Artistic director of the Malick Tassa Drummers Krishna Soogrim-Ram has died after a short illness. Soogrim-Ram took up the leadership role in 1982 after the death of his father Soogrim Ramkissoon, the former director. The Malick Tassa Drummers said in a press release that it was Soogrim-Ram who invented the plastic skin tassa drum, which makes the drum more portable while increasing its volume and boosting the tonal quality.
Since its inception in 1956, the Malick group has also provided musical accompaniment for dance performances by the Noble Douglas Dance Company and the Shiv Shakti Dance Company. The group has also performed with choirs such as the Lydian Singers, the Marionettes Chorale and Signal Hill Alumni Choir.
The Malick Tassa Drummers have joined the rhythm sections of several steelbands for the Panorama competition, most notably the Catelli Trinidad All Stars, with Curry Tabanca in 1987. Last year, Soogrim-Ram was delighted to learn that the Malick Tassa Drummers had created history by becoming the first tassa group to receive a national award-the Humming Bird Medal (Silver).
At the 2011 Independence Day award ceremony, he was quoted as saying, "We are the first tassa group to achieve this feat. The boys are honoured and proud." Since his death on September 7, his sons Ranjeet and Sanjeet Soogrim-Ram have inherited the responsibility of leading the group.
