Whether she’s performing within the Indian classical music tradition or with the latest electronics, Suphala—tabla player, percussionist, composer, and producer—breaks new ground. Her deep knowledge of a wide spectrum of music, her mentoring by maestros Ustad Allarakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain, and the classical piano studies she began at age four all inform her unique compositions, highly improvisational performances, and contemporary approach—a dazzling combination that has led to her being celebrated by the New York Times, Vogue, Rolling Stone, CNN, and NPR, and making history as the first musician to play in public in Kabul, Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.

In addition to showcasing her composition, production, and engineering skills, Suphala’s four albums reveal the breadth and depth of her influences, as well as her world-class artistic alliances: Instru Mental [Suphala Productions] features Vernon Reid and Fafu; Norah Jones and Vikter Duplaix bring their talents to The Now [Rasa/Tommy Boy]; King Britt, Harper Simon, and Rakesh Chaurasia appear on Blueprint [Suphala Productions]; and Alien Ancestry [Tzadik] features José James, Vijay Iyer, and Bill Laswell.

An intuitive performer uninhibited by genre, New York-based Suphala leads her own bands and regularly collaborates onstage and in the studio with artists such as Timbaland, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Perry Ferrell. One of the most sought-after and versatile artists today, Suphala continues to unleash a wave of new music. 

Tabla LESSONS

Suphala is one of the few tabla artists in the world to have studied directly under Ustad Allarakha Qureshi in the guru-shishya tradition of Indian classical music. Fondly referred to as Abbaji by those who knew him, he is considered to be one of the greatest percussionists of all time. Suphala simultaneously received guidance from his son, the internationally renowned Ustad Zakir Hussain, with whom she continues to maintain a close mentor-apprentice relationship.

Suphala teaches with great reverence and dedication to Abbaji, alongside blessings and inspiration from Zakirji. She draws upon the style in which she learned in order to share and pass on the knowledge of the ever evolving tradition of tabla.