The Rough Guide to Ali Akbar Khan

It is rare for a single musician to be called the greatest living musician of his time, yet that is how Yehudi Menuhin described Ali Akbar Khan, a master of the sarod. Descended from the Afghani rubab, the instrument is a short-necked, unfretted lute with a deep and richly resonant tone that seems perfect for the expression of North Indian classical ragas (scales for melodic improvisation). Khan and the sitar legend Ravi Shankar were the two most influential Indian musicians of the 20th century, both having been trained by Khan's father, Allauddin Khan, founder of the maihar gharana – a musical house-style that is known for highlighting uncommon talas (rhythm cycles) and reviving rarely heard ragas. This compilation starts with the well-known ‘Raga Darbari Kanada’ spread across the first two tracks, both tracks dating from the era of 78rpm records when an entire raga had to be condensed into three minutes. The album's concluding track is in the hugely popular ‘Raga Pilu’ and is also from the shellac era. But in between, we have those obscure numbers for which Khan was famous – ‘Raga Maligaura’ and also ‘Raga Lankadahan Sarang’. Although a compilation like this can only provide the briefest glimpse, The Rough Guide to Ali Akbar Khan is an excellent taster of his consummate musicianship – which is sure to go on appealing to new generations of listeners.