Classical Music of North India - Sitar and Tabla - LP released in Japan in 1982

In 2017 we had posted an LP from the same series: Duet of Sitar and Sarod. Here another LP with Ganesh Bahadur Bhandary on Sitar on side 1 and Shambhu Prasad Misra with a long Tabla Solo on Side 2. For more infos on the musicians see the above link. The musicians are from Nepal.

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Chaturlal (1925-1965) & Ramnarain (Ram Narayan) - Beat and Bow - LP published in India in 1967

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Alla Rakha Khan (1919-2000) - Tabla - LP released in Pakistan in 1973

Here a rare LP from Pakistan by the great Ustad Alla Rakha. 

Sarangi Lehra is by Ustad Nathu Khan.

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Indian Talas - Nikhil Ghosh (1918-1995) & Raja Chattrapati Singh (1919-1998) - Unesco Collection - Musical Atlas - LP released in Italy in 1983

Here a rather rare LP with the great Tabla master Nikhil Ghosh (1918-1995) and his sons Nayan Ghosh (born 1956) (Tabla) and Dhruba Ghosh (born 1957) (Sarangi). In addition the LP has two tracks by the great Pakhawaj master Raja Chattrapati Singh (1919-1998).

I still remember vividly a concert of Nikhil Ghosh with his very young sons, playing Sitar and Sarangi, in Cologne on 21st of november 1978. Today both sons are very well known musicians.

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On the artists see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikhil_Ghosh

http://www.parrikar.org/vpl/?page_id=251

http://www.raga.com/cds/216/216txt.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatrapati_Singh

http://dhrupad.org/gundecha-brothers/teachers/

Kalyani Roy (Sitar) & Ali Ahmed Hussain (Shehnai) - Soul of India - LP published 1968 in the US

"Born on April 29, 1931, sitarist Kalyani Roy is one of the few major women instrumentalists in her genre, with a career spanning 50 years. Kalyani is a disciple of Ustad Vilayat Khan and has had training from other masters, including percussion genius Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Kalyani`s immediately identifiable sitar tone is a unique variant of the Vilayatkhani sound, her style mixes a vibrant rhythmic approach with Vilayat Khan`s lyricism.

She performs regularly on Radio, Television and was a regular participant at music conferences both in India and abroad. She made a number of disc records, both solo as well as duet with Radhika Mohan Maitra. In addition to Ustad Vilayat Khan and Jitendra Mohan Sen Gupta, she studied also under Shauqat Ali Khan and Karamatullah Khan for a brief period. She is also a teacher of repute."

from: http://suman-bhattacharya.webs.com/gurus.htm

"Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan (21.03.1939 – 16.03.2016) was one of the veterans and maestros of the shehnai - an instrument which is an integral part of Indian Classical musical culture. Ustadji was influential in taking the instrument out of wedding receptions and other social functions to the concert stage as well as to various international destinations. 

He applied his unique and innovative style and reinvented the form of the shehnai by way of its application in gayaki, sur meend, pukaar, tantrakari, baat ki taan, sapat ki taan, jod and jhala, taking it to a new level of performance.

It was to Ustadji’s immense credit that he ventured to play on the shehnai many ragas that were traditionally not played on this instrument." 

from: http://www.itcsra.org/sra_news_views/obituary/ali_ahmed_hussain_khan.html

A special feature of this LP is the tabla accompaniment by a very great, but less known master: Afak (Afaq) Hussain Khan. He is considered by connoisseurs to be one of the greatest tabla masters ever.

"Afaq Hussain Khan (1930–90); Lucknow tradition - Afaq Hussain Khan, the son of Wajid Hussain, was my teacher and – despite my inherent bias – the greatest player I have ever heard play live. He was widely acknowledged by musicians and connoisseurs as a true master: exceptionally knowledgeable, technically supreme, and inherently musical – a musician's musician! He played with clarity, sweetness, and a refined, balanced sound. Some would say that his approach to sound production was a philosophy in itself." 

from: http://artoftabla.blogspot.de/p/tabla-maestros.html

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Alla Rakha (1919-2000) & Zakir Hussain (born 1951) - Tabla in Solo and Duet - LP published in India in 1972

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Chatur Lal (1925-1965) - The Drums of India - LP originally published in the US in 1961

Re-edition from end of 1960s or beginning of 1970s of a LP originally published in 1961.

