Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Mohammed Shareef Khan Poonchwala - Sitar - A Tribute to Hazrat Amir Khusrau - LP EMCPM-5013 (1975)


Ustad Mohammed Shareef Khan Poonchwala - Sitar
Mohammed Tufail Narowali - Tabla

On the first edition of this LP the music on one side was distorted. Later the LP was republished as LKDE-20020. The new edition did not have this distortion, but unfortunately it came with a generic cover. So we present here the music of the second edition, but the cover of the first edition. This is the 4th LP by the great master on this blog. We still have a 5th LP, which we will post in the future.

Side 1:
Raag Saz Giri (20:39)


Side 2:
Raag Surparda (21:03)




Sunday, 6 May 2012

Debabrata (Debu) Chaudhuri - Meditations in Indian Sitar Music - LP published 1968 in UK


Debabrata (Debu) Chaudhuri - Sitar 
Faiyaz Khan - Tabla

This LP was also published in India as "Sitar Nawaz Debu Chaudhuri"
EMI SMFP 2101 (1968)

Side 1:
Raga Maru-Behag (22:49)


Side 2:
Raga Aheer Bhairab (25:27)




"Adorned with the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest Civilian Govt. Awards, for his contributions in the field of music, from the President of India, Pandit Devabrata Chaudhuri, a legendary figure in the domain of Indian Classical Music, popularly known as "DEBU", is one of India's most respected, leading and outstanding musicians of today.
Panditji received his early training from the late Shri. Panchu Gopal Datta for some time and later for 38 years from the veritable great master and the most traditional exponent of Sitar, SANGEET ACHARYA USTAD MUSHTAQ ALI KHAN of the "SENIA GHARANA", the traditional school of Indian Classical Music named after the great MIAN TANSEN, the father of Indian Music. Debuji is the foremost exponent and torch bearer of this Gharana."

His guru was from an illustrious lineage of the Jaipur Senia Gharana, being seventh in succession from the great Masit Sen, the inventor of the Masit Khani baaj of sitar. He excelled both in sitar and surbahar playing, using three mizrabs.

Thursday, 3 May 2012

Ochilxon Otaxanov - Another great Master of Maqam Music from Uzbekistan


Here for the listening pleasure of the few enthusiastic visitors of our Uzbek posts another great master of the Maqam music of Uzbekistan. I guess he belongs - like Orifxon Xatamov - to the Maqam tradition of the Ferghana Valley. I downloaded these (and many more) recordings a while ago from some Uzbek websites and put them for myself on CDs. Here we offer one of these CDs. These recordings are probably from the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s and were probably published originally as Melodiya LPs during Sowjet times. The cover picture above does not correspond to the content. If I remember right I downloaded the picture about 10 years ago and it looks like the cover of a cassette. 

01 Barno Kelib (5:00)
02 Chapandozi (7:32)
03 Dastingdan (3:46)
04 Deganim Shu (3:18)
05 Dilrabolardan (6:01)
06 Dilraboni Axtarib (5:00)
07 Etmasmidim (5:22)
08 Ey Falak (7:02)
09 Farg`onacha (6:17)
10 Husayni Navo (7:38)
11 Keldim (6:54)
12 Keldiyu Ketdi (7:11)
13 Mubtalo Bo`ldim (4:09)

Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Barno Ishakova (Iskhakova) (1927-2001) - Considered the greatest female voice of Uzbekistan-Tajikistan


