UMAR KHAN | Raga Bhairavin on Surbahar

Remembering the great Ustad on his birth anniversary.
Ustad Umar Khan - surbahar
Few people know that Ustad Umar Khan was not only an exceptional sarod player and vocalist, he was also playing and teaching surbahar & sitar. Here is a private recording of his surbahar alap in Raag Bhairavin.
Recorded in 1981 by his son Ustad Irfan Khan at home in Kolkata.
"Umar Khan was largely trained on the sarod by his father Sakhawat Hussain Khan and in addition adopted much of the Kalpi repertoire that his brother Ilyas Khan had learnt from teachers outside the family (Abdul Ghani Khan, Yusuf Ali Khan). His friends included the likes of Mushtaq Ali Khan, Fahimuddin Dagar and the sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan, a peer group that influenced Umar Khan’s artistic horizons, in addition to his formal training.
For much of his professional career, Umar Khan remained in the employ of the nawab of Jalpaiguri. The nawab’s daughter, a serious musician, studied surbahar under Umar Khan for several decades. “Whenever concert offers came my father’s way, the nawab would make a generous counter-offer that killed his financial motivation to perform,” said Irfan Khan. The nawab’s deep respect for the ustad and his benevolent patronage wrecked Umar Khan’s career as a sarod soloist. So frequent were the disruptions that he gradually faded away from the concert stage, and consequently from the memory of the listening public." (taken from Arnab Chakrabartys article in scroll.in: scroll.in/maga...)
More of Ustad Umar Khans music from our collection:
• UMAR KHAN
The audio & the photo is from the archive of Ustad Irfan MD Khan.

[@ramonrivases191]

Great!!!
Thanks

[@irfanmuhammadkhan4737]

Thanks Matyas

[@lucknow-shahjahanpur-ghara7790]

My pleasure Ustadji!