Seated behind his drums performing for a massive audience at the Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas, Mann Bipin has come further than anyone in attendance, literally and figuratively. Dallas Texas is a long way from Mumbai India where Mann grew up but music has been able to transport this phenomenal young drummer around the world and has placed him in the enviable position of collaborating with some of the most respected names in music.
Whether on stage with Arthur Menzes (recipient of the Gibson Award/Albert King Award for Best Guitarist by the Blues Foundation) at the Crossroads Festival, in LA with iconic bassist Marcus Miller, or in a recording studio with legendary Sitar player Bhagirath Bhatt in India, Bipin is living out a career that would make most musicians swoon. This is likely because he takes the perspective that being a musician over one’s immense proficiency on an instrument is what serves yourself and the music best.
Composer, musician, drummer, all of these titles are intertwined for Mann who professes, “Being a producer helps me become a better drummer and being a better drummer helps me become a better producer. Being able to drum and think about arranging and producing makes me understand how to feel music and somehow inspires me to compose music. it’s just a part of being a musician and knowing your craft, it doesn’t matter if people see me as a drummer, a producer, or a composer; I see myself as a musician first, putting in the effort, working hard, and with honest intentions to become an even better musician.”
The cultivation of Mann’s musical philosophy can be traced back to his boyhood days watching his father (also a notable drummer in Mumbai) perform. While no direct instruction was implemented, Mann notes that the fact that his father is a lyricist and composer who instilled the idea that understanding the intention of the words in a song directly contributes to the proper feel needed from the musicians performing it.Tagging along to his father’s gigs as well as attending other performances together created a shared connection that impacts both to this day.
Mann imparts, “My father and I would discuss what was happening in the musical conversations that were happening at these performances. Those conversations and those shared thoughts were larger than life, precious is the word! He wanted me to learn music, more than me it was his vision for me to come to USA to study and to do my music here. So all this experiences shaped and made me the musician and a person I am!” Of course, Bipin is modest when he states that music has taken him to America.
He has performed in the States with some of the most highly recognized and respected musicians, those like Grammy Award Winner Marcus Miller. Mann describes performing with this legendary bassist as, “Very intense but very beautiful. It was memorable to me and will always be close to my heart.”
The drummer’s diversity is illustrated with such gigs as at Andraé Crouch’s (7 time Grammy Winner) New Christ Memorial Church under the direction of Pattie Howard (known for her work with artists such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, and many more) and behind the kit with pop artist Paloma Rush alongside guitarist/producer/arranger and two-time Emmy Award Winning Composer Lars Deutsch. His ability to handle such eclectic setting is something Bipin attributes back to his early teacher Mr Pankaj Sharma in India who taught him that having your own sound and ideas is what is most important as a musician.
Mann has taken up the mantle of passing along musical information through his performances at drum clinics such as the one held at the Chandrakasem Rajabhat University of Music in Thailand where he played to his own original compositions like “Indian Myth.” He notes, “I basically discussed Indian classical and Carnatic classical principles and concepts of applying different rhythms on drums. It was really interesting to share the experiences I had learning the music and the questions that the students in that university from Thailand had to ask. The part that really excited me was that most of the audience had a lot of questions and interest in Indian rhythms.”
The excitement that Mann Bipin brings to the music is undeniable, it’s something which he shares with his fellow musicians and the audience. His demeanor is calm but possesses an infectious positivity. Even under the oppressive heat in Dallas, Mann takes a moment to look around and notice that besides the audience, legendary Texas guitarist Eric Johnson is watching from the side of the stage and grooving along to the band.
The Crossroads Festival boasted some of the biggest names in music this year including Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, and Vince Gill but Bipin doesn’t find this intimidating. He chooses to instead bask in the shared love of music that he, the audience, and all of the performers hold dear.
Writer: Coleman Haan
Krishan Jangir