Biography of ustad alla rakha and zakir

Qureshi Alla Rakha Khan popularly known whereas Alla Rakha was an Amerindic tabla player. He was unornamented frequent accompanist of Ravi Shankar.

Drummer Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi, very known as Ustad Allarakha Caravanserai, popularized the musical genre surrounding solo tabla as a unanimity form.

Beginning in the Decennary, Qureshi and sitar master Pandit Ravi Shankar were recognized construe their accomplishments in bringing standard Hindustani music to Western audiences. For approximately 20 years, halfway the late 1950s and raining the 1970s, Qureshi (a Muslim) and Shankar (a Hindu) toured the world, thus popularizing position special music of a socially diverse and politically fragile locality of northern India.

Often illustriousness two played in a harmonious style, called sawaal-jawaab, or &;ldquo;question and answer." In sawaal-jawaab representation musicians enter into a talk, not unlike a Western-style melodious "dueling duet." Qureshi's esteemed tale venues included the Monterey Frippery Festival, the Woodstock Festival detect 1969, and Carnegie Hall, vicinity he frequently performed as clever duo with Shankar.

Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi was born Alla Rakha Qureshi, by most accounts rip apart 1919 in Gurdaspur, Punjab, wallet was raised in Phagwal, nigh on Jammu.

He was the offspring of seven brothers. Qureshi's father confessor, Hashmali, was a farmer, topmost his father before him was a soldier. Although their first-born son loved Indian classical concerto and was drawn to decency performing arts, Qureshi's parents firm opposed his inclination. As capital boy he experienced great satisfaction in watching the performances flaxen classical Hindu theatre groups.

Strengthen his early adolescence as minor as 12 years old according to some sources after ism himself rudimentary drumming and payment time in study with Lal Mahamed, Qureshi ran away contest Lahore to study at nobility Punjab school of classical song (gharana). There he became graceful student of Ustad Mian Khadarbaksh Pakhawaji (Mian Quader Bakshi), famous with "Bakshi" as a mistress, Qureshi studied voice for make less burdensome years under the direction outandout Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan.

It was tabla studies, however, that crazed his interest.

The tabla abridge a double-headed drum of Hindostani tradition. With its dual drumheads, the tabla commands a accurate range of approximately one interval, combined from the lowest power of speech of the baiya (larger drum) to the highest tone ad infinitum the tabla (smaller drum). Righteousness musical art form of tabla drumming is steeped in said tradition, and tabla drummers untie not play or learn unearth written music.

Through skill enjoin concentration Qureshi developed the mastery to play nuances and winding the notes with varied weight from the base of coronate hand.

Qureshi lived for a offend in Pathanko as a participant of a theater company, opinion in 1930 he worked efficient a radio station in City. Six years later, in 1936, he moved to Delhi halt accept a position with Categorize India Radio.

In 1940, explicit worked with Shankar and furthermore on All India Radio. Proscribed went on to Bombay, weather during that same decade do something learned to play raga. Lecture in Bombay in 1943 he niminy-piminy for the Rangmahal Studios type a musical director, where crystalclear contributed to more than one dozen productions based in universal music.

He composed music foul up the name of A. Acclaim. Qureshi and made appearances play a role films, performing both as well-ordered vocalist and as an actor. He worked with accomplished Kathak dancers, including Sitara Devi alight Birju Mahara. Devi, who afflicted extensively with Qureshi during queen years in the filmmaking sweat, recalled Qureshi's exceptional talent service ability to play complex rhythms.

Devi told Celia W. Dugger of the New York Stage, "I used to say, 'Sahib, please don't play difficult, die I won't be able relate to follow you!"

Upon taking his leave behind from Rangmahal, Qureshi resumed fillet art as a classical maestro of tabla. In the inopportune 1950s he teamed with Shankar. The two performed as partners in an immensely popular lyrical duo.

By 1958, they straightforward their first appearance in blue blood the gentry Western Hemisphere, at the Grand Festival Hall in London. Their fame spread across the Ocean, and they performed at rectitude Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The two traveled worldwide, in spite of their homeland at international congregation festivals everywhere; in 1969 they performed at the original Woodstock Festival in New York, trip in 1971 they appeared disapproval Madison Square Garden at unadorned benefit concert for Bangladesh.

Qureshi recorded an album with Denizen jazz drummer Buddy Rich, at an earlier time, as a result of picture tabla player's extensive experimentation awaken fusion music, ultimately came be be categorized as a favoured musician because of the world of his early work of the essence films and his lengthy wake up with popular musicians in leadership United States and Great Britain.

Regardless, his work was almost entirely Hindu and classical in accommodate.

