Ali Akbar Khan: Live from Delhi (1981)

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Today we feature a 1981 concert from Sarod master Ali Akbar Khan in Delhi.

I originally got this recording in my tape-trading days by mistake. I was doing a big trade with a guy, like 10-12 shows. Mostly jazz/funk/groove/jam type stuff (Medeski Martin and Wood, Galactic, Greyboy Allstars, that kind of thing). When the other package arrived, there was one unmarked CDR. I e-mailed the guy and asked what it was because when I put it in my player, no information came up. The other person said they had not meant to that CDR to be in my box, it was supposed to go to someone else, but that it was a recording of Ali Akbar Khan in concert.

In all honesty, I was not ready for this music then and the CDR sat in a pile for years. Then, one day a few years ago, as my musical palette was expanding, I not only pulled out the concert but looked it up online to learn more. The fantastic Flat, Black, and Classical came to the rescue with a full-write-up! Included in their piece are the following observations and details:

The two pieces on this cassette almost sound like two different concerts (which could be the case). An alternative explanation for the differences in aural character between the two is that adjustments at the mixing desk were made during the show, which can often occur.

The first piece is an alap and jod section of Raga Miyan ki Malhar. This has a slightly dull upper end and some minimal distortion at the dynamic peaks. I would have though it was an issue with azimuth adjustment, but the fact is that the second piece sounds more full and with a crisp upper end in comparison. Because of the way cassettes are made, a cut had to be made in the longer piece so that the sides were about equal in timing. The first section of Raga Desh Malhar is on the same side of the tape as the entire alap and jod of Raga Miyan Ki Malhar, but sounds exactly like the rest of the raga on the other side of the tape. So it was not a case of one side of the tape being played with incorrect azimuth. I stitched together the longer piece in a way that is noticeable but not jarring.
Overall, it is an extremely enjoyable live performance from Ali Akbar Khan and tabla maestro Shankar Ghosh, who unfortunately died in late January of this year.


Ali Akbar Khan: Sarod
Shankar Ghosh: Tabla

Side 1: Raga Miyan Ki Malhar: alap and jod
Side 2: Raga Desh Malhar: gats in vilambit (slow) teentaal and medium

I don’t know where your musical palette is at these days, but I highly recommend serenading your Quarantine with some Sarod.

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Live in Eugene, OR (1983)

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I was reminded of this recording the other day while listening to “Stir” from the fantastic One Eleven Heavy album, Desire Path. One of the songs references listening to Ali Akbar, and it prompted me to pull out this gem and give is a reconsideration. If you’re not familiar with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, The Wikipedias tell us that Ali Akbar Khan:

“was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he also composed several classical ragas and film scores. He established a music school in Calcutta in 1956, and the Ali Akbar College of Music in 1967, which moved with him to the United States and is now based in San Rafael, California, with a branch in Basel, Switzerland.”

This is a live recording that I’e had for several years, and according to the wonderful Flat, Black and Classical blog (where you can also download the show):

“Here we have another in the series of cassettes which AMMP Music Productions (i.e., the AACM) released in the mid 1980s documenting the Ustad's collection of concert recordings. The story I have heard, not independently verified by any of the principals, is that Mary Johnson Khan began discovering boxes of reels of recordings of live concerts by her husband placed in odd locations in their home. Places like under a couch or in closets. She apparently decided to start to archive these recordings with the goal of eventually making them available to the public.”

Tabla by Swapan Chaudhuri.

Side A of the cassette begins with Khan explaining what he'll play that evening, followed by “Raga Hem Behag:”

Side B of the cassette features “Raga Bihag:”