Ed Hanley began his tabla (north Indian classical percussion) training in Toronto, Canada with Ritesh Das, and has studied with master drummers Pandit  Swapan Chaudhuri in California, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee in Calcutta and Taalyogi Suresh Talwalkar in Pune. His interest in all aspects of Indian classical rhythm have led him to study outside of the Hindustani tabla tradition as well, focusing on Karnatic (south Indian) vocal percussion and drumming traditions. He has studied nattuvangam (Bharatanatyam conducting) with Hari Krishnan, mrdangam repertoire and Karnatic rhythm theory with Karaikudi Mani in Chennai, India, and solkattu (vocal percussion), kanjira (a south Indian frame drum), mrdangam repertoire and improvisation with Dr. Trichy Sankaran in Chennai and Toronto. His studies have been supported by a number of funding bodies including The Canada Council, The Ontario Arts Council and The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.

Ed has performed across Canada, and in the USA, Europe and India in a variety of world, jazz and classical settings with artists such as vocalist Suba Sankaran, violinist Parmela Attariwala, clarinetist James Campbell, multi-instrumentalists George Koller and Donald Quan, Persian ensemble Mehrvarzan, percussionists Trichy Sankaran, Rick Lazar, Alan Hetherington and Vasudevan Rajalingam, flautist Ron Allen, Hindustani vocalist Vinayak Pathak, Sarangi master Ramesh Misra, and ensembles including autorickshaw, The Toronto Tabla Ensemble, The Penderecki Quartet and Jane Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana. His work can be heard on a number of recordings and film soundtracks.

Ed has composed, produced, and engineered a number of compositions for dance and film out of his own studio, and has co-produced three autorickshaw albums with Suba Sankaran, including the critically acclaimed, JUNO nominated CDs, Four Higher and So The Journey Goes.

Ed runs the tabla blog 52 Kaidas , presenting recordings traditional tabla repertoire with explanations for both beginners and tabla geeks alike. In 2010, Ed released an album of tabla solos drawn from recordings for the blog, many of which were featured at the Art Gallery of Ontario's Maharaja Exhibition, The Splendour of India's Royal Courts.

Then Hanley transformed song to spectacle with a brain-liquifying tabla solo, an onslaught of percussive sixteenth notes and syncopated shifts hammered out by his wrists and fingers with such precision that… well, you really had to be there.
Let's just say that as Hanley's beat went on, the man on my left purred like a cat savouring a sumptuous can of tuna."
-NOW Magazine