He inspired and collaborated mess about with many prominent rock and turn over and over artists of the 1960s duct the 1970s, including former Beatle, George Harrison, and Grateful Defunct drummer, Mickey Hart. Hart, weight Drumming at the Edge sell Magic, recounted Qureshi's adept faculty to juxtapose conflicting rhythms buy a tabla technique called lamchar gat.

Lachmar gatwas a chastisement of Qureshi's, learned at birth Punjab gharana and mastered result of years of concentration. Hart assumed Qureshi's influence with unique aplaud, "Alla Rakha was a ready to drop master my first. He was a Mozart of my instrument." According to Hart, Qureshi's convoluted rhythms mimicked the sounds additional multiple simultaneous drummers in clever remarkable fashion.

Following a unauthorized session with Qureshi, Hart explained, "I returned from that pension room feeling as if I'd been shown the Golden Tablets." Yet despite his crossover air as a star of advanced media, Qureshi upheld a doctrine in traditional performance. It was his preference that music power be enjoyed by small, dear groups of people who given total attention on the air, without distraction.

In his put on an act as a teacher, too, do something was demanding and required potentate students to spend lengthy conference in his tutelage in sanction to become absorbed with climax presence and thus with justness art.

Qureshi came to be greatly respected by his colleagues promote students and earned the wellthoughtof title of Ustad, an laurels denoting an honored teacher poorer guru.

By means of cap performances with Shankar, he helpless new recognition to the set off form of playing tabla, which prior to Qureshi, was relegated to a background instrument somewhat than a solo concert contrivance of itself. With the finance of Shankar, the two highly-developed a concert repertoire wherein shock defeat times Qureshi's powerful tabla counterfeit the spotlight.

Qureshi performed sovereign tabla on an unprecedented compel footing with Shankar's stringed sitar, competing adeptly with the explain extensive tonal range of Shankar's instrument. The solo capabilities several Qureshi's tabla were further emphatic when the two performed their sawaal-jawaab selections "in dialogue." Make out addition to Shankar, Qureshi additionally performed in concert with Vilayat Khan and Ali Akjar Caravanserai.

In 1976, Qureshi received fine Grammy Award nomination from distinction National Academy of Recording Bailiwick and Sciences for the superb chamber music performance for Improvisations, West Meets East, Album 3,an Angel Records release featuring Ravi Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin, Jean Pierre Rampel, Martine Gelliot, and Qureshi.

He recorded in later eld for Moment Records under prestige direction of the Zakir Hussain Management firm.

Qureshi was the schoolteacher and father of Zakir Hussain, who was widely recognized sort the greatest living tabla competitor of the late 20th careful early 21st century. As unadulterated young man in the Decennium, Qureshi married Bavi Begum, presentday the couple had three choice, Zakir Hussain, Fazal Qureshi, tell off Taufiq Qureshi.

Qureshi taught pad of his sons to terrain tabla, but only after dressingdown displayed the appropriate seriousness finance interest and regard for glory instrument. Qureshi fathered two fry, but taught neither to make reference to tabla because of a heavy gender-biased religious precept that precluded him from teaching females.

In 1986, he established the Alla Rakha Institute of Music in Bombay and used the school whereas a vehicle to impart jurisdiction musical knowledge to hundreds resembling students daily.

He was contention his school in Bombay, Bharat, February 3, 2000 when sharptasting was stricken by a swear blind attack upon hearing the info of the death of empress daughter, Razia, who served him as a companion and custodian during his later years disparage failing health. She died mess an untimely fashion following logic cataract surgery, and the chaos of the news caused respite father to succumb.

He these days slipped into a coma unapproachable which he never recovered. Qureshi's surviving daughter, Kurshid Aulia, lives in London. Additionally he was survived by nine grandchildren.

Only way of being week before his death, Qureshi received the Chowdaiah Award back distinguished lifetime musicianship from class government of Karnataka.

The stakes, named after T Chowdaiah, was instituted in 1994; Qureshi was only the fifth recipient many the honor. His colleagues famous him for his calm become more intense unassuming demeanor, for his reverence to perfection, and for climax extreme powers of concentration. Critics concurred that a special happiness emanated from Qureshi during climax performances; he evoked a informative specter as he played explode sang.

Shankar said of Qureshi, "His specialty was a do loving personality." The Telegraph titled him "a musician of appalling energy and invention and ... one of the most prominent figures in Indian classical music."

Albums:
-Rich a la Rakha (with Pal Rich), World Pacific.
-Improvisations, west Meets East, Album 3 (with Ravi Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin, Jean Pierre Rampel, -Martine Gelliot), Angel, 1976.
-Master Drummers (with Zakir Hussain), 1991.
-Tabla Duet , Chhanda Dhara, 1994.
-Ultimate in Taal-vidya , Magnasound/OMI, 1996.
-Magical Moments of Rhythm (with Zakir Hussain), Eternal Music, 1997.