Amjad Ali Khan
Simms Auditorium, Albuquerque Academy
6400 Wyoming Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109
Apr 8, 2016
7:30 PM UTC
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About this concert
Iraqi oud virtuoso and composer, Rahim AlHaj, is joined by Indian sarod maestros, Amjad Ali Khan and his sons, Amaan Ali Kahn, and Ayaan Ali Kahn, following the recent release of their CD, Infinite Hope, which is a follow up to their Grammy-nominated release, Ancient Sounds. Born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, Rahim AlHaj was forced to leave his country after the first Gulf War due to his activism against the Baath regime. He moved to the US in 2000 as a political refugee and became a US citizen in 2008, making Albuquerque his home. AlHaj has performed around the world and has won many accolades and awards, including two Grammy nominations. He has recorded and performed with a wide range of musicians including Bill Frisell, Guy Klucevsek, and REM. Most recently, he was given the honor of being named a 2015 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow. One of India’s foremost classical musicians, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan gave his first recital on the 19-string teak and metal Sarod when he was only 6 years old. He is the sixth generation of a legendary family that is responsible for establishing the Sarod as an instrument in Classical Indian music and which traces its lineage back to the court musicians of the Moghul Emperor, Akbar. A recipient of the UNESCO Award, and Padma Vibhushan (the highest Indian civilian award), he has performed worldwide and holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of York, England and Delhi University. In 2002, he released his Carnegie Hall concert recording, Sarod for Harmony-Live at Carnegie Hall, to commemorate his fiftieth year of performing. The seventh generation to continue the family tradition, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, are both sarod artists of the highest order.
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Amjad Ali Khan Biography
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is a highly acclaimed Indian sarod player and composer.
Khan was born in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh in 1945, is the sixth-generation sarod player in his family and his ancestors have developed and shaped the instrument over several hundred years. "You could say it's my family instrument", says Khan, "Whoever is playing the sarod today learned directly or indirectly from my forefathers."
His forefathers came from Afghanistan to India's relaxed music atmosphere and brought the Rabab which later developed into Sarod. The modern sarod has undergone modifications to improve its tonal quality, notably from Ustad Allauddin Khan and his brother Ayet Ali Khan of the Maihar Gharana.
Khan was taught by his father Hafiz Ali Khan, a musician to the royal family of Gwalior; he was born to the Bangash lineage rooted in the Senia Bangash School of music and is the sixth generation inheritor of this lineage.
Amjad Ali Khan has developed a unique style of playing the sarod. The key innovations in his style are compositions based on vocal music, the technical ability to play highly complex phrases (ekhara taans) on the sarod spanning three octaves and the emphasis on simple and elegant compositions. His technical mastery and control over his instrument is unsurpassed - a fact acknowledged by most musicians.
He has simplified the instrument by removing some strings (his sarod has only two jod and chikari strings and 11 tarab stings) and has also removed the resonant gourd (tumba) which is in use by other sarod schools. His base frequency is also lower than the other schools. His instrument is made by Hemen Sen of Kolkata, who also makes the sarod for other leading maestros such as Ali Akbar Khan.
His playing does reflect the older dhrupad tradition and he places emphasis on the conventional technique of "dara diri" using the wooden plectrum (java). However, his chief innovation is his ekhara taans (complex high speed phrases), something which many sarod players find very difficult to do. Paraphrasing his words "I asked my father why the sarod could not keep up with sitar when it came to taans....my father explained that the sarod was a much more difficult instrument to play, not having frets ... it is then I resolved to develop a style where I could match sitar like taans...".
Amjad Ali Khan has had a successful career spanning over 40 years and continues to be one of the busiest classical musicians in India. He was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
Read MoreKhan was born in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh in 1945, is the sixth-generation sarod player in his family and his ancestors have developed and shaped the instrument over several hundred years. "You could say it's my family instrument", says Khan, "Whoever is playing the sarod today learned directly or indirectly from my forefathers."
His forefathers came from Afghanistan to India's relaxed music atmosphere and brought the Rabab which later developed into Sarod. The modern sarod has undergone modifications to improve its tonal quality, notably from Ustad Allauddin Khan and his brother Ayet Ali Khan of the Maihar Gharana.
Khan was taught by his father Hafiz Ali Khan, a musician to the royal family of Gwalior; he was born to the Bangash lineage rooted in the Senia Bangash School of music and is the sixth generation inheritor of this lineage.
Amjad Ali Khan has developed a unique style of playing the sarod. The key innovations in his style are compositions based on vocal music, the technical ability to play highly complex phrases (ekhara taans) on the sarod spanning three octaves and the emphasis on simple and elegant compositions. His technical mastery and control over his instrument is unsurpassed - a fact acknowledged by most musicians.
He has simplified the instrument by removing some strings (his sarod has only two jod and chikari strings and 11 tarab stings) and has also removed the resonant gourd (tumba) which is in use by other sarod schools. His base frequency is also lower than the other schools. His instrument is made by Hemen Sen of Kolkata, who also makes the sarod for other leading maestros such as Ali Akbar Khan.
His playing does reflect the older dhrupad tradition and he places emphasis on the conventional technique of "dara diri" using the wooden plectrum (java). However, his chief innovation is his ekhara taans (complex high speed phrases), something which many sarod players find very difficult to do. Paraphrasing his words "I asked my father why the sarod could not keep up with sitar when it came to taans....my father explained that the sarod was a much more difficult instrument to play, not having frets ... it is then I resolved to develop a style where I could match sitar like taans...".
Amjad Ali Khan has had a successful career spanning over 40 years and continues to be one of the busiest classical musicians in India. He was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
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