From a young age, U. Shrinivas developed a finely tuned ear for music. At six years old, he began to pick away at his father's mandolin, and soon after, he started to play Carnatic music, a South Indian tradition. Under the guidance of master musicians Subbaraju and Shri Vasu Rao, he further deepened his practice. In 1983, the mandolinist stole the spotlight at the Berlin Jazz Festival with a 45-minute performance that wrapped up with an hour-long encore. His international career was launched. Since then, Shrinivas continues to shine on stage and studio. In 2008, he released the album Samjanitha.