V Selvaganesh

V. Selvaganesh is the son of T H "Vikku" Vinayakram, who was one of the original members of of Shakti.

Selvaganesh received musical instruction at his grandfather's institution, the Sri Jaya Ganesh Thala Vadya Vidyala (run by his father and guru). He gave his first performance at the age of ten.

Selvaganesh has gained high reputation among leading musicians of the Carnatic tradition. Since 1986, he has been performing and accompanying greats such as Smt. M.S. Subbalakshmi, Smt. M. Vasanthakumari, Smt Gayathri, Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman, Mandolin U. Srinivas (fellow Shakti band member), Sri Ganesh and Sri Kumeresh, Sri D K Jayaraman, Sri T N Seshagopalan, Kadri Sri Gopalnath (fellow jazz lovers must check him out, he uses the saxophone in the carnatic realm) and Trichur Sri Ramachandran.

SelvaGanesh has not only proved to be a competent musician in the field of Carnatic tradition, but also in the world of jazz where he has played in the group conducted by Sri Ganesh and Sri Kumeresh, Sri Maha Periyava Groups "Swara Laya Mela" as well as Rikhy Ray´s "Mangalam". He has also collaborated with Canadian guitarist, Nadaka, who lives at the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India.

The real international recognition for 'Selva' came when he became a part of Remember Shakti in 1999. He has continued to be a member of the group since that time. Right around this period of 1999, SelvaGanesh also collaborated with bass guitar player extraordinaire, Jonas Hellborg. Billed as Hellborg/Lane and Selva Ganesh, the trio has toured extensively and gained immense popularity.

Now in his twenties, he has already gained renown among leading musicians of the Carnatic tradition. Among those he has accompanied are late Smt M S Subbalakshmi, Smt M Vasanthakumari, Smt Gayathri, Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman, Mandolin Sri Srinivas, Sri Ganesh and Sri Kumeresh, Sri D K Jayaraman, Sri T N Seshagopalan, Kadri Sri Gopalnath and Trichur Sri Ramachandran. He has performed in major concerts since 1986 accompanying singers and musicians from Delhi and Madras and even as diverse as the Andaman and Nicobar islands. In 1993, he traveled across Europe together with tabla maestro's Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Alla Rakha and Sri T H Vinayakram.

His spirit of adventure has also led to forays into the world of jazz where he has played in the jazz group conducted by Sri Ganesh and Sri Kumeresh as well as Sri Maha Perijava Groups "Swara Laya Mela". He has gained most recognition in the west for his work with guitar maestro John McLaughlin in the group Shakti.