Cassius Khan
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Cassius Khan (born 7 June 1974), is a Canadian
Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were no ...
musician known for playing the
Tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
while singing.


Early years

Khan was born in
Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...
, Fiji in 1974. As a young teenager in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, Canada, Khan met Mushtari Begum, a Ghazal singer, Sheikh Mohyudean, a
harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...
and
Qawaali Qawwali (Punjabi language, Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nastaʿlīq, Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali language, Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali alphabet, Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Isl ...
singer, and Ustad Rukhsar Ali, a
Tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
player. He learned to sing Ghazal and play the Tabla simultaneously. Khan's repertoire also includes the ''Tarannum Ang Gayaki'' while playing the Tabla, and this became his trademark style. As a key figure in this rare style of performance, he was named "Ustad" or Maestro in 2016 by Pt Salil Bhatt during the 5th Annual Mushtari Begum Festival of Indian Classical Music and Dance in
New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. Khan's early career met with limited success after the recording and international tour of his first album, ''Cassius Khan-The Young Tabla/Ghazal Wizard''. After completing his education at college and university, he embarked on his music career, starting by touring the folk festival scene in North America, South Pacific, Europe and South America, performing solo and in collaboration with other artists as both a Tabla player and vocalist.


Career

After performing as a sideman in various bands, in 2001, Khan composed the "Asia Music" for the
IAAF World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...
under the guidance of composer
Jan Randall Jan Randall is a Canadian composer, singer songwriter and professional musician. He has had an extensive career composing sound tracks, performing original songs, and improvising music for comedy theatre. He currently plays regularly with his ba ...
. The same year, he was included in
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
's list of the "Top 25 World Artists to look out for". In 2005, Khan performed Ghazal and a Tabla solo recital at the
National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a Arts centre, performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre build ...
in Ottawa as part of Alberta Scene Festival, and presented his first classical Ghazal and Tabla recital at a Canadian folk festival at the
Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival The Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival is a three-day music festival that occurs every third weekend in August. It has four - six stages and features an international roster of artists as well as a strong contingent of Canadian talent. The even ...
in 2006. He was selected out of 8,000 applicants to showcase Ghazal/Tabla at
South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
in
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in 2008. That same year
Ellen McIlwaine Ellen McIlwaine (October 1, 1945 – June 23, 2021) was an American-born singer-songwriter and musician best known for her career as a solo singer, songwriter and slide guitarist. Biography Born in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, McIlwa ...
and Khan were invited to perform for Juno Fest, as they were shortlisted for the 2008 Juno Awards for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year, and subsequently performed together at the
Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
in Calgary. The following year Khan was a featured artist for the
Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...
. Khan's recordings were also selected for the Japan Trade Mission in 2009. Khan was also the first Canadian to perform at the Sa Ma Pa Music Festival in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, on 23 November 2013. Khan was signed by the Yarlowe Artist Group in 2008. He fired his management in 2009 and hired Reboot Management in 2016, before terminating their service four months later. Khan's Ghazal album ''Mushtari, a live concert'', released in 2011, was nominated for "World Album of the Year" by the Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) and was a tribute to Khan's guru and teacher, Mushtari Begum, with a selection of classical Ghazals and a tabla solo recital. This was the first album ever recorded with Ghazal and tabla simultaneously by one artist. He also released a tabla solo single, "Sparks of Energy", in 2011. Both of these albums feature Khan's wife Amika Kushwaha as the Harmonium soloist. Khan's other collaborations include: ''Dark Clouds'' (2006) with Jazz pianist
Stu Goldberg Stuart Wayne "Stu" Goldberg (born July 10, 1954 in Malden, Massachusetts) is an American jazz keyboardist. Goldberg was born in Massachusetts but raised in Seattle, and played with Ray Brown at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1971. He attended ...
of
Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 a ...
; a collaboration with
slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
ist
Ellen McIlwaine Ellen McIlwaine (October 1, 1945 – June 23, 2021) was an American-born singer-songwriter and musician best known for her career as a solo singer, songwriter and slide guitarist. Biography Born in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, McIlwa ...
entitled ''Mystic Bridge'', a Blues/Indian music album which was shortlisted for the Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year in 2008; ''I Feel Love Again'' (2002) with Mediterranean guitarist
Pavlo Paul () is a common masculine given name in countries and ethnicities with a Christian heritage (Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism) and, beyond Europe, in Christian religious communities throughout the world. Paul – or its variation ...
; ''Mani Licks'' (2002) with Heavy Metal/shred guitarist Dan Mani; ''A Demon's Dream'' (2002) and ''The Alchemists'' (2002) with acoustic/electric guitarist Dave Martone; and ''Angel of Sevilla'' (1990) with the Spanish guitarist D'Arcy Greaves. Khan has also collaborated with the inventor of the Mohan Veena, artist Pandit
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, professionally known as V. M. Bhatt (born 27 July 1950), is an Hindustani classical music instrumentalist who plays the Mohan veena ( slide guitar). Personal life Bhatt lives in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, with his wife and ...
,
Satvik Veena Sattva (Sanskrit: सत्त्व, meaning ''honesty'') is one of the three guṇas or "modes of existence" (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept understood by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.Jame ...
performer Pandit Salil Bhatt, Kathak artist/Harmonium soloist and many other figures of Indian classical music and Ghazal singers. Khan has also worked in television and is featured in a commercial for
Nanak Foods Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wor ...
as a tabla player who finds musical inspiration after being served the halwa sweet dish by his wife, Amika Kushwaha.


