Ravi Naimpally

Ravi studied the art of tabla playing in India. Having com- pleted extensive training with his uncle Nikhil Ghosh and also Anindo Chatterjee, Ravi has been an active member of the To ronto world music scene for nearly 20 years. As a vital part of Toronto’s large South Asian community, Ravi continues to perform traditional music from India. In 2011 Ravi’s conti- butions to South Asian culture in Canada were acknowl- edged as he was given the Grant’s Desi Achievers Award. Ravi has had several Juno nominations and is featured on Kiran Alhuwalia’s Juno winning CD Beyond Boundaries. For the last 11 years Ravi has led his own Indo-jazz ensemble Tasa. This group has toured extensively and recorded 4 CD’s of Ravi’s original music. Tasa was awarded an Urban Music Award for Best World Music album. As an educator Ravi brings his expertise in North Indian drumming to children in the Peel district school board through the meet-a-musician program. He also teaches private lessons in tabla at York University and runs an Indo-jazz ensemble at Humber College.

Ernie Tollar

Ernie did his first professional gigs in 1980, and has since performed in Europe, India, Egypt, U.S.A., Mexico, and across Canada. (at the major jazz and folk festivals)While in high school Ernie was a featured performer on CBC's TV show "Going Great" an after school - documentary.hosted by Chris Makepeace.Ernie has been praised extensively by jazz writer Mark Miller (Globe and Recent World Music performances include the Near East Trio w. Ravi Naimpally, Demetri Petsalakis, and Gary Diggins. Other World music with Trichy Sankaran, John Wyre and Bob Becker of Nexus, Greek/Arabic ensembles Maza Mezé and Doula, Tasa, Brenna, MacCrimmon, Mel Mrabet, Aaron Ben Sousan, Rick Shadrach Lazar, and Spare Parts.His various teachers have included:South Asian: Trichy Sankaran, N. Ramani, Arabic (maqam) Alfred Gamil, Ibrahim Kawala, Jazz: Ron Allen, Ted Moses, Pat LaBarbera.