Ustad Vilayat Khan
Vilayat Khan, one of the greatest Hindustani musicians of the 20th century, was born in Gouripur in East Bengal (later Bangladesh) in August 1922. (Various other dates are strewn throughout the literature but that is the date that he confirmed in 1993.) His grandfather, Imdad Khan (1848-1920) and his father Enayat Khan (1894-1938) -- Vilayat Khan gives the spelling Inayat Khan -- were famed musicians in their lifetimes and Vilayat and his younger brother Imrat Khan inherited their musicality. Their gharana is known as the Imdadkhani gharana after their grandfather.
He studied initially with his father. On his father's death in 1938 his training became the responsibility of his mother, Bashiran Begum, his grandmother, Bande Hussain Khan, and his maternal uncle, Wahid Khan. Around the same period Vilayat Khan began recording 78s. Peculiarly it is reported that he had to cope with odious comparisons with his father. Gradually he developed a style which, while acknowledging his kinsfolk's contribution, spoke with his own distinctive voice. His most outstanding contribution to his gharana's tradition is the evolution of what is known as a vocal style or gayaki ang on sitar. To some degree this is a term of convenience. Other contemporary musicians were striving to develop instrumental styles which more closely resembled the human voice -- it was after all the goal of all instrumentalists to mimic as far as possible the human voice -- and Vilayat Khan did not have a monopoly in this endeavor whatever some commentators claimed. That is not to detract from his achievement which was considerable and caused a sensation.
Vilayat Khan's strides in compensating for the sitar's shortcomings were immense. His career was marked by a regally consistent musical quality. An outspoken critic of low standards, he maintained levels of personal integrity that on occasion earned him the disfavor of the establishment. Little of his work was in any context other than the strictly classical one although he worked with Satyajit Ray on the soundtrack to the film Jalsaghar and the Ismail Merchant/James Ivory film The Guru. He might be summed up as a keeper -- not a quencher -- of the flame.
© Ken Hunt /TiVo
Similar artists
Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
A Night to Remember
World - Released by Navras Records on Jul 17, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live in Mumbai
Ustad Vilayat Khan, Zakir Hussain, Hidayat Khan
World - Released by Aimrec on Feb 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
When Time Stood Still…
Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Kishan Maharaj
World - Released by Navras Records on Jul 20, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In Concert : Raga Khamaj (Live At Desingel, Antwerp)
Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pt. Anindo Chatterjee
Classical - Released by Navras Records on Oct 16, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tradition
Ustad Vilayat Khan, Zakir Hussain, Hidayat Khan
World - Released by Aimrec on Mar 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Raag Shahana Kanada: Alap Jor and Jhala (Live)
Classical - Released by Sony Music India - 550 Music on Jan 1, 1988
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
-
The Guru (Original Soundtrack Recording)
Film Soundtracks - Released by RCA - Legacy on Apr 1, 1969
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Raga Hameer - Live At The Royal Festival Hall
World - Released by Navras Records on Jan 24, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ragas to Riches, Vol. 1 (Live)
World - Released by Navras Records on Apr 7, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ustad Vilayat Khan: Sitar Vadan
World - Released by Ishtar Music Pvt. Ltd. on Jun 6, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at the Royal Festival Hall, London, November 25, 1993
Ustad Vilayat Khan, Shujaat Hussain
World - Released by Navras Records on Sep 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Supreme Genius of Ustad Vilayat Khan
Folk - Released by OSMOSIS RECORDS on Oct 19, 1968
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Brilliance of Sound
Folk - Released by OSMOSIS RECORDS on Oct 19, 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Icons of Indian Music - Ustad Vilayat Khan (Hindustani Classical)
Classical - Released by Tips Industries Ltd on Mar 8, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Captivating Melodies of Sitar
Ustad Vilayat Khan, Zakir Hussain
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Echo Recording Co. Pvt. Ltd. on Mar 5, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthology - Evolution Of A Maestro
World - Released by Navras Records on Sep 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Aftab-E-Sitar (Indian Classical Sitar) (Live)
Indian Music - Released by Questz World on Jan 18, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo