘Atkan Chatkan’, which won the best music award at the Jaipur International film festival. The background score was very challenging, but I got good feedback from young people who loved the music as I created the music using all kind of vessels. So it was nice to work on that film.
How do you approach collaborating with other musicians, and what are your strengths in a team setting?
I love playing with any musicians, jamming with them, I enjoy that. I follow what they are doing, observe them and when my solo comes I take off. I love playing with any type of music, Bollywood, jazz, classical. Rhythm is God.
How do you stay current with the latest trends and techniques in percussion?
All the young kids are playing very well and it's amazing. My technique is always my daddy, mummy, daddy, mummy. So I mean its, right, left, left, right, right, left, left, left, left, right, right, left, left, right, right. Daddy, mummy, daddy mummy, is a double stroke drumming technique, it’s an exercise for drummers. I learnt this from Noel Grant and Louis Prakasam from Malaysia. So that is the influence I practice and I play.
What has been your goal in life since you started percussion?
I want to be a good human being and share my gift to young kids.
Details:
Event: International Jazz Day – Mumbai
Date; Wednesday 30th Apr 2025
Time: 7 pm
Venue: St Andrews auditorium, Bandra
