Samir Chatterjee is one of India's leading tabla players.  Born into a musical family in Calcutta, he began his studies early with Pandit Bankim Ghosh, Pandit Balaram Mukherjee, Pandit Rathin Djar, and Mohammad Salim.  His later formation as a musician occurred under the guidance of Pandit Amalesh Chatterjee and Pandit Shyamal Bose.  All of Samir's teachers have been from the Farrukhabad Gharana school of tabla which he now represents. Samir appears frequently as a soloist and accompanist throughout India.  Since 1982, he has toured extensively in the United States and Canada, in Western and Eastern Europe, North Africa and Asia. All India Radio maintains Samir as an A-rated artist.  He can be heard on numerous recordings both as soloist and accompanying many of India's greatest musicians.  Samir has worked with Pt. Ravi Shankar, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, Pt. V.G. Jog, Pt. Dr. L Subrhamaniam , Ud. Salamat Ali Khan, Smt. Lakshmi Shankar, Smt. Girija Devi and many others.

Samir presently lives in New York where he has become a catalyst in the fusion of Indian and Western music, performing with Pauline Oliveros, Ravi Coltrane, Steve Gorn, Glen Velez, Bobby Sanabria, Ben Verdery, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Ethos Percussion Group and other jazz and avante garde musicians.  He is a member of the jazz trios, SYNC, with Ned Rothenberg and Jerome Harris, and SATYA, with Dave Douglas and Myra Melford.  He is the composer and director of Nacho Nacho - Gypsy Storytelling.  He performs with Sanjay Mishra on his CD, Blue Incantation, and performs with and advises the Battery Dance Company and the Kathak Ensemble.

Samir has been teaching for 24 years, and many of his students are now established performers.  He is the founder/director of CHHANDAYAN, an organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Indian music and culture by conducting classes and workshops, organizing concerts, and maintaining a library.  Samir makes regular contributions as a journalist and musicologist.