Avi Shah

Avi Shah (Advait Shah) is an American tabla player raised in the US who has been playing tabla since the age of eight. Largely self-taught through listening to recordings and attending concerts, he received foundational training at the Faculty of Performing Arts of Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India, in 1986. He later studied under Ustad Tari Khan in Chicago, Illinois, and has attended workshops taught by Ustad Zakir Hussain. As an accompanist, he has shared the stage with Nisar Bazmi, Ustad Nafiz Ali Khan, and Pandit Subroto Roy Choudury. He joined the New York-based fusion band Karavika as the original percussionist and also performs with the group Banyan Trees. He is a co-founder and curator of District of Raga, a DC-area organization that presents South Asian classical and contemporary music performances at venues including the Kennedy Center.