"Barno Ishakova is arguably the greatest classical singer of Central Asia. Born in 1927 in Tashkent, to a Jewish family originally from Samarkand, she grew up in musical surroundings that were ideal for the development of her innate talent. She began to study singing at the age of fifteen with A. Qasimov and Najmoddin Aka and in 1950, she moved to Dushambe, the capital of Tajikistan, and deepened her musical knowledge working with well known performers such as Yunus Rajabi, Fazloddin Shahabov, Babaqul Fayzollaev, and Shahnazar Sahibov. In their midst, she not only mastered the classical repertoire, but developed her own individual style. Her renown grew quickly, and through recordings, radio, and appearances at weddings (toy-s) she won over all connoisseurs of classical song in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, who never lost an opportunity to hear her. When the classical repertoire was collected and transribed, she contributed many songs she had learned through oral transmission. Until 1992, Barno Ishakova was an instructor at the Institute of Arts in Dushambe, giving her courses at home and turning out numerous talented artists, in particular, female vocalists, many of whom later flourished on their own, for example Ra'na Abdollaeva.
In 1992, with the deterioration of the political situation and of living conditions in Tajikistan, Barno Ishakova chose to emigrate to Israel. There she found accomplished musicians from Central Asia who had preceded her, but perhaps not the passionate public that had adored her during her long career...
Her repertoire extends beyond the domain of the Bukharan Maqam to include classical songs that belong to a lighter and more accessible, but still learned, urban tradition. In her carefully prepared and highly ornamented performances, the most simple melodies become artistic masterpieces. Hearing her an Uzbek music specialist was ecstatic: She is a true goldsmith; the others are blacksmiths by comparison. No instrument can follow her ornamentation..."
Jean During in the booklet to "Asie centrale - Traditions classiques", a 2 CD set, Ocora - Radio France, C 560035-36, 1993.
Barno Ishakova belongs to the Shashmaqam tradition of Bukhara. Her name is written sometimes also Barno Iskhakova or Itzhakova. The recordings presented here - originally probably from Melodiya LPs - we collected from diverse Uzbek, Tajik and Jewish websites. Surprisingly there seam to be no CDs by her at all.

Allayo (4:55)
Nasrulloi (11:05)
Navruzi Sabo (10:49)
Ufori Bayat (3:53)
Sokinomai Iraoq (5:12)
Girya (7:49)
Chi doni (4:37)
Ey Sabo (5:54)
Jononae (4:56
Jononai man (4:56)

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Orifxon Xatamov - A great master of the Maqam tradition of Uzbekistan


Although only very few visitors of this blog seam to be interested in the classical music of Uzbekistan - for me the last musical treasure still to discover - I can't help it to post some more treasures from it. In the last 15 years a small number of excellent CDs have been published in the west, mainly in France. But still the older - and in my opinion more interesting - singers from this tradition are almost completely unknown outside of Uzbekistan or Tajikistan. Earlier we had already presented here Mamurjan Uzakov, Fattohxon Mamadaliev, a double LP of masters from the Ferghana Valley and a complete Shashmaqam. In the future we will post some more legendary singers from that area.
Now we present one of the greatest masters: Orifxon Xatamov (his name is given sometimes also as Orif or Arif Xatamov, and both versions can appaer in different spellings). I downloaded these (and many more) recordings a while ago from some Uzbek websites and put them for myself on CDs. Here we offer one of these CDs. These recordings are probably from the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s and were probably published originally as Melodiya LPs during Sowjet times. The cover picture above does not correspond to the content (although the song which gave the album the title appears here). If I remember right I downloaded the picture about 10 years ago and it looks like the cover of a cassette. 
Orifxon Xatamov (born 1924 or 1925) belongs to the Maqam tradition of the Ferghana Valley and was a student of the legendary Jurakhan Sultanov (1912-1977), who was also the teacher of Mamurjan Uzakov. Theodore Levin devoted a very beautiful chapter to Orifxon Xatamov in his very interesting book "The Hundred Thousand Fools of God - Musical Travels in Central Asia". Some excerpts from this chapter, named "The Avatar of a Master", which is based on talks with the master in the early 1990s, can be read hereOrifxon Xatamov is depicted here as a master musician deeply rooted in the musical and spiritual (Sufi) traditions of his country. 
For anybody interested in these musical traditions it's worthwhile to get this book, though I don't agree with all statements of the author, especially not the one regarding Shashmaqam. He must have heard mostly later versions, performed by much bigger ensembles.

