Australian Tour With Jeff Martin . September 2006.

Ian de Souza
(Guest of TTE)

Born in Kampala, Uganda Ian has recorded and performed live in almost every musical idiom. His understanding of his instrument informed by the music of Africa with an equal dose of New York City, and over 20 years of experience, makes Ian one of the most sought after bassists in Canada. Besides his 15-year association with Kevin Breit, Ian has worked with Jesse Cook, Melanie Doane, The Toronto Tabla Ensemble, African singers Jean-Christophe Matata and Ali Birra, Jamaican Jazz mainstays, steel-pan player Robbie Greenwich and Guitarist Maurice Gordon.   Most recently he has added his compositional and production skills to LAL, in urban electronic music and jazz sprawl singer, Rita di Ghent

Ritesh Das

Ritesh Das, composer and musician, has studied tabla with gurus Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Ustad Zakir Hussain and most extensively with Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. He has toured throughout the US, Canada and India, and performed with many of India's great music and dance innovators. Since moving to Canada, he has established himself as an extraordinary teacher of tabla and founded the Toronto Tabla Ensemble in 1991.

Joanna De Souza

Joanna de Souza is perhaps the only Canadian born artist to achieve a Master's Degree in kathak dance through Prayag Sangit Samiti, Allahabad, India. Her study of kathak, which began in 1978, continues under Pandit Chitresh Das. Since her return to Toronto, she has gained reputation as an excellent kathak dancer, teacher and choreogrpher. Joanna has been a member of the TTE since 1993 and has toured natioally and internationally with them. In 2003, she had the honour of dancing in the DuMaurier national symphony tour with Jeff and the Tea Party. She is Artistic Director of M-DO.

Anita Katakkar

Anita Katakkar has been a member of the Toronto Tabla Ensemble since 2000, and has studied tabla with Ritesh Das for the past 11 years.  She has recorded, performed and toured with the Ensemble, including the national symphony tour with Jeff and the Tea Party in 2003.  Anita regularly plays tabla within the Toronto community and is well known for accompanying Kathak dance classes lead by the renowned Joanna de Souza.

Heather Thorkelson

A long-term passion for the tabla, brought Heather to the TTE studio for classes, upon her return from living abroad. She studies with Ritesh and participates in workshops with Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri.  Heather has been on the TTE Board of Directors for the past year and plays a vital production and promotional role in all concerts, fund-raising events, and Ritesh's work with Jeff.

back to top