One of the great Tabla players of the 1950s and 1960s, famous for his accompaniment to greats like Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, his younger brother Ram Narayan, Sharan Rani and many great singers.

See here our post of a LP by Ram Narayan and Chatur Lal.

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Mahapurush Misra (1932-1987) - Rythmes de l'Inde - French edition of an LP originally published in 1966 in the US

Originally published in 1966 in the US as "Indian Drums" by Connoisseur Society, CS 1466.

With Lahara on Sarod by Ali Akbar Khan.

Unfortunately we only recently noted that the pickup needle was hanging for a moment at one or two spots in the last track. By putting a small weight on the pickup we could get beyond this. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Here the corrected files:

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“Pandit Mahapurush Mishra (1932-1987) was a disciple of Pandit Anokhelal Mishra, a revered master of Tabla. Mahapurush was a famous Tabla accompanist to many topmost musicians and a professor at the Ali Akbar College of Music in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He spent most of his time during the late 1960s in USA teaching, recording, and appearing widely in numerous classical music concerts. There are far too few of his Tabla solos in circulation. However, this solo album of Pandit Mahapurush Mishra, a very rare-of-its-kind, is an invariably spectacular display of his virtuosity and musicality, which he is renowned for.

Longtime Tabla master, sideman to the stars, and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s main accompanist throughout the better part of three decades until his death, Pandit Mahapurush Mishra has also appeared on the Beatles b-side of Lady Madonna, George Harrison’s The Inner Light (recorded in Bombay in January 1968 with the vocal tracks added in London the next month) as well as on Harrison’s Wonderwall soundtrack.”

See here our posts of performances by his guru Pandit Anokhelal Mishra:

http://oriental-traditional-music.blogspot.de/search/label/Anokhelal%20Mishra%20%281914-1958%29

Ram Narayan & Chatur Lal - Ragas du Matin et du Soir - Re-edition of a LP published originally in France in 1964

This is a 1976 re-edition of a 10" record published by the same label originally in 1964. See below the original covers (taken from Discogs). The 1976 edition has less surface noise.

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Covers of the original 1964 edition:

Talib Hussain (Tabla & Pakhawaj) and other Tablaiyas - Cassette from Pakistan

Ustad Talib Hussain was one of the major two or three Tabla players in Pakistan from the 1960s to the 1990s and one of the last remaining Pakhawaj players of Pakistan. He was well versed in both Tabla and Pakhawaj playing. He learned from his uncle Baba Malang Khan of Talwandi. Later on he further studied with Ustad Gami Khan of Dehli Gharana. In addition, he was the last recognized practitioner of the Punjab style of Pakhawaj playing (from which the tabla gharana has its roots). Unfortunately, at a relatively young age, Ustad Sahib was murdered in a mosque by militants in Lahore in 1993. 

We present here a cassette published in Peshawar, Pakistan. We don't remember from whom we obtained this cassette and unfortunately we didn't scan the original cover. These recordings are different from the ones published in 1974 on LP by EMI Pakistan and now available for download on many download platforms like Amazon, Musicload, emusic etc.

Bosmart just posted on his blog "La Logique interne" apparently the original version of this cassette:

http://lalogiqueinterne.blogspot.de/2013/05/tablaiyas-du-pakistan.html

The correct track info according to the cover below - posted by Bosmart - is, if we read it correctly:

Side A:

1. Savari Panch Tal by Ustad Talib Hussain

2. Tintal (Vilambit & Drut) by Abdul Sattar Tari (Tari Khan)

Side B:

1. Rupak Tal by Ustad Akhtar Hussain

2. Pakhawaj Jhaptal by Ustad Talib Hussain

The version which we copied many many years ago was from a cassette published by Ariana Recording in Peshawar. Unfortunately we didn't copy the cover and in the deciphering of the names of musicians we made either mistakes or the information given on this cassette was not correct. Anyway, the Ariana cassette seems to be a later copy of the original Lok Virsa cassette. We are very grateful to Bosmart to have posted the original version.