01 Aqli rasolaring (4:51)
02 Buxoro Iroqning Sokinomasi (6:03)
03 Guluzorim (7:31)
04 Kam-kam (3:48)
05 Mehr Ruhsoring (6:11)
06 Qarab Qo'y (4:39)
07 Qoshi Yosinmu Deyin (5:44)
08 Sallamno (4:30)
09 Sani Layli (4:39)
10 Senziz (4:38)
11 Yolg'on Demang (3:52)
12 Bo’lmaydi (5:29)
13 Ishqingda Zor (6:00)

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

A Musical Anthology of the Orient - India IV - Unesco Collection - LP BM 30 L 2021


Side A:
1. Semmangudi Srinivasa Aiyar (Vocal) & K. S. Narayanaswami (Vina):
Dakshinamurte (12:23)
2. K. S. Narayanaswami (Vina): Pancharagam (12:41)


Side B:
1. Semmangudi Srinivasa Aiyar (Vocal) & K. S. Narayanaswami (Vina):
Navarasa (17:56)
2. K. S. Narayanaswami (Vina) & Palghat Raghu (Mridangam): 
Ehi Annapurne (5:04)
3. Tuning of the Vina (0:36)












"Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer (July 25, 1908 - October 31, 2003) is considered to be one of the greatest Carnatic vocalists of the twentieth century. He was the youngest recipient of the Sangeetha Kalanidhi awarded by the Music Academy in 1947 and has received many awards including Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India, Sangeet Natak Academy award (1953), Isai Perarignarfrom Government of Tamil Nadu and Kalidas Samman from Government of Madhya Pradesh. He was affectionately addressed as "Semmangudi Maama" (Semmangudi Uncle) by his disciples. He was also considered the "Pitamaha" or the grand sire of modern Carnatic Music. He was conferred with an honorary doctorate by University of Kerala in 1979.
He was born in Tirukkodikaval, Thanjavur District as the third son of Radhakrishna Iyer and Dharmasamvardhini Ammal. He lived with his maternal uncle Tirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer, a violin maestro, until the age of four and after his death, moved to his parents' home inSemmangudi, Tiruvarur District. At the age of eight he started learning music from his cousin Semmangudi Narayanaswamy Iyer. This was followed by some rigorous training under Thiruvadaimaruthur Sakharama Rao, a famous Gottuvadhyam exponent, an event considered by Semmangudi as a turning point in his life. This was followed by another training stint with Narayanaswamy Iyer, during which time he learnt a lot of varnams and keerthanams. Then he had a musical apprenticeship with Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer. In 1926, he performed his first music recital at Kumbakonam. In 1927 gave a concert in the Madras session of Indian National Congress, another event considered by Semmangudy as a turning point in his life, as it catapulted him into the big league of vidwans at that time. He was known for producing soulful music, highly creative and yet very orthodox, despite a recalcitrant voice.
He was instrumental, along with Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar, for the work on the krithis of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma. After attending one of his concerts in 1934, Maharani Sethu Parvati Bai of Travancore was so impressed by his talent and scholarship that she invited him to come to Thiruvananthapuram to edit and popularise the compositions of Swati Tirunal. He succeeded Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar as Principal of the Swathi Thirunal College of Music at Thiruvananthapuram, a post he held for 23 years, until the age of 55. At this age, he handed over his responsibilities to another Carnatic legend, G. N. Balasubramaniam and at the behest of the Government of India, became the Chief Producer of Carnatic music at All India Radio, Madras from 1957 to 1960. In later life, he concentrated on concert performances and tutoring youngsters. He gave public concerts even after the age of 90."
Continue reading here.


