Shanti is a versatile multi-instrumentalist and composer who plays all sort of music – Jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and other world music from Eastern Europe, Africa, India and China. His main instruments are trumpet and ‘cello.

His career started in London playing jazz with the likes of Jason Rebello, Tim Garland and Courtney Pine, African music with Congolese band Somo Somo, as well as in Reggae and Calypso bands. He played Salsa with Roberto Pla and Brazilian music with Mônica Vasconcelos.

He met Alex Wilson in the Roberto Pla band and joined his new project in 1998, recording on his first 5 CDs and touring with him, even supporting the Afro-Cuban Allstars on tour in Europe.

Shanti met folk accordion player Karen Tweed in the late ’90s and recorded on her album ‘May Monday’, also getting to know folk musicians from Finland, Sweden as well as Ireland and Scotland. He was invited to join Salsa Celtica in 2009 and has been with them ever since, recording on several albums and appearing all over the world.

More recently he has been playing both cello and trumpet with Mulatu Astatke, inventor of Ethiojazz, touring Europe, UK and appearing at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, and with Carnatic Violinist Jyotsna Srikanth, both in the UK and in India.

Teaching brings Shanti great joy and he is on the staff at CYM in London, has composed for the ABRSM jazz grades, and runs workshops and projects for the Grand Union Orchestra.