Niladri Kumaar (Sitar & Zitar) – The Space Between The Notes

Niladri Kumaar – The Space Between The Notes

Honoring Ustad Zakir Hussain

Sitarist Niladri Kumaar has been described as a maverick musician and composer, a game changer, and a powerful exponent of Indian Classical Music. Niladri was a frequent collaborator with the late Ustad Zakir Hussain. Their sitar-tabla duo was one of the most popular and prominent collaborations. Space Between the Notes is an extraordinary recording of a live concert of these two maestros in Mumbai, India —releasing later this year — as their only recorded performance together. Honoring the musical tradition they come from and that brought them together, Niladri Kumaar continues to expand the reach of Indian Music and brings a specially curated 2026–2027 tour, with his Sitar, Zitar, and an ensemble of Indian and American musicians.

Niladri Kumaar weaves together his magical melodies in his much loved unique style with centuries-old tradition and creative innovation. The tour also honors the special musical bond between the two masters through portions of their album recording presented in the tour. Niladri Kumaar’s Space Between the Notes tour is a musical journey — rooted in tradition, and sure to deeply resonate with the hearts of the listeners.

Joining Niladri Kumaar on stage for this evocative journey are Satyajit Talwalkar (tabla), Agnelo Fernandes (keys), and Sambit Chatterjee (drums).

Satyajit Talwalkar:
Satyajit Talwalkar is a young, talented, and promising tabla player of the present generation. He belongs to a rich heritage of music as he is the son and disciple of Great Guru Padmashree Taalyogi Pt. Suresh Talwalkar and renowned Indian classical vocalist Smt. Padma Talwalkar. He started learning at the age of four and gave his first public performance when he was nine.
He has accompanied the great musicians of India including Ust. Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, and Pt. Jasraj, and regularly performs with Niladri Kumaar, Rakesh Chaurasia, Amaan Ali Khan, Ayaan Ali Khan, Purbayan Chatterjee, and Rahul Sharma. Satyajit is also very interested in fusion and world music and has performed with renowned percussionists Trilok Gurtu and Shiva Mani.
He has been awarded with the prestigious Bharatratna Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Puraskar.

Agnelo Fernandes:
Agnelo Fernandes at an early age started learning the violin under his dad Balthazar Fernandes, an arranger and orchestrator for the famous musical duo of yesteryear’s Kalyandji-Anandji. He started learning the trumpet under Chiyokozu Ohtsuka & played trumpet with the Bombay Chamber Orchestra (BCO), the French horn under the tutelage of Alan Jones & Elizabeth Randall, and eventually got inspired to play the piano by his brother-in-law Ben Fernandez, a jazz pianist. He started playing keyboards with various pop acts in Mumbai and got attracted towards the electronics of music (programming/synthesis). Agnelo has collaborated with Raju Singh, Mehnaz, Shiamak Davar, Aadesh Srivastav, Terence Lewis, Leslie Lewis, Pritam ,Salim-Suleiman, Rabbi Shergill, Shibani Kashyap, Niladri Kumar, Bombay Vikings (Neeraj Sridhar), and Salim-Suleiman.

Sambit Chatterjee:
Sambit Chatterjee has been playing drums for the past 15 years, having taken tabla classes from his father and GRAMMY nominated tabla maestro, Pandit Subhen Chatterjee. Sambit has now branched out trying to find his own sound. He has been endorsed by some of the leading music brands of the world now like Zildjian Cymbals, EVANSDrum Heads, Vicfirth drumsticks, Sennheiser IEMS, Neumann Microphones, CRS Cymbal Resonant System. He has played with some of the leading bands in the circuit like What Escapes Me, aswekeepsearching, Karma – BandishFusion, Amyt Datta and with some virtuosos like DIVINE, Mohini Dey, Niladri Kumaar, Rhythm Shaw & Tajdar Junaid. He also is the touring drummer of BOLLYWOOD sensation playback singer Nikhita Gandhi. Sambit’s band has toured with artists like Parkway Drive, PLINI, Polyphia and his bands have played with Deep Purple, Steve Vai, Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, PostMalone, GooGoo Dolls, War on Drugs, Kings of Leon and many more. He has also played with eminent senior classical musicians including GRAMMY winning Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Ustaad Taufiq Qureshi. He has been invited by the genius Ustad Zakir Hussain to play solo and Indian compositions at his father, Ustad.Allah Rakhha Khan’s 100th year birthday celebration concert. The very next day he performed with highly acclaimed vocalist Isheeta Chakraborty at the Mumbai International Jazz Day under Herbie Hancock curated by the Indian Jazz Legend Loiuz Banks held at National Centre for the Performing Arts. Sambit is also a regular at all the biggest festivals in India, a prominent name in the Indian music circuit. At the NH7 Weekender Festival Sambit was invited by SWITCHFOOT the AmericanAlternative band to share stage and play a song with them and he was the only drummer to represent India at the Commonwealth Games Gold Coast 2018. Sambit is also the festival director and curator of KOLKATA INTERNATIONAL DRUM FESTIVAL which he co curated with his father and was a huge success and saw some of the biggest names in drumming in India.