"K S Narayanaswamy, born Koduvayur Sivarama Narayanaswamy, (1914 to 1999 CE) was a Carnatic veena exponent of theThanjavur style, in which nuances and subtleties are given more importance over rhythm based acrobatics.
He was born on the 27th of September, 1914 to Narayaniammal and Koduvayur Sivarama Iyer at Koduvayur in Palghatdistrict in Kerala. He underwent initial training in Carnatic music under K.S. Krishna Iyer, his brother, between his seventh and fourteenth years. Later, he joined the Music College at Annamalai University in Chidambaram where he learnt vocal music under stalwarts like Sangeetha Kalanidhi, T S Sabesa Iyer and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Tanjore Ponniah Pillai, descendent of the famous Tanjore Quartet. He also learnt the veena under Desamangalam Subramania Iyer and the mridangam under Tanjore Ponniah Pillai. From 1937-1946, he served as the lecturer at the Annamalai University, his alma mater, and assisted in publishing the Tamil kritis of Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Neelakanta Sivan and Arunachala Kavi.
Upon the invitation of His Highness, the Maharaja of Travancore, he took up lectureship in veena at the Swathi Thirunal College of Music (erstwhile Swathi Thirunal Music Academy) at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. During his tenure at the Academy, he was instrumental, along with Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, then principal of the Academy, in editing and publishing the kritis of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma (commonly known as Swathi Thirunal). He participated in several international conferences and was a member of the Music and Cultural Delegations to the erstwhile USSR and East European countries in 1954. In 1970, he was invited by Yehudi Menuhin to attend the Bath International Music Festival and perform at London, Bristol, Oxford, Cambridge, and Birmingham. Later, he succeeded Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer as the principal of the Academy and retired in 1970.
In 1970, he came to Mumbai, as the principal of the Sangeetha Vidyalaya of Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha and taught both vocal music and veena till 1985. In 1974, he took part as the teacher of Carnatic music and veena at the Eleventh Conference of International Society of Music Education at Perth, Australia. He also participated in the Indian Music and Dance Festival of the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation at Berlin in 1977.
He was a recipient of many awards including the State Award of Kerala in 1962 and that of Tamil Nadu in 1968; the National Award of Central Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1968; the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 1977; Sangeetha Kalanidhi from the Madras Music Academy, Chennai in 1979 and the Swathi Ratna in 1999.
Among his disciples, notable ones include Rugmini Gopalakrishnan, Kalyani Sharma, Trivandrum Venkataraman, Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma, Geetha Raja, Nirmala Parthasarathy, Jayashree Aravind. Many musicians like M.S. Subbulakshmi and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer have had good association with him and have appreciated his music."

Saturday, 21 April 2012

Java - Vocal I - LP Galloway - Musique du Monde 18 (1975)


One of the many fantastic LPs of music from Southeast Asia, french musicologist Jacques Brunet recorded and published between 1963 and 1982. Only a small part of them have been republished later on CD, and most of these are no longer available for many years. Especially noteworthy was the series of 19 LPs of music of Bali and Java published by the french label Galloway, which unfortunately existed only for a couple of years. See text below.

Side 1:
1 - PramugariSurakarta (R.T. Hardjonegoro's)23/09/1973
 Trusing Pamireng Petaning Manah (Kandjeng Kyahi)Gamelan Surakarta13'06
2 - Ludiro MaduroSurakarta (R.T. Hardjonegoro's)23/09/1973
 Trusing Pamireng Petaning Manah (Kandjeng Kyahi)Gamelan Surakarta13'11


Side 2:
3 - Gending Sigromangsah + Bubaran Udan MasYogyakarta (Paku Alaman)07/09/1969
 PB XPura Paku Alaman25'45






"From 1963 to 1982, Jacques Brunet, a former concert pianist now musicologist, made a series of recordings of Southeast Asia's traditional music. Starting in Cambodia, the sessions rapidly spread to the neighbouring countries: Laos, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia. Helped by meetings made during previous campaigns, consecutive harvests gradually mapped out the first significant musical cartography of these countries at a time of cultural renewal, which took place between the suspension of artistic activities due to the hardships of the Second World War (or the troubles leading to independence) and the arrival of mass tourism during the mid-seventies. This latter phenomenon contributed to an acceleration in the evolution of local traditions leading to a notorious change in the musical life of these countries.
   Strictly speaking, Jacques Brunet's work was not the first attempt to create a musical encyclopaedia of this part of the world (this was done by the German firm BEKA und ODEON in its 1928 recordings), but it was the first to be duly appropriate to its subject, in several ways. First, it drew from the systematic ethnomusicological researches led by Dutch and Canadian specialists (mainly Jaap Kunst and Colin McPhee);  second it was helped by musical institutions devoting themselves to the collection and study of the World musical cultures (such as the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation in Berlin) that were hosting and financing field works; and last but not least, it used recording tools now allowing the local musical activities to be fully documented in their own time frame. The newly acquired independence of Southeast Asian countries provided a favourable addition with the creation of local recording companies starting to publish many disks that were to become precious landmarks for conscientious field researchers.
   When the author started making his recordings, only a few easily available records devoted to this part of the world were in existance (not counting those made by "sound hunters" and other collectors of "ambient sound" - whether these sounds came from a touristic context or another context). There were probably not more than ten genuine "music" records in existance and most of them were the results of a single attempt with no follow-up. Some of these are shown in a special page.
   Some ten years later, the Western public had access to a qualitatively different ensemble encompassing large sections of lengthy works spanning several sides of a 33-RPM LP, a rather extensive collection of the musical treasures of a Javanese palace and a significant musical account of a Balinese local ceremonial tradition.
   Furthermore, Jacques Brunet's productions, like some of his fellow ethnomusicologists, distinguished themselves by extended cover notes (where knowledge coming from the best musicological sources of the time merged with information gathered with an acute ear from local musicians), and by a plentiful iconography that took full advantage of the possibilities offered by the unmatched quality of the LP album format."
Continue reading here. See also the discographies according to regionLP collection and recording session.
from: http://gamelan.free.fr/disco_jb/jb_accue.html

