Pandit Sankha Kumar Chatterjee (1934 – 11 October 2024) was an Indian tabla player. He studied under three traditional Tabla Gharana in strict Parampara tradition.
Born into a musical family in Calcutta, India. His father was a doctor and musical enthusiast, exposing him to formal tuition early in life under Ustad Maseet Khan of the Farukhabad Gharana of Tabla. He Studied under Ustad Maseet Khan, Sankha subsequently learnt from his son Ustad Keramatulla Khan and later from late tabla maestro Ustad Alla Rakha Khan of the Punjab Gharana.
Sankha Chatterjee's style is a blend of three leading Gharanas (schools), the Farukkabad, Punjab and Delhi Gharanas. He still performs and teaches. He divides his time teaching in Berlin and India as his bases and holds workshops across Europe and the United States. In 1984 he taught and performed at the Istituto Interculturale di Studi Musicali Comparati in Venice alongside sitar player Budhaditya Mukherjee.
His leading students are amongst some of the leading virtuosos of the younger generation of tabla players such as Gouri Shankar Karmakar, Subhojyoti Guha, Amit Chatterjee, Mihir Kundu, Hindole Majumdar, Friedemann Zintel and Federico Sanesi.
His elder daughter Vidushi Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay GIMA nominated, is a leading classical vocalist of the Lucknow, Patiala and Indore Gharana of Indian classical sangeet.
Sankha Chatterjee died after a long illness in Kolkata, on 11 October 2024, at the age of 89.
Links to Peel[]
Pt. Sankha Chatterjee Tabla 1-2
Sankha collaborated with Vilayat Khan for Peel's session in 1968, but never released any solo records under his own name.
Ken Garner's book, The Peel Sessions, states that the Vilayat Khan session featured one other musician, which he thought maybe was his brother, Imrat Khan, but it turned out to be Sankha Kumar Chatterjee.
Peel never played any further material from Sankha, according to available tracklistings on this site.
Sessions[]
Recorded with Vilayat Khan: 1968-08-02. Broadcast: 01 September 1968, repeated 06 October 1968. No known commercial release.
- Shankara / Snudh Malu (the track didn't seem to get played on 06 October 1968)
Other Shows Played[]
- None