We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shyam Thandullu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shyam below.

Alright, Shyam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

As a jazz combo comprised of high schoolers, it was definitely a risk to perform in public with my group. After all, we were all teenagers, and jazz isn’t exactly the most popular genre of music.

But we had a passion for jazz, and we wanted to share that with others. We spent countless hours honing our skills, perfecting our repertoire, and building a tight-knit bond that only comes from creating music together.

Finally, the time came for us to take our music to the public. We booked a gig at a local coffee shop and nervously waited for the day to arrive. As the night approached, we could feel the butterflies in our stomachs growing stronger and stronger.

But as soon as we hit that first note, all of our fears melted away. The music flowed out of us like water from a tap, and we were all completely in sync with each other. It was like we had been playing together for years.

The audience was small, but they were enthusiastic, and they clapped and cheered after every tune. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of our lives.

Since that first gig, we’ve played at several other venues around town, each time gaining more confidence and refining our sound. We’ve even started getting paid gigs, which is a pretty big deal for a group of high schoolers.

Looking back on it, we’re so glad we took that risk and put ourselves out there. We could have easily let our fear hold us back, but we didn’t, and it’s led to some of the most rewarding experiences of our lives.

Shyam, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

It’s hard to find people that share the same dedication and passion, but when you do amazing things happen. We are so fortunate to have been able to have such a deep commitment to this music while simultaneously managing seven busy schedules. We are particularly proud of having had the opportunity to perform at some of the premier venues in the DFW area, and are grateful to have been able to share our music with the community.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

We have been heavily influenced from the jazz musicians that came before us such as Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, and Roy Hargrove. We are also very appreciative of some of the local musicians including Colman Burks, Ahmed, McLemore, Stockton Helbing, and Preston Pierce. All these people have helped to inspire, motivate, and educate us, and everything that we do would not be possible without them.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

All of us were used to practicing on our own, so rehearsing with each other was a challenge at first. We had to discipline ourselves to work with others and adjust to each of our playing styles. Even though it was extremely difficult at first, we all committed to a disciplined regiment of collaboration in order to uplift each others voices.    

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