Wednesday, 18 April 2012

Sunday, 15 April 2012

Ustad Bundu Khan (1880-1955) - More recordings


More than 10 years ago I received - I don't remember anymore from whom - on a CD some unidentified tracks by the Sarangi master. Probably these are also radio recordings. The Sarangi player, teacher and connoisseur Dr. Kashyap identified them recently for me. Here they are:

1. Jaunpuri (9:50)
2. Sorath (9:34)
3. Malkauns (0:58)
4. Bageshree (2:47)
5. Adana (13:50)
6. Bhairav pt. 1 (8:51)
7. Bhairav pt. 2 (10:05)
8. Shahana Bahar (11:35)

Regarding the last track, Dr. Kashyap said: "interestingly different from what we have in his radio program, played at another occasion with a different sarangi."

Thursday, 12 April 2012

Ustad Ummeed Ali Khan (1910-1979) - Tirvan, Bairagi, Darbari, Malkauns - A Radio Pakistan Production - LP LKDR-12 (1973)


A legendary singer of the Gwalior Gharana in Pakistan
Recordings from the archives of Radio Pakistan

Side 1: 
1. Raag Darbari (14:36)
Sarangi: Zahid Hussain
Tabla: Allah Ditta Khan
2. Raag Tirvan (11:00)
Sarangi: Nathu Khan
Tabla: Ashiq Hussain


Side 2:
1. Raag Malkauns (13:21)
Sarangi: Nathu Khan
Tabla: Ashiq Hussain
2. Raag Bairagi Bhairon (12:14)
Sarangi: Abdul Hameed
Tabla: Talib Hussain  




"Naushad Firdausi, wrote this in the Usenet newsgroup rec.music.indian.classical (RMIC):
Ustad Ummeed Ali Khan was a true blue Gwalior. His father Ustad Meeran Baksh was the son of Ustad Boorey Khan, who was nephew of Ustad Banney Khan whose sons Ustads Jamal Khan, Misri Khan and Saindhey Khan were all renowned gharanedar Gwalior khayaliyas. Ustad Haddu Khan was the grand Uncle of Ustad Banney Khan who incorporated many traditional punjabi folk compositions into khayal bandishes. Ustad Ummeed Ali’s only connection with Patiala Gharana was that he sometimes used to perform in jugalbandi with Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan. Many anecdotes of their friendly rivalry but I’ll leave them for later.
In his later years Ustad Ummeed Ali had lost his eyesight (it seams that this is incorrect, he rather lost his hearing) completely. Yours truly saw him travelling in a tonga many times along with Ustad Natthu Khan sarangiya to the Lahore radio station. That’s where I heard him singing all those wonderful raags like Tirvan, Champak and Neelambari (mitwa baalamwa — still rings in my ears ! ) etc. One only can hope that those recordings exist in radio archives somewhere !! For recordings try your luck with some firanghs who manage to slither into the radio archives one way or another !!"
http://www.parrikar.org/vpl/?page_id=487

Addeded in February 2019:

Remembering Ustad Umeed Ali Khan

SAEED MALIK  JUL 16TH, 2005  
WEEKEND MAGAZINE

From late 1930s to the middle of 1970s, Ustad Umeed Ali Khan ranked high in the hierarchy of classical vocalists of the sub-continent. He was known for his passion and ability for promoting and popularising the Gwalior gharana style of kheyal singing.
A large number of votaries of art music were drawn to his style of kheyal singing and progressive delineation of the thematic structures of the ragas. Not many even among senior citizens fully know about the achievements of that one-time great vocalist. Only on rare occasions, do we hear his recorded music broadcast by the second channel of Radio Pakistan, Lahore.
The kheyal style of singing has, with the passage of time, proliferated and metamorphosed into several schools or gharanas of professional musicians, differing in intonation, musical idioms, aesthetics and quality of music.
The oldest school of kheyal singing, the Gowaliar gharana, is distinguished by open-throat singing, formal simplicity and straight, linear transition from one note to another.
The descendents of Mian Taan Sen (who is reportedly buried in Gowaliar) are reputed to have perfected this mode of classical melodic _expression. Born in village Jandiala Guru in the district of Amritsar (East Punjab) in 1914, in a family of professional musicians, Umeed Ali grew up under the commanding shadow of his father Ustad Piyare Khan from whom he received initial training in the art of kheyal singing.
Ustad Piyare Khan had been groomed by his father Meeraan Bakhsh, a follower of Gowaliar gharana kheyal traditions. Later, the late Piyare Khan reportedly also benefited from the melodic wisdom of Jarnail Ali Bakhsh Khan, the co-founder of the Patiala gharana of kheyal singers. Like his father, Umeed Ali Khan was also gifted with sweet, rich, lively and forceful voice, which he dexterously used in the promotion of Gowaliar style of classical singing. Years of hard training under the supervision of his father made Umeed Ali Khan's style highly sophisticated and refined.
His performances brimmed with short, sparkling melodic phrases and vigorous taans, which were drenched in the tunefulness of his vocals. Like his father, Ustad Umeed Ali Khan was a tall, well-built and handsome musician.
His father was employed as a court musician in the princely State of Khairpur in Sindh, where he spent the better part of his life winning much public acclaim.
Likewise, Ustad Umeed Ali Khan remained in that province for better part of his life, both before and after partition of the sub-continent, where his music was widely appreciated. His skill in rendering Sindhi kafis, kheyals, thumris, taranas and dadras was lauded by music lovers of the province, whose love for music needs no elaboration.
His deep musical understanding equipped him with all the fine attributes of an accomplished classical vocalist. Few surviving senior denizens of Lahore, who were lucky to have enjoyed the many pre-partition days music concerts at Takia Meeraasian, or at privately sponsored soirees inside the Walled City, remember with nostalgic fondness the impromptu musical contests between Ustad Umeed Ali Khan and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Both were master musicians, endowed with mellifluous voices and opulent melodic wisdom.
On a number of occasions, both crossed musical swords between them, setting new traditions in healthy and productive competition. One such 'dual' took place during the early 40s at the residence of a connoisseur at Takia Saadooan inside Mochi Gate, Lahore.
His baithak had earned fame for holding regular musical soirees and get-togethers of classical musicians and discerning connoisseurs. On one occasion, he had invited Ustad Umeed Ali Khan and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, along with a number of other melodists, including such luminary as Pandit Jeevan Lal Mattoo. It was on that night that the two musical heavyweights demonstrated their melodic prowess.
Both of them kept on singing for extended periods of time as none would accept 'defeat', or showed any sign of fatigue. Consequently, the soiree continued till dawn, when Pandit Jeevan Lal Mattoo, an accomplished vocalist in his own right, intervened and succeeded in separating "the warring" musicians.
The honours were, therefore, shared equally by the two musical giants. Similar episodes were reported to have taken place at Takia Meeraasian and the residence of Chun Peer in Mohalla Peer Gilaanian inside Mochi Gate, Lahore.
The "rivalry" between Ustad Umeed Ali Khan and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan at one time or the other during their eventful careers assumed legendary importance as both tried to outclass each other by demonstrating the best of their melodic prowess. Of course, the beneficiaries of their "tug-of-war" were cultivated listeners, professional musicians of lesser abilities and connoisseurs.
The late Ustad Umeed Ali Khan, after completing a period of apprenticeship and training with his father, acquired much facility over difficult form, style, technique and modalities of kheyal singing. His voice - pliant, malleable and forceful - was vibrant and radiated such embellishments and ornamentation as murkis and zamzamas.
Like those of his frontline contemporaries, his melodies attracted the attention of professional musicians, connoisseurs as well as critic and votaries of classical music. His method of progressive delineation of ragas bore the imprint of his father and the long and hard training he had had under his tutelage.
Until his death, Ustad Umeed Ali Khan remained a faithful exponent of the Gowaliar gharana of kheyal singing, a trait which he also passed on to his disciples, including the classical duo of Fateh Ali Khan-Hameed Ali Khan of Hyderabad, Sindh. Another follower of the Gowaliar clan of musicians is composer Master Manzoor Husain.
During his prime, the late Ustad Umeed Ali Khan excelled a number of his contemporaries in the rendition of taranas, thumris and dadras. His mature and deep musical insight were augmented by his refined melodic thinking and acute sensitivity. Handsome vocalist late Ustad Umeed Ali Khan developed a good taste for clothing and living in a style.
On his tall and handsome figure, all kinds of clothings fitted attractively. He looked as charming in sherwani and churidar pajama as when he was attired in a Western style suit. A cultured gentleman, he gave the impression of having been caught in the midst of philistines, but did not protest much. Although he spent the better part of his life in Sindh, the late Ustad Umeed Ali Khan returned to Lahore shortly before his death in 1979, where he was laid to rest.
from: https://fp.brecorder.com/2005/07/20050716297934/

