Shamim Ahmed Khan (10 September 1938 – 14 February 2012)"Sitar maestro Shamim Ahmed Khan dies"
''Press Trust Of India , February 14, 2012 20:16 IST (Mumbai)''. Retrieved 2014-03-27. was a sitarist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and notably, a student of

Pandit Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

. His solo recording debut was at the age of 29. Shamim had performed in

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, at the Griffith Center,RnM Team (15 February 2012)
"Sitar maestro Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan passes away"
''Radioandmusic.com''. Retrieved 2013-03-11. among other concert halls. Although an exponent of Indian classical music, he was also associated with western musicians such as

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...

,Peter Lavezzoli (2007). ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', pp.106. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. and Paul Horn among others.

Biography

At an early age Shamim Ahmed was introduced to Hindustani classical music by his father, Ustad Ghulam Rasool Khan, a renowned music composer and vocalist of the musical

Agra Gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician of ...

. However, after a bout of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

, Shamim Ahmed steered away from singing to turn towards his true passion for the

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

. In 1951, while studying at the Baroda Music College (now referred to as the Faculty of Performing Arts at

Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, formerly Baroda College, is a public university in the city of Vadodara, in Gujarat state, India. Originally established as a college in 1881, it became a university in 1949 after the independence of ...

, Khan met

at a music conference in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

. The day was memorable for the young musician also on account of his grand uncle's first death anniversary; grand uncle Ustad Faiyaz Khan was an eminent classical vocalist. His father introduced him to Pandit Ravi Shankar, informing the maestro about his son's interest in music. A few years later, the young Shamim Ahmed once again met Pandit Ravi Shankar at a music competition organized by

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

, where he played the sitar for him. In later years, Shamim Ahmed characterized his teacher briefly, in three words, "discipline", "devotion", "compassion". Those who knew Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan, would consider him too as "humble" and "modest". In December 1955, Pandit Ravi Shankar had formally invited Ustad Ghulam Rasool along with his son Shamim Ahmed, to visit his home in Delhi. During this visit, Shamim Ahmed was formally enunciated as a studentThe Times of India (15 February 2012)
"Sitar maestro Shamim Ahmed Khan passes away"
''The Times of India''. Retrieved 2013-03-23. of the maestro, making him one of the early students of Ravi Shankar, at the time. A traditional formal thread ceremony had marked the occasion, binding the two men in a guru-shishya parampara i.e. 'teacher-student' relationship. In 1958, he was a recipient of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

music scholarship. In 1960, when Pandit Ravi Shankar moved to Mumbai (known as Bombay, at the time), Shamim Ahmed also moved to Mumbai to begin as a teacher at his guru's music institute,

Kinnara School of Music The Kinnara School of Music was a music school founded in Bombay, India, in 1962 by Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar. With his increased popularity and influence in the West, he opened a second branch of the school in Los Angeles in May 1967. ...

.Pawar, Yogesh (14 February 2012)
"Sitar legend Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan passes away"
''DNA'' India.com. Retrieved 2013-03-23. When Panditji moved to California in 1967, it wasn't long, before he invited the young teacher to visit Los Angeles. In 1967-1968, for the recording of ''Rich á la Rakha'', Shamim Ahmed played the sitar alongside

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� ...

maestro Ustad Alla Rakha, and with renowned jazz drummer

. Shamim Ahmed Khan's US solo recording debut was along with then young

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * ...

as tabla accompanist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Shamim Ahmed 1938 births 2012 deaths People from Vadodara Sitar players Hindustani instrumentalists Indian male composers Indian male classical musicians Hindustani composers Indian music educators Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda alumni Pupils of Ravi Shankar 20th-century Indian male classical singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award