Ustad Abdul Karim Khan - 1934-1935 - CD

"Ustad Abdul Karim Khan's recording of the composition 'Jamuna ke tir' in Raga Bhairavi stands as one of the great masterpieces of music. When I first heard the recordings of Abdul Karim Khan I thought that perhaps it would be best if I gave up singing, got a cabin up in the mountains, stocked it with a record player and recordings of Abdul Karim Khan, and just listened for the rest of my life." ~ La Monte Young, 2004

"If there is any real trace of miracle, of phenomena, of wonder, it is the voice." ~ Hazrat Inayat Khan, 1926

More than seventy years since his death in 1937, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan retains his reputation as one of the greatest singers India ever produced. Possessed of an elastic, honeyed voice that poured out like mercury, he influenced generations of singers including Mohammed Rafi, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and Pandit Pran Nath. Born at the end of the 19th Century to a family of musicians that extended back in time for centuries, his art was formed in the culture of the courts of the maharajas under British colonialism but was changed by his genius and imagination and a life marked by sacrifices for love, unsatisfied ambition, abandonment and heartbreak. These performances were culled from sessions made during his peak final years 1934-35, newly transferred and restored and with extensive notes by Ian Nagoski.

 Download the full liner notes as a pdf.