rhythmunity - a typical performance has between 3 and 5 musicians.to give you an idea of the backgrounds of the ensemble members,we've included a few of the core members biographies

Rhythmunity

chicago, IL

a typical performance has between 3 and 5 musicians.

to give you an idea of the backgrounds of the ensemble members,

we've included a few of the core members biographies

Rhythmunity is a community of experienced performer/educators well versed in the music of many cultures from around the globe.

Founding member, Doug Brush, brought together Kalyan Pathak, Jean Leroy, Dominique Louis, Samba Ngom, Alejo Poveda, Bob Garrett and Janet Cramer to explore and encourage learning of each other's musical traditions.

Depending on the size of the performance, we can have anywhere from a minimum of three to upwards of and six musicians on stage at one time.

To give an idea of the experience we bring to our work, we've included short biographies of three of the core members of our ensemble.

Kalyan Pathak

Born in Ahmedabad, India, Kalyan Pathak received intense formal training in north Indian classical tabla from age nine to age fifteen with Ustad Kader Khan and Reheman Khan; later a five year long apprenticeship of drumset, jazz and fusion music from India’s prominent drummer Ranjit Barot led to establish then twenty year old Kalyan as a rock and fusion drummer and a versatile musician working on a national scene from Mumbai, India. Moving to the U.S. in the nineties, studying Orchestral Percussion from Ed Poremba, and Jazz Drumset from Phil Gratteau, Kalyan received a B. Mus. degree in Jazz studies with honors from Chicago Musical College, Roosevelt University.

Today, Kalyan is one of the busiest tabla virtuoso/multi-ethnic percussionists in the U.S. He performs in a variety of musical circuits and settings including jazz, classical, rock and world music. Regularly touring and recording with renowned master guitarist, Fareed Haque, Kalyan has also performed with such music giants as Yo Yo Ma and Chicago Symphony, Aretha Franklin, Regis Philbin, Alberto Mizrahi, Howard Levy, Paul Wertico and Chicago Percussion All Stars, Pacifica String Quartet, San Francisco Ballet and Elgin Symphony.
Please visit www.kalyanpathak.com to learn more about Kalyan and his musical journey.

Jean-Christophe Leroy

Jean-Christophe is an experienced and versatile percussionist/drummer who specializes in Cuban, West African, Brazilian and other afro-Caribbean styles of music. He also enjoys adapting these styles to compliment western musical settings as well as adapting the rhythms to the drumset.

Jean has studied at the University of Calgary, Drummers Collective (NYC), Banff School of the Arts, Jacksonville State University along with private instruction from such masters as Enrique Pla, Miguel ‘Anga” Diaz, Madou Kante, Julio "guille" Lopez, Changuito, Bobby Sanbria, John Amira; N’Goma N’Dao, Dr. Glenn Price, Clint Gillespie, and Los Monuquitos de Matanzas

He has been a freelance performer and educator since 1992 and has worked in various parts of Canada, the U.S. and Ecuador. Jean-Christophe has been based in Chicago since 2004 and well recognized as one of the mid-west's top performers and educators within his discipline.

Janet Cramer

Janet is a drummer, percussionist, and teacher versed in many musical genres. In addition to preforming with many of Chicago’s Blues artists in the City’s famous Blues venues, Ms. Cramer has also been a lifetime student of Afro-Cuban drumming and music, with focus on the Bata drum and its rhythms.

Janet received her Masters in Music from Wichita State University in 2000. While at Wichita State, she studied orchestral percussion with Dr. J.C. Combs. Studies outside of the university setting include private instruction with Cuban masters, Jesus Alphonso, Enrique Meta, from Matanzas, and Regino Jimenez from Havana. She is also a student of Bay area percussionist, Michael Spiro; Louis Bauza of Boys Harbor in NYC; and has studied and performed with Alex Acuna, as well as Ignacio Berroa.

While performing throughout the mid-west with latin jazz ensembles, pop and blues groups as well as folkloric ensembles, Ms. Cramer is the percussion instructor at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL and also teaches students of all levels on a private basis.

rhythmunity@rhythmunity.com

chicago, IL