Isbin,Sharon / Khan,Ali Amjad - Strings For Peace: Premieres For Guitar & Sarod - World / Reggae - CD

Representing the sixth generation of a family of musicians and sarod masters and it's tradition known as the Senia Bangash Gharana, Ustad (maestro) Amjad Ali Khan is steeped in the classical Indian tradition of ragas and talas, which he learnt first from his father and guru Ustad Haafiz Ali Khan from the court of Gwalior, a true capital of North Indian classical music since the height of the Mughal Empire. In turn, Amjad Ali Khan has been guru to his two sons, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangaash, so the family tradition continues with a seventh generation and flourishes on the world stage as never before. In recent years father and sons have turned their attention more and more towards collaborations with musicians from other great traditions, especially Western classical music, seeking ways in which their Indian music finds resonances and parallels in other music, so that the Western musicians concerned can find a way into Indian music without the years of formal training expected of an Indian. An obvious connection featured in this album is that the sarod and guitar are both leading plucked stringed instruments of their respective traditions. The sarod does not have frets, and this enables it better to replicate the essential slides and other embellishments demanded of raga performance. Thus it requires a guitarist of the caliber of Sharon Isbin to interact with no fewer than three sarod masters. In the words of Amjad Ali Khan himself, 'each of the artists brings the spirit of sharing the great unique treasures of their own artistic traditions, as well as finding common ground in ragas and medieval modes. The idea is to achieve a cross-fertilization at both the cellular and cosmic levels of two classical music traditions, which are often held to be radically different.'