Dr. Kadri Gopalnath (11 December 1949 – 11 October 2019) was an Indian saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Carnatic music on the saxophone. Kadri Gopalnath was born in 1949 in Mangalore to Thaniappa and Gangamma. He acquired a taste for music from his father Thaniappa, a nadaswaram vidwan. As a child, Gopalnath once saw the saxophone being played in the Mysore Palace band set. Upon hearing the vibrant tone of the saxophone, Gopalnath decided to master it.