Recognition

Khan was awarded the "Salute to Excellence Award" in 2005 by the
City of Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...
for his contribution to Indian classical music, and the "Bernie Legge Artist of the Year" by the City of New Westminster Chamber of Commerce in 2019. He was nominated (with Ellen McIlwaine) for a Juno Award for their album ''Mystic Bridge'' in 2008, and a WCMA Award nomination for his album ''Mushtari-a live concert''. He has also performed in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
, Switzerland, for the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
,
World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, 15 specialized agencies of the United Nation ...
and the Permanent Mission of India for Namaste Geneva, an initiative created by the Indian Ambassador to the UN, Rajiv Chander, in 2017/2018. With his wife, Amika Kushwaha, Khan founded the Mushtari Begum Festival of Indian Classical Music and Dance, which took place for the first time on 25 August 2012 at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster, British Columbia.He is an honorary Cultural Ambassador to the City of New Westminster. He hosted a radio show entitled "The Cassius Khan Show: Connecting Classical Music to Your Hearts". Khan is also the official spokesperson for the tabla makers Ustad Qasim Khan Niyazi and Sons in Laxminagar, New Delhi, India, and is endorsed by Aman Kalyan's Lehra Studio apps based in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia. He is also the Curator of the Massey Unlimited Global Tea Series at the Massey Theatre in New Westminster, and was a 2021 Artist Resident at the Anvil Centre in the same city. Khan is also a visiting music instructor at the international private Mulgrave School, where he teaches young students Indian Classical music.


Personal life

Khan lives in
New Westminster, British Columbia New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...
. He married
Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...
dancer Amika Kushwaha in 2006, and they are each other's chief accompanists in her solo Kathak dance concerts and his Ghazal and tabla concerts. Khan refused to perform in Israel in 2009 in protest at the treatment of Palestinians. He has been critical of the term World Music, and the lack of representation of non-Western disciplines in the Canadian music scene.


References


External links


Fijitimes.comEyeweekly.comCassius Khan website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Cassius 1974 births Living people Fijian Muslims Male ghazal singers People from Lautoka Fijian emigrants to Canada Tabla players Canadian people of Fijian descent Fijian musicians 21st-century drummers 21st-century Canadian male singers