Dhiren Panikker is a Los Angeles-based pianist, educator, and scholar. He holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from UC Riverside, an MFA in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology from UC Irvine, and a BM in Jazz Studies from CSU Fullerton. Dhiren currently serves as a lecturer at UC Riverside and Scripps College, where he teaches courses in popular, world, and Asian American music.

An active pianist and composer, Dhiren has performed at prominent venues throughout Los Angeles including the Blue Whale, the Jazz Bakery, Catalina Jazz Club, and Vitello’s Jazz and Supper Club. He has studied with acclaimed jazz pianists including Bill Cunliffe, Kei Akagi, Jon Mayer, Ray Santisi, and Mark Massey. Dhiren’s first album (Lost Locations, 2012) featured original compositions exploring South Indian rhythmic systems within an open improvisational context. He is currently working on a solo piano album (Moonlight Becomes You, April 2023) dedicated to the music of American composer, Jimmy Van Huesen, and a trio record featuring original compositions, free improvisations, and re-envisioned jazz standards for release in Fall 2023.

As a scholar, Dhiren’s research explores Brownness, intercultural improvisation, and Afro-Asian community building in contemporary jazz and hip hop. He has presented his research at numerous international conferences including the Society for Ethnomusicology, International Association of Popular Music, and the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Jazz and Culture, as well as the forthcoming edited collection, The Improviser’s Classroom: Pedagogies of Adaptive Performance, Social Engagement, and Creative Practice. Dhiren is the recipient of numerous awards including the Dissertation Year Fellowship, Ric Trimillos Award, Gluck Fellowship, Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship, and Medici Foundation Scholarship. Outside of academia, Dhiren teaches private music lessons in piano, improvisation, and composition, and conducts master classes and workshops throughout Southern California.