Kalani Das, also known simply as Kalani (birth name Michael Bruno), is an American classically trained

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, author, and educator. He has recorded percussion with numerous artists including

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthan ...

and

Suzanne Ciani Suzanne Ciani (; born June 4, 1946) is an American musician, sound designer, composer, and record label executive who found early success in the 1970s with her electronic music and sound effects for films and television commercials. Her career ha ...

, and has won several awards, including #1 Rock/Pop Percussionist through ''DRUM! Magazine''.Black, Dave. 1993
Michael "Kalani" Bruno: on the Road with Yanni
Modern Drummer. December 1993, pp 96-97. He has published several instructional books and DVDs, teaching a variety of percussion instruments, including hand drums and small percussion.

History

Kalani Das received two

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

degrees from California State University Northridge, one in percussion performance (1986) and another in Music Therapy (2010). He has received seven awards from ''DRUM! Magazine'' for his work as a performing artist, author, percussion clinician, and group drumming leader. He has toured and/or recorded with such artists as

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He work ...

, Barry Manilow,

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My Heart", and ...

, John Mayall, Chante Moore,

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born ...

, and

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

, and

Benise Roni Benisek, best known as Benise, is an American guitarist who describes his style as "Spanish guitar" or "nouveau flamenco." After growing up in Ravenna, Nebraska, Benise moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue rock stardom. After hear ...

. Kalani has completed five major concert tours with

including the "

Reflections of Passion ''Reflections of Passion'' is the first compilation album and sixth album overall by Greek keyboardist and composer Yanni, released on May 15, 1990 by Private Music. It is a selection of tracks from his five previous studio albums, released betwe ...

", " Revolution in Sound", " Dare to Dream", " Yanni Live, The Symphony Concerts 1993 and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

" concert tours and is the featured percussionist on the multi-platinum concert film ''

Live at the Acropolis ''Live at the Acropolis'' is the first live album and concert film by the Greek keyboardist, composer, and producer Yanni, released on March 1, 1994, on Private Music. It was recorded at the Herodes Atticus Theatre in Athens, Greece during his 1 ...

''. He has performed on numerous other live recordings including ''Suzanne Ciani and The Wave'', and Benise's ''Nights of Fire''. Kalani is also featured on recordings for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

Tri-Star Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...

Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...

The Nature Company The Nature Company was a Berkeley, California-based chain of retail stores that sold scientific toys, telescopes, artwork, fossils, minerals and gems, books, clothing, and music CDs. The Nature Company was founded in 1972 by Priscilla and Tom Wrube ...

, and

Jim Henson Records ''Jim Henson Records'' is an American record company established in 1992 by The Jim Henson Company in an agreement with Bertelsmann Music Group. Robert Kraft was selected to run the label. The first album released by Jim Henson Records was the sou ...

. Kalani has authored several books for

Alfred Publishing Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

, two of which, ''Together in Rhythm'' and ''The Amazing Jamnasium'', have been honored with peer-reviewed iParenting Awards. He has also released instructional DVDs to include methods for congas,

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

, and djembe.

Discography

*''Pangea'' *''Insights'' *''Murumba'' *"Rhythm Spirit"

Videography

*''Kalani's Ultimate Djembe Jam'' *''Kalani's Ultimate Conga Jam'' *''Kalani's Ultimate Bongo Jam''

Bibliography

*Das, K. 2011. The Way of Music: Creating Sounds Connections in Music Therapy. Sarsen Publishing. . *Kalani. 2002. All About Jembe. Alfred Music. . *Kalani. 2003. All About Bongos. Alfred Music. . *Kalani. 2003. All About Congas. Alfred Music. . *Kalani. 2004. Together in Rhythm: A Facilitator's Guide to Drum Circle Music. Alfred Music. . *Kalani. 2004. The Amazing Jamnasium. Alfred Music. . *Kalani and Camera R. 2007. West African Drum & Dance: A Yankadi-Macrou Celebration- Teacher's Guide. Alfred Music. . *Kalani. 2008. All About Hand Percussion. Alfred Music. . *Kalani. 2009. Recorders in Rhythm ~ Caribbean!: A Spicy Blend for the Latin Percussion Ensemble. Alfred Music. .

References

* * * *

External links

Kalani Das Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalani American drummers American percussionists California State University, Northridge alumni Music therapists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American music educators