Music OnLine : feroz khan

Marc Dall'Anese & Mad Sheer Khan

Anthology - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

The Restoration of Culture After Genghis Khan

Rahat Ali Khan & Humaira Channa

Selection - Ustd Amjad Ali Khan

Maestro's Choice - Amjad Ali Khan

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

Amjad Ali Khan, Suchitra Mitra

Bismillah Khan Digital Collection 2

Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar

Raga Vilayat Khan Kanada-alap

Ustad Vilayat Khan (Sitar Wadan)

Bismillah Khan, V. G. Jog

To the Western world, Ravi Shankar is the man who introduced the sitar to generations of listeners. To the connoisseur of Hindustani classical music, Vilayat Khan is as important, if not more so, in the instrument's development. Khan's style, as opposed to Shankar's, is less buzzing and more lyrical and sonorous -- though he's extremely capable of a lightning-fast, floral run if the mood of the raga calls for it. His style, labeled gayaki ang, was developed to emulate traditional vocal styles such as dhrupad. It comes across most strongly when Khan explores the slow, note-by-note explication of the alap section of a composition. Khan's family is one of the most respected and influential of all musical gharanas in India, with a lineage that includes his grandfather Imdad Khan, his brother Imrat, and many talented musicians in younger generations. Khan eschews cross-cultural collaborations to retain a style deeply rooted in tradition, and he's boundlessly inventive within the austere North Indian style.

One of the leading young performers of Hindustani vocal music, Khan is the great-grandson of Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan Saheb, founder of the Rampur Sahaswan Gharana. His studies with great-uncle Nissar Hussain Khan have allowed him to pick up on the intricacies of this fine musical lineage. His voice is powerful with a somber edge, sustaining for what seems like minutes as he weaves through various ragas in both serious and light classical settings. He has many fans, including singer/sitarist Vilayat Khan and singer Bhimsen Joshi, who has called Khan India's top young singer. Khan's first performance was at age eleven in 1977, but it was his interpretation of raga Yaman that established him in the early 1990s as one of the very best.

Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan

Bismillah Khan is a master of the shehnai, an ancient Indian wind instrument. Khan grew up in Benares, on the banks of the Ganges, hearing the shehnai used in both folk and sacred settings. As he learned his craft he brought the instrument firmly into classical music, becoming a dearly beloved public figure in the process. For years Khan was revered outside India for his instrumental prowess, but, afraid of flying, he refused international invitations for years. Finally induced (or rather, bribed) by the Indian government to accept an invitation to perform in the UK, Khan lost his fear of flying and spread his music across the globe.

In the '70s, Khan made his living mostly as a sideman, playing with a who's who of Fusion greats, adding his watery chords and sleek Bebop licks to many classic albums by artists such as the Brecker Brothers, Bob James, Steely Dan, Billy Cobham and Blood Sweat & Tears, otherwise known as the factory for Fusion guitarists. Like peers John Scofield and John Abercrombie, Khan has had an opportunity to explore his solo voice in the '80s and beyond, continuing to explore Fusion but also proving his talent as a fiery Bop player -- Khan doesn't need distortion to make his guitar soar. His 1980 album Evidence gained critical appreciation with it's tasty solo explorations of the music of Thelonious Monk, while more recent albums like Got My Mental put Khan in a pleasantly introspective Post Bop format with drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist John Patitucci on hand for the improvisations.

His credentials are rock-solid: a direct lineage to the sixteenth century Mogul Emperor Akbar, a family that (legend has it) invented the sitar and the tabla, and a father (Imrat), uncle (Vilayat) and grandfather (Imdad) who are three of the most influential and important Indian musicians. It comes as no surprise that Ustad Nishat Khan has developed into an astounding sitar virtuoso, with a delicate mastery of raga intricacies. The tone of the Khan family is mellower and more austere than that of India's other major gharana (school), that of Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar and Allaudin Khan. Nishat follows tradition in his playing, but he also allows himself to experience the music of other cultures, teaming up with diverse international musicians including Ray Charles, Philip Glass, John McLaughlin and the early vocal music ensemble Gilles Binchois.

First exercising her considerable vocal talents with Funk outfit Rufus, Chaka Khan has gone on to reinvent herself numerous times, most notably in the mid-1980s with the pop hit "I Feel for You" and again with her smash dance hit "I'm Every Woman," which Whitney Houston re-recorded in the '90s. Perhaps even more revered for such slow, funky numbers as "Tell Me Something Good," Chaka Khan's voice possesses remarkable depth and range, making her one of the reigning queens of Soul.