See here some other beautiful recordings by him:

The two sides of an EP published in 1971.

and there the first link:
A CD released in Pakistan in 2002 with recordings from the archives of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. Unfortunately one track is missing. We plan to post the complete series in flac and mp3 files somewhere in the future, inshaAllah.

Friday, 6 April 2012

Sarangi legend Ustad Bundu Khan (1880-1955) - A radio broadcast from All India Radio, Delhi


Ustad Bundu Khan, probably the most outstanding sarangi player during the first half of the 20th century, was born in Delhi, in a family of musicians. He received his early training in sarangi from his father Ali Jan Khan and later from his uncle Mamman Khan, who was attached to the Maharaja of Patiala.
Bundu Khan was a prodigiously talented artiste and also a very sincere and hard-working student of music. His complete mastery over his delicate and difficult instrument not only placed him on the top rung of the subcontinents sarangi players but also made him one of the most proficient Hindustani instrumentalists of the 20th century. He had a flair for singing and writing poetry as well. His sons, Umrao Bundu Khan and Buland Iqbal, also inherited his talents.
He played the sarangi from the Delhi Radio Station, when its broadcast was started in 1935. He became court-musician to Maharaja Tukaji Rao Holkar of Indore and was also in the Rampur court of a brief period. He was highly influenced by Pandit Bhatkhande whom he met in Indore. He devoted himself to the study of musicology, and wrote a book Sangeet Vivek Darpan wherein the ragas Bhairabi and Malkauns were elaborately discussed.
After migrating to Pakistan after the partition in 1947, Ustad Bundu Khan continued to play the sarangi from all the radio stations of Pakistan till his death in 1955. Both his sons gained prominence and became immediately known to the music circles of Pakistan. In addition to his descendants, he trained Amir Muhammad Albi, Durkhu Singh, Majid Khan, Muhammad Sagiruddin Khan and P. N. Nigam. He was posthumously awarded the Pride of Performance by the Government of Pakistan in 1985.
from: http://www.itcsra.org/tribute.asp?id=14 There you find some beautiful tracks.
See also: 


A National Program on Bundu Khan, in English, presented by his student Rajesh Bahadur, broadcast by All India Radio, Delhi. It contains these performances:

Part 1 (45:27):
01 Chandni Kedar 12:31 (starting at 8:43)
02 fragment 0:35 (starting at 22:38)
03 Gaud Malhar 15:03 (starting at 24:37)
04 fragment 2:33 (starting at 40:40)
05 Dhrupad Sagar (Ragamalika) 1:59 (starting at 43:27 and continuing in part 2)

Part 2 (44:41):
01 continuation of Dhrupad Sagar (Ragamalika) 2:29
02 Chandrakauns 6:21 (starting at 3:14)
03 Shahana Bahar & Bageshree Bahar 26:22 (starting at 11:59)
04 Bhairavi 4:17 (starting at 38:51)
Download Part 2

Further - very enjoyable - readings: look here under "About Bundu Khan"

A reader of our blog, Surajit, was so kind to make out of the tracks of over 2 minutes length separate tracks and to send me the result. Many thanks. Here you can download them:

