Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan
Encyclopedia
Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan is an India
n sitar
player. Khan received the national awards Padma Shri
(1970) and Padma Bhushan
(2006) and was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
for 1987.
. He was born in 1929, in Jawra, Madhya Pradesh, as the son of Jaffer Khan, a versatile vocalist, sitarist and beenkar. He hails from the Beenkar Gharana of Indore. He has been a distinguished All India Radio Artiste since the early 1940s. A few years before the Beatles met Ravi Shankar, in 1958, Khan collaborated with jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck
. Brubeck who was in Bombay through the state sponsored "jazz diplomacy" - the Jazz Ambassadors Program was impressed by the improvisation in Indian music and said that the experience accompanying Halim Jaffer Khan led him to play in a different way. He says of that meeting, “We understood each other." Khan also performed with the noted English classical guitarist Julian Bream
in 1963.
Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan is perhaps best known for his innovation, Jafferkhani Baaj. He describes it as, "a synthesis of precision in technique, systematic thought" with a vigorous playing style. Cultural anthropologist and reader at the University of Mumbai, Dr. Kamala Ganesh states: "His music making is full of eclectic yet deeply informed choices. He is a thinking musician but puts across his complex views with a simplicity and feeling which demarcate the articulate performer from the articulate theoretician.... In him, one gets an unmistakable sense... a syncretic tradition". The Indian santoor player Shivkumar Sharma remembers of Khan's performance of the raga Chaayanat: "It was probably in 1955-56, I was relaxing in my terrace in Jammu. In the stillness of the night I heard the notes of Raga Chaayanat on the sitar emanate from my neighbor's radio. I immediately noticed that the tone of the sitar was completely different and the style of playing radically unique. I rushed to switch on my radio.... I was totally engrossed and was very curious to know who this maestro was."
Of ragas such as Kirwani, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan has been credited with bringing Carnatic ragas into the sitar repertoire: Kanakangi, Latangi, Kirwani, Karaharapriya, Manavati, Ganamurti, etc. but rendering them through a Hindustani sensibility and in the Jafferkhani style. he was the first Hindustani musician to collaborate with Carnatic music in a performance with renowned Veena player Emani Sankara Sastry
. His early experimentation with polytonality in Indian classical instrumentation (which is largely solo performance) was achieved in his sitar quintet.
Khan has had a valuable involvement with Indian cinema. He has composed and played for epic films like Mughal-e-Azam
, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, Goonj Uthi Shehnai, Kohinoor and has collaborated with noted music directors such as Vasant Desai, C. Ramachandra, Madan Mohan and Naushad who has said, "he not only enriched film music, but his participation lent prestige to my songs.”
In 1976, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan created the Halim Academy of Sitar in Mumbai, India. His legacy is being carried on by his son Zunain Khan, an accomplished sitarist himself.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
player. Khan received the national awards Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
(1970) and Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
(2006) and was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
for 1987.
Life
Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan is the youngest of the 'Sitar Trinity' of India along with Ravi Shankar and Vilayat KhanVilayat Khan
Ustad Vilayat Khan was one of India's well known sitar maestros, born in Gauripur in Mymensingh, Bengal...
. He was born in 1929, in Jawra, Madhya Pradesh, as the son of Jaffer Khan, a versatile vocalist, sitarist and beenkar. He hails from the Beenkar Gharana of Indore. He has been a distinguished All India Radio Artiste since the early 1940s. A few years before the Beatles met Ravi Shankar, in 1958, Khan collaborated with jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
. Brubeck who was in Bombay through the state sponsored "jazz diplomacy" - the Jazz Ambassadors Program was impressed by the improvisation in Indian music and said that the experience accompanying Halim Jaffer Khan led him to play in a different way. He says of that meeting, “We understood each other." Khan also performed with the noted English classical guitarist Julian Bream
Julian Bream
Julian Bream, CBE is an English classical guitarist and lutenist and is one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century. He has also been successful in renewing popular interest in the Renaissance lute....
in 1963.
Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan is perhaps best known for his innovation, Jafferkhani Baaj. He describes it as, "a synthesis of precision in technique, systematic thought" with a vigorous playing style. Cultural anthropologist and reader at the University of Mumbai, Dr. Kamala Ganesh states: "His music making is full of eclectic yet deeply informed choices. He is a thinking musician but puts across his complex views with a simplicity and feeling which demarcate the articulate performer from the articulate theoretician.... In him, one gets an unmistakable sense... a syncretic tradition". The Indian santoor player Shivkumar Sharma remembers of Khan's performance of the raga Chaayanat: "It was probably in 1955-56, I was relaxing in my terrace in Jammu. In the stillness of the night I heard the notes of Raga Chaayanat on the sitar emanate from my neighbor's radio. I immediately noticed that the tone of the sitar was completely different and the style of playing radically unique. I rushed to switch on my radio.... I was totally engrossed and was very curious to know who this maestro was."
Of ragas such as Kirwani, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan has been credited with bringing Carnatic ragas into the sitar repertoire: Kanakangi, Latangi, Kirwani, Karaharapriya, Manavati, Ganamurti, etc. but rendering them through a Hindustani sensibility and in the Jafferkhani style. he was the first Hindustani musician to collaborate with Carnatic music in a performance with renowned Veena player Emani Sankara Sastry
Emani sankara sastry
Emani Sankara Sastry , was a renowned Veena player of Carnatic music.-Life sketch:Sankara Sastry was born on September 23, 1922 in Draksharama, Andhra Pradesh. He came from a family of celebrated classical musicians...
. His early experimentation with polytonality in Indian classical instrumentation (which is largely solo performance) was achieved in his sitar quintet.
Khan has had a valuable involvement with Indian cinema. He has composed and played for epic films like Mughal-e-Azam
Mughal-e-Azam
Mughal-E-Azam is a 1960 Indian historical epic film produced under the banner of Sterling Investment Corporation Pvt Ltd, and directed by K. Asif. With its unmatched production, K. Asif's magnum opus took nine years and $3 million to complete this movie. This was when a typical Bollywood film...
, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, Goonj Uthi Shehnai, Kohinoor and has collaborated with noted music directors such as Vasant Desai, C. Ramachandra, Madan Mohan and Naushad who has said, "he not only enriched film music, but his participation lent prestige to my songs.”
In 1976, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan created the Halim Academy of Sitar in Mumbai, India. His legacy is being carried on by his son Zunain Khan, an accomplished sitarist himself.
Select Awards
- Padmabhushan in 2006
- Shikhar Samman (Govt. of Madhya Pradesh) in 1991
- Gaurav Puraskar (Govt. of Maharashatra) in 1990
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1987
- Padmashree in 1970
Video
Narrated by violinist Yehudi Menuhin, Deben Bhattacharya's film Raga features a young virtuosic Halim Jaffer Khan playing raga Sindh Bhairavi.Select Discography
- Live in Jaipur 1968. Label Navras
- Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan: Guzra Zamana - Live in Concert 1968. Label BMG Cresendo
- 75th Celebration Swara Sadhna. Label Navras
- 70th Birthday Release. Label Navras
- A Night at the Valley. Label HMV/Sa Re Ga Ma
- Jafferkhani Baaj. Label HMV/RPG Music
- Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan Concert Series. Label CBS/Swara Shree Enterprises
- A Tribute to Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan Series on HMV/RPG Music
External links
- The Beenkar Gharana, ITC Sangeet Research AcademyITC Sangeet Research AcademyITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd.. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar...
, Kolkata, 2001. - jafferkhanibaaj.com - Official Website