Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Bahadur Khan (1931-1989) - Sarod - LP ECSD 2532 (1976/1977) - The Gramophone Company of India


Ustad Bahadur Khan was probably - next to his cousin Ustad Ali Akbar Khan - the most interesting Sarod player of the second half of the past century, with a very personal and very beautiful style.

Side 1:
Raga Ahir Bibhas (19:49)


Side 2:
Raga Dayavati (20:20)



Download

See about him:
at

24 comments:

  1. Mutha Klanger18 October 2011 at 15:28

    a huge thanks for posting this one. there seems to be little of the Ustad's work available commercially. the only thing I've heard is the one with Nat Bilaval that appears on various labels. always wanted to hear some more. thanks :-)

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  2. Anonymous18 October 2011 at 18:37

    Wonderful post! Thank you!

    Re: Mutha Klanger - For a lovely recording of Bahadur Khan playing Kausi Kahnara, check out http://www.bihaanmusic.com/new%20inlays%20-%2023.02.2008/bahadur%20khan.htm

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  3. Tawfiq18 October 2011 at 18:46

    Thank you. The Kaushi Kanhara CD by Bahadur Khan can be ordered in Europe from:
    info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com
    They also ship to the US.

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  4. Mutha Klanger18 October 2011 at 21:52

    @Anonymous (& Tawfiq)

    thanks for the tip. I'll go check it out :-)

    have had a good old listen to the Ahir Vibhas (Bivash? good typo on the sleeve...I think? One never knows what rare ragas one might be missing)

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  5. Tawfiq18 October 2011 at 22:59

    See also his beautiful recordings on the site of Sangeet Research Academy under "Treasures from the Past":
    http://www.itcsra.org/treasures/treasure_past.asp

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  6. Giri Mandi19 October 2011 at 05:58

    Thank you very much! On You Tube you can see Subarna Rekha, the beautiful Ritwik Ghatak's movie featuring a touching soundtrack by Ustad Bahadur (appearing for few seconds at the begininng of the film with his sarod - part2 on YT).

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  7. Anonymous20 October 2011 at 19:54

    what about sraran rani on the short list of sarod players? or she's not so good?
    =)

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  8. Tawfiq20 October 2011 at 20:11

    Sharan Rani is a quite good student of Ali Akbar Khan, but can't compare in any way with the greatness of an Ali Akbar Khan or a Bahadur Khan. I might post 1 or 2 LPs by her in the future.

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  9. Anonymous21 October 2011 at 00:33

    very interesting info. please help me understand what i should listen for in comparing her works vs. Ali Akbar and Bahadur? what are some of the things a more knowledgeable listener would pick up, due to being more familiar with the musical culture?
    thanks.
    =)

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  10. Tawfiq21 October 2011 at 08:30

    I'm listening to music in a very intuitive way, not at all analytically. All I can say is: listen listen listen... With a rich listening experience one can hear the difference. One could say of Sharan Rani: well reproduced, whereas Ali Akbar Khan and Bahadur Khan are all creativity. Compare for example also on this blog the recordings by Mohammad Sharif Khan and Imrat Khan. Imrat Khan is very nice, but the creativity and intensity of Muhammad Sharif Khan is something else... By the way, they both come from the same background.

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  11. Anonymous21 October 2011 at 16:37

    cool!!!

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  12. Giri Mandi22 October 2011 at 03:26

    Thank you Tawfiq & Anonymous, reading your dialogue I realized that I was missing the Noble Presence of Ustad Sharif Khan in this blessed blog... wah, memorable Kirwani!

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  13. Anonymous17 November 2011 at 22:14

    very enlightening conversation regarding Poonchwaley, Halim Jaffer, Bahadur, etc... Still, I wonder about Sharan Rani? Saying she was a student of Ali Akbar, while true, is a little like calling the United States "a former colony of England." As a female, Rani has a different aesthetic & different things to express, versus the male players. You can't compare apples to oranges. And I think I detect a little bit of sexism, here. No offense, nothing personal. We're just having an enjoyable discussion about Indian Classical Instrumental music.

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  14. Tawfiq18 November 2011 at 08:22

    Hi,
    we are talking here about musical quality and the very rare gift of highly inspired music which leaves everything else behind. In every generation there are only very few musicians who have this gift. They just fly whereas others are just walking, many of them in a very beautiful, elegant and perfect way, but flying is something else.
    It is a gift, not something one can learn. In my opinion Ali Akbar Khan, Bahadur Khan, Mohammad Sharif Khan, Nikhil Banerjee belong to this category. India is extremely rich in very very good musicians, but only few - as everywhere - have this gift. All I can say: listen listen listen and maybe you will hear one day the difference.
    I like Sharan Rani very much and many others too, but one has to be just to the really exceptional artists, who most times have also an enormous influence on the following generations.
    Best

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  15. Anonymous18 November 2011 at 18:27

    i definitely know what you mean & do hear a difference: for example I am constantly amazed and inspired by NB, at a level quite apart from most others. So, thank you for introducing me to bahadur and moh. sahrif, i've been listening to the latter quite a bit since rediscovering him here (& obtaining some other audio in other places, as well, in order to hear as much of him as possible) and he is also very spellbinding. for today, you've inspired me to put the Bahadur selection on right now & start checking him out, too!
    =)

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  16. Giri Mandi18 November 2011 at 19:07

    Hahaha, dear Tawfiq, to avoid such accusations, be politically correct and post urgently the incomparable Annapurna Devi! :)
    Best wishes!

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  17. Ashley Whisnant6 March 2012 at 17:37

    Any chance of a new link for this one? :)

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  18. Ashley Whisnant12 March 2012 at 03:57

    Thank you so very much for the new link.

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  19. Anonymous4 April 2012 at 19:46

    i've been listening to this bahadur khan lp since you posted it, and it really clicked at an entirely different level, just yesterday. wow, i was for whatever reason very open & heard him in a new way..i always liked him, but yesterday i think i started to understand his magic. wow, he is my new favortie, so thank you....

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  20. Tawfiq4 April 2012 at 20:16

    That's the wonderful thing with Indian music, especially with the one by really great musicians, but also with other traditional oriental music, that all of a sudden a door opens and you hear the music completely new. It is as if a new level of understanding and perceiving has opened up. This can sometimes have the effect that all music you hear all of a sudden differently, with a new kind of understanding. That's why many musicians say that this music is an ocean without a shore. You never come to an end. And that's why this music is so satisfying. The really good musicians are very aware of this, and instead of trying to create something new, they dive deeper and deeper into this music and bring pearls up for us. I have to say that I'm into this music since 1968 and I never got tired of it, quite the contrary: the fascination is growing from year to year!

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  21. Anonymous5 April 2012 at 20:44

    wow, Tawfiq, that sounds cool!!!

    =)

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  22. Anonymous8 November 2012 at 17:35

    Thank you for this post and the wealth of information!

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  23. Anonymous7 February 2013 at 08:30

    Link is dead. Please see to it.

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  24. Tawfiq7 February 2013 at 09:30

    The link works perfectly. As by now everybody should know perhaps, Rapidshare limited its public traffic as of 27th of november 2012. So if the message comes up that the public traffic is exhausted you just have to wait till next morning (European time as Rapidshare is based in Switzerland).

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