Download 

Wednesday, 4 April 2012

Sitar legend Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan (1938-2012) passed away on Feb 14, 2012 - In his memory: Shamim Ahmed presents Soulful Melodies on Sitar, LP published in 1979


Shamim Ahmed - Sitar
Latif (Ahmed) Khan - Tabla
LP Philips (India) 6405 644 (1979)

Side 1:
1. Raga Ahir Bhairav (12:55)
2. Dhun Mishra Khamaj (7:48)


Side 2:
Raga Desh (21:13)



Download


“Shamim Ahmed Khan: Sitar player taught by Shankar
Shamim Ahmed Khan was one of the most eloquent sitar players of his generation and scion of a family of hereditary Hindustani classical musicians which upheld and advanced a gharana, meaning a school or style of music-making, historically generally associated with a specific geographical seat, in this case the Agra Gharana. Agra would figure largely in his musical destiny, and bring him to the attention of his life-long guru, Ravi Shankar.
Shamim Ahmed, as he was called on his early recordings, was born in 1938 in Baroda – nowadays Vadodara in Gujarat – into a family of noted Hindustani classical vocalists. From early boyhood he was instructed in classical singing by his father, an esteemed vocalist and composer. While visiting Agra he caught typhoid fever; when he recovered his vocal range had gone. He took up sitar – he recalled how he would walk to his friend's house over three miles away "to play the sitar on one pretext or the other."
He was enrolled at the Baroda Music College, and first met his future guru in 1951. "It was at a music conference in Ahmedabad," he recalled in 1995. "It was my grand-uncle [the noted classical vocalist] Ustad Faiyaz Khan's first death anniversary. Later I met Ravi Shankar with my father Ustad Ghulam Rasool Khan, who told him of my interest in music." In December 1955, in Delhi for a music competition organised by All India Radio, he met Shankar once again, and played for him.
Shankar invited him and his father to his Delhi home. The next day they underwent the ganda-bandan ceremony – the thread-tying ritual that symbolically binds guru to shishya (student-disciple) – in December 1955, making him one of Shankar's earliest pupils. From then until 1958 he would make the 1000-kilometre journey from Baroda to Delhi by train in order to study. In addition to ordinary lessons, intensive practice periods sometimes lasted five or six hours. Honouring the guru-shishya tradition, Shankar provided his shishyas with accommodation, victuals and necessities without asking for recompense, even after Shamim Ahmed was awarded a Government of India musical scholarship in 1958.
In 1960 Shankar relocated to Bombay and Shamim joined him there as a teacher at his Kinnara School of Music. On the brink of international success, Shankar moved to California and shortly afterwards invited his valuable asset to Los Angeles.
A new chapter began. He was on hand to support Alla Rakha, Shankar's tabla virtuoso, on his jointly billed Rich á la Rakha (1968) with the American jazz drummer Buddy Rich. At the age of 29 he also made his US solo recording debut, Monitor Presents India's Great For Three Ragas – for Monitor, reissued by Smithsonian Folkways Archival in 2007 – with Alla Rakha's son Zakir Hussain as his tabla accompanist.
Shamim Ahmed had a sweet, full-throated voice on the sitar, very similar to his guru's. He recorded as a principal soloist for a variety of record labels across the world. Recommended listening might include his sitar-sarod duet with Aashish Khan on Ravi Shankar's Festival From India (1968) and the UK-based Navras label's Sitar Maestro (1998). He was one of a select band of Shankar disciples, including Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Manju Mehta, Kartik Seshadri, Barry Phillips, Partho Sarathy, Anoushka Shankar and Lakshmi Shankar, on the triple-CD ShankaRagamala – A Celebration of the Maestro's Music by his Disciples (2005); his interpretation of "Janasanmodini" on that garland of Shankar raga compositions, is a glory.
In person Shamim Ahmed was an extremely modest and humble man. After one recital we chatted; quietly, without being pushy, he asked me if, when I next spoke to his guru, I would give him an honest account of how he had played. He defined Shankar's character in three words – "discipline, devotion and compassion". That description applied equally to Shamim Ahmed Khan.
Shamim Ahmed Khan, sitarist and composer: born Baroda, Baroda State (now Gujarat), India 10 September 1938; died Mumbai, Maharashtra 14 February 2012.”