On Thursday, one of the great musicians of our time died. No, I am not thinking of Michael Jackson.
I am thinking of the amazing Ali Akbar Khan, who I was fortunate enough to see many, many times, who was named as a “national treasure” by the Indian government. He was a great classical North Indian composer and performer. He was the leading virtuoso of the lutelike sarod, and he often performed together with his brother Ravi Shankar.
Here is a brief obituary.
Here are links to some albums:
Pre-Dawn to Sunrise Ragas (1967)
Morning and Evening Ragas (1955)
The Emperor of Sarod, vol 1 (1970)
This is a man who touched my soul and intellect through his music. I am sorry he is gone, but happy that we have such a rich legacy of memories and recordings.
Correction: Khan died Thursday – last week (June 18)
1 comment:
Ah, that is sad.
When I was a teenager, I got a copy of the Concert for Bangladesh album. The second side, with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, was the only one that I listened to after the initial playing and always enjoyed.
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