SolarGuitars News and Trends
Delmar Brown - Solarguitars pays tribute to this super musician and friend!
By Super User February 01, 2022
After studying at Berklee College of Music, the training ground of some of the finest jazzmusicians today, Delmar went on to play and compose for some of the most influentialmusicians in the global industry
Pianist/Composer, Tom Alexander was born into a musical family. His mother, Mary, sang on the radio with her sisters during the big band era in the Washington DC area, and his father, Peter, was a devotee of classical music. His father’s younger brother, Taki, a fine jazz pianist and drummer, showed Tom how to navigate around the keyboard early on. Having grown up in his family’s movie theatre business, Tom was exposed to film and music from a very early age, and the soundtracks to movies were an early influence. Backstage, behind the theatre screen, was a piano his uncle played frequently. This piqued Tom’s interest in the instrument, and the piano soon wound up in the basement of his home. He began formal lessons at age 9, but soon grew tired of conventional music study, relying more in his ear.
B. Shree Sundarkumar is one of the leading Kanjira artists in the world of Rhythm music. Having entered the musical world at the young age of three, he has been mesmerizing audience with his intricate rhythm beats and innate creativity, that he inherited from his musical family. After the initial tutelage under his father, a renowned Mridangam player, Dr. K. B. S Mani, he underwent rigorous training under legendary Guru Karaikudi Sri R. Mani. It was under his guidance that Sundarkumar perfected the art of playing Mridangam, and then took to playing his most favorite percussion instrument, the Kanjira. His mastery and understanding of the subtle nuances of playing this instrument is unparalleled.