Biography

Vijay Ghate, based out of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, is a well-known tabla player who started learning the instrument at the age of three. He acquired a degree of Visharad in tabla at the age of 12. At the age of 16, he moved to Mumbai and, for over 12 years, he remained in the Gurukul pattern with Taalyogi Pt Suresh Talwalkar. At a very early age, he became famous for his mesmerizing solo performances. He is proficient in playing in all the three streams of music: Vocal, instrumental and dance. Vijay Ghate has a very creative mind and imagination; clarity in playing, accuracy, and dexterity are his forte. He has been accompanying many artists such as Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Shahid Parvez, and many others. He has performed with some of the top international artists. He is very well acknowledged for his forays into fusion in the world of music with well-known artists like the famous group, Jethrotul, and maestros in easy jazz like Aljereu, George Dukes, Ravi Coltarin, and also has worked with Larry Coryell, Egberto Gismonti, George Brooks, etc. He has created a collaboration with renowned Indian musicians like Shankar Mahadevan, Louis Banks, Hariharan, Shivamani, etc., and has been a part of Carnatic fusion music group with Vidhwan Vikku Vinayakram, Dr L Subramanium, and MS Gopalakrishnan. He is one of the visiting faculties at Codarts University of Arts in Rotterdam. He has built a trust called Taalchakra which gives a platform to upcoming artists and promotes classical music and dance. This trust aims to conduct music workshops by veteran musicians and to start a pension scheme for musicians who are weak financially. Taalchakra has successfully staged various events in all over India. Performances: India-France Festival in Paris (1984) Indian Festival in Russia (1985) Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal Harvallabh Sangeet Mahotsava, Jalandhar Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsava, Pune Gunidas Sammelan, Mumbai Tansen Samaroh, Gwalior Kalidas Festival, Nagpur Khajuraho Festival Ustad Alladiya Khan Sangeet Samaroh, Mumbai Vishnu Digambar Sangeet Utsav, New Delhi He has launched an album called ‘Vijay’ by Sense World Music. Vijay Ghate was honored with the Padma Shri in 2014. He has also received Saraswati Bai Rane Puraskar, Pt Jasraj Puraskar, and Dr Vasantrao Deshpande Puraskar.