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About Abdul Sattar Tari (Tari Khan) (born 1953):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tari_Khan

There were two Tabla masters by the name of Akhtar Hussain, one of them being the last Khalifa of the Punjab Gharana. I guess here we have this Akhtar Hussain.

On the Punjab Gharana see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjab_gharana

More Anokhelal Mishra (1914-1958) - Tabla Solo in Teental in Balaram Pathak's house on 11.9.1957

Here an unpublished Tabla solo by the great master 

recorded by his student Mahapurush Mishra.

Anokhelal Mishra - Tabla

Lahara: Khanna Banerjee

Teental (32:14)

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Pandit Anokhelal Mishra was born in Kashi in 1914. He belonged to the Benaras Gharana of the Tabla. Both his parents died when he was very young and he was brought up by his grandmother. She detected his talent and enrolled him as a student of the Tabla in the Benaras Gharana of Ram Sahaiji. As a child, Anokhelal had to suffer poverty and deprivation. He was put under the tutelage of Pandit Bhairavprasadji, who gave him a rigorous education for 15 continuous years. This really worked wonders. Anokhelal put in unremitting practice, which went on for hours together, every day.
Anokhelalji’s relentless practice lent a unique clarity to his Tabla syllables. He was applauded for his superb ‘Nikas’ (sound production). He was called the wizard of ‘Na Dhin Dhin Na’. He could play these syllables with exceptional clarity, even at a supersonic speed. This assured him a place in history. Anokhelal was a soloist as well as an excellent accompanist.
At a time, when appearance in the National Programme of Music on All India Radio was a matter of immense prestige, Anokhelal figured in the same, a number of times. In the late fifties, his programmes were broadcast by the Voice of America as well. He was afflicted by Gangrene in 1956 and succumbed to it in 1958 at the very young age of 44. Humble and friendly by nature, he was popular all over the country. To him goes the credit of making the audience familiar with the Benaras style of Tabla. Anokhelal trained a number of pupils. His son Ramji Mishra, the late Mahapurush Mishra, Ishwarlal Mishra, Chhotelal Mishra and Kashinath Mishra are some of the prominent pupils of Pt. Anokhelal Mishra.
from: http://www.shawnmativetsky.com/html/tabla/the-benares-tabla-gharana/

Anokhelal Mishra (1914-1958) - Tabla Solo in Teental - recorded on 26.12.1957

Pandit Anokhelal Mishra was a legendary Tabla player of the Benares Gharana.

See about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anokhelal_Mishra

A couple of years ago the Indian label Legendary Legacy published a CD by him. See here. Unfortunately this CD has a completely wrong speed and is therefore very frustrating. A number of years ago somebody shared in the Chandrakantha Forum the same recording with much better sound quality and a more correct speed. It seems that the download link for this recording has disappeared. So here it is again.

Teental: Peshkar, Kaida, Gat, Tukre

Lahara: Jnan Prakash Ghosh

Recorded 26.12.1957

Part 1 (45:38)

Part 2 (7:22)

Apparently from a 90 minutes cassette. There is a small part missing between the two sides. On the CD and also on the YouTube video there was anyway only the first part.

A member of the Chandrakantha Forum community wrote: "On the assumption that the speed was slightly slow beginning at 1:16 I've restored the speed at that point by +2% so that it is now nearly impossible to tell the difference before and after 1:16. I've also removed about 90% of the hiss that's especially prominent in the first half. There's another slight slow down at 11:25. I've also fixed this (by +2%). "  Many thanks for your efforts.

The new sound file is here:

Download corrected version

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa & Ustad Amir Hussain Khan - Rhythms of India - Tabla Recital - LP EASD 1335 (1969) - The Gramophone Company of India

Side 1:

Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa - Tabla

1. Teen Tala (8:59)

2. Ek Tala (8:29)

Side 2:

Ustad Amir Hussain Khan - Tabla

1. Teen Tala (8:10)

2. Roopak Tala (7:06)

3. Jhap Tala (3:52)

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