Mattannur Sankarankutty, the master percussionist is the doyen in the clan of ‘Chenda’ players and is an authority on the intricacies of Thayambaka playing and the etiquettes of Melam. The deft fingers of the virtuoso on the Chenda has enthralled many a thhayambaka, to the delight of the audience.

Kerala has rich tradition of diverse percussion instruments and great percussionists. Of them, Thayambaka, a solo-recital on the chenda, is the pinnacle of individual artistry.

His astoundingly powerful left-hand strokes and the inimitably vibrant `urulukai’ proclaim an exceptional harmony of nature and nurture. Sankarankutty has impressed the orthodox audiences with his skill over `Adanathakooru’ in the slowest tempo. His Thayambaka recitals invariably shake the paradigm and syntax of the traditional performance format.

Formal School education along with artistic training at the Sadanam (where he learned his art) made Sankarankutty sensitive to modern sensibilities in percussion music. His extensive travels in India and outside for presenting Thayambaka gave him opportunities to be conversant with the percussion music of the East and the West. Sankarankutty found his alter ego in the mridangam wizard Umayalpuram Sivaraman. Both are extremely fond of fusion music. Umayalpuram, who had had resourceful interactions earlier with the versatile genius Pallavoor Appu Marar and his brother Maniyan Marar, could easily recognise the inquisitiveness and creative energy of Sankarankutty. Their jugalbandis were instant attractions wherever it was staged.

Being the pramani of the Thiruvambadi Melam in the Thrissur Pooram, Sankarankutty has proved his leadership qualities in collective ensembles too.

Mattannur’s fusion experiments with the strict idiom of Thayambaka and Melam are apparent when he recomposed a segment of the Panchavadyam in Panchari talam instead of the traditional Thriputa. His experimental recitals are often replete with the chollus of the mridangam, thavil and even tabla. He reconditions the listeners’ text in his favour.

Mattannur is the recipient of innumerable prestigious awards for outstanding contributions to traditional art forms of Kerala for over four decades, including the annual Sree Guruvayurappan Kshetrakala Puraskaram for the year 2007, Kerala Kalamandalam award for 2005, Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademy etc.

The other performers are MS Lavanya (one of the famed Saxophone sisters - Lavanya & Subbulakshmi, disciple of Padmashri Kadri Gopalnath), Attukal Balasubramaniam on Violin, Jijith on Keyboard, Sasi on Western Drums, Mahesh on Mridangam and Karunamoorthy on Tavil.