Vilayat Khan
Vilayat Khan, one of the greatest Hindustani musicians of the 20th century, was born in Gouripur in East Bengal (later Bangladesh) in August 1922. (Various other dates are strewn throughout the literature but that is the date that he confirmed in 1993.) His grandfather, Imdad Khan (1848-1920) and his father Enayat Khan (1894-1938) -- Vilayat Khan gives the spelling Inayat Khan -- were famed musicians in their lifetimes and Vilayat and his younger brother Imrat Khan inherited their musicality. Their gharana is known as the Imdadkhani gharana after their grandfather.
He studied initially with his father. On his father's death in 1938 his training became the responsibility of his mother, Bashiran Begum, his grandmother, Bande Hussain Khan, and his maternal uncle, Wahid Khan. Around the same period Vilayat Khan began recording 78s. Peculiarly it is reported that he had to cope with odious comparisons with his father. Gradually he developed a style which, while acknowledging his kinsfolk's contribution, spoke with his own distinctive voice. His most outstanding contribution to his gharana's tradition is the evolution of what is known as a vocal style or gayaki ang on sitar. To some degree this is a term of convenience. Other contemporary musicians were striving to develop instrumental styles which more closely resembled the human voice -- it was after all the goal of all instrumentalists to mimic as far as possible the human voice -- and Vilayat Khan did not have a monopoly in this endeavor whatever some commentators claimed. That is not to detract from his achievement which was considerable and caused a sensation.
Vilayat Khan's strides in compensating for the sitar's shortcomings were immense. His career was marked by a regally consistent musical quality. An outspoken critic of low standards, he maintained levels of personal integrity that on occasion earned him the disfavor of the establishment. Little of his work was in any context other than the strictly classical one although he worked with Satyajit Ray on the soundtrack to the film Jalsaghar and the Ismail Merchant/James Ivory film The Guru. He might be summed up as a keeper -- not a quencher -- of the flame.
© Ken Hunt /TiVo
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Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Maestro's Choice - Vilayet Khan
Wereldmuziek - Released by Music Today on 16 aug. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ragas to Riches, Vol. 2
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 18 aug. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le salon de musique (Satya Jithray's Jalsaghar)
Vilayat Khan, Bismillah Khan, Akhtari Bai, Salamat Ali Khan, Imrat Khan
Originele soundtracks - Released by Ocora Radio France on 9 sep. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
From the NCPA Archives
Pop/Rock - Released by Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. on 6 feb. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Rare Genius
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 17 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Rare Genius
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 17 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Inayat
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 17 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Al Wida - Farewell
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 17 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Raga Hameer
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 9 sep. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rarely Heard Ragas - Vilayat Khan
Wereldmuziek - Released by Music Today on 1 jan. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of Vilayat Khan
Wereldmuziek - Released by Living Media India, Ltd on 21 nov. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vilayat Khan
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 31 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ragas To Riches (Vol. 1)
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 17 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saaz Sitar, Vol. 2
Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan, Shujaat Hussain Khan
Wereldmuziek - Released by Living Media India Ltd. on 22 nov. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Film India
Wereldmuziek - Released by EL records on 19 okt. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classic Sitar
Wereldmuziek - Released by Digital Revival on 14 nov. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ragas To Riches (Vol. 2)
Wereldmuziek - Released by Navras Records on 17 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo