Abdul Sattar Khan, popularly known as Ustad Tari Khan, is a Pakistani
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 and vocalist. Tari Khan hails from the Punjab gharana and is the student of Ustad Miyan Shaukat Hussain. He has been awarded with many accolades such as Taj Poshi (Golden Crown), the Hazrat Amir Khusrow Award, as well as
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
's
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
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 ...
playing gharana called the Punjab gharana. Today, he is acknowledged as one of the foremost Tabla players of all time by musicians all over the world.
Early life
Tari Khan was born in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
, Pakistan. He hails from a traditional Rababi family (Muslim musicians employed in the royal Darbar Sahib, chief Sikh temple in Amritsar). His father was a classical vocalist. At the age of six, Tari was so captivated by the Tabla playing of Ustad Miyan Shaukat Hussain Khan, that for the next eight years, Tari Khan heard Ustad
Mian Shaukat Hussain
Mian Shaukat Hussain (1930 – 25 January 1996) was a Pakistani tabla player who belonged to the Punjab gharana of tabla-playing music artists.Miyan Shaukat Hussain Khan, thus beginning his journey into Tabla. Three years later, he would go on to perform at the death anniversary of tabla master Miyan Qadir Baksh for over 2 hours.Profile of Tari Khan on mapleshaderecords.com website Retrieved 5 January 2019
Career
Ustad Tari became famous as the accompanist of the ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan, as well as Ghulam Ali. He always provided an exquisite accompaniment: clean, crisp s with astonishingly quick and interesting s to punctuate the verses. Because of this international exposure, musicians in India got to hear of him at a time when little cultural news escaped from Pakistan. Since then, Tari has gone on to musical scene as a tabla showman. Ustad Tari Khan has earned and has been awarded with several titles in his lifetime. The titles and awards range from being crowned the Golden Crown Taj Poshi, the Hazrat Ameer Khusro Award, as well as Pakistan's
Pride of Performance Award
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
, which has earned him the title of Tabla Prince of India and Pakistan.
Tari Khan has accompanied various classical artists like
Pandit Jasraj
Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930 – 17 August 2020) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the '' Mewati gharana'' (musical apprenticeship lineage). His musical career spanned 75 years resulting in national and international fame ...
, Ustad
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...
, Ustad
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Singer, primarily of Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the biggest and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ...
,
Roshan Ara Begum
Roshan Ara Begum ( ur, ) (1917 – 6 December 1982) was a vocalist belonging to the Kirana gharana (singing style) of Hindustani classical music. She is also known by her honorific title ''Malika-e-Mauseeqi'' (The Queen of Music) and ''T ...
Ghulam Hassan Shaggan
Ghulam Hassan Shaggan (1928, in Amritsar – 3 February 2015) was a Pakistani classical music singer of the Gwalior Gharana from the Hindustani classical music genre. Ustad Ghulam Hassan Shaggan was the recipient of numerous awards including th ...
Rais Khan
Ustad Rais Khan ( ur, ; 25 November 19396 May 2017) was a Pakistani sitarist. At his peak he was regarded as one of the greatest sitar players of all time. He continued performing till his last days. He moved from India to Pakistan in 1 ...
Vilayat Khan
Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player.Ramesh Mishra, to name a few. He has also accompanied renowned singers like Ustad Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali,
Jagjit Singh
Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian cl ...
,
Talat Aziz
Talat Aziz ( ur, طلعت عزیز; born 11 November 1956) is a popular ghazal singer from Hyderabad, India.
Early life
Aziz was born in Hyderabad, India to Abdul Azeem Khan and Sajida Abid, a famous Urdu writer and poet. He attended Hydera ...
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films.
Personal life and early career
Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tam ...
, and Hans Raj Hans, to name a few.
"His fingers produce an amazing resonance on tabla," says Hans Raj Hans, a famous Punjabi Sufi music singer.
Some of his famous tabla pieces include "The Train", where he is able to mimic the sounds of a train on the tabla, and "International Keherwa", which features varying styles of the world in an 8 beat cycle.
Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan
Tari Khan has performed at the oldest ongoing Hindustani classical music festival, Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan, at the 130th and 132nd festivals. Ustad Tari played a Teentaal (16 beat cycle) solo, his famous piece "International Keherwa" (8 beat cycle), and also had a vocal performance during the 130th Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan. Anuradha Shukla, of The Tribune India, noted that Ustad Tari Khan, "...gave music enthusiasts a treat both rare and divine." For his performance at the 132nd festival, The Tribune India noted that Ustad Tari's performance was "the limelight of the evening."
Festival of Tabla The Ravi & Shashi Bellare Arts Foundation is an organization, founded by Rupesh and Mona Kotecha, that preserves and presents the arts and culture of South Asia with a focus on Tabla and Indian classical music. The organization presented their annua Festival of Tabla in 2019, which showcased tabla solos,
santoor
The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It is ...
and
sarangi
The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...
accompaniments, and other classical performances by various artists from all over the globe. The two-day festival featured Ustad Tari Khan and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee as headlining performances, along with performances from esteemed artists, such as Pandit Anand Badamikar, Pankaj Mishra (sarangi player), and Aditya Kalyanpur, among others. For his performance, Ustad Tari presented Teentaal (16 beat cycle) solo, with accompaniment on the santoor by Kamaljeet Ahluwalia, and his famous piece "International Keherwa." After Ustad Tari's teentaal performance, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee went on stage, as a sign of respect and appreciation, and shared his thoughts about Ustad Tari.Pandit Anindo Chatterjee had this to say after Ustad Tari's performance:
"Once in a thousand years it comes, this kind of rtist The isciplineand dedication that he has had in his life for tabla, we know that it is so fantastic, so melodious, and musical, and rhythmic. Today, he took so much intricate, intricate
tihai
''Tihai'' (pronounced ti-'ha-yi) is a polyrhythmic technique found in Indian classical music, and often used to conclude a piece. Tihais can be either sung or played on an instrument. Tihais are sometimes used to distort the listeners’ percept ...
and rhythmic pattern that
t was
T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...
unbelievable. I really pray to God that Tari bhai should live many, many years and we can listen ohim. Please bless and love him."
Vocal singing career
Ustad Tari has also shown his talent in singing. He is a disciple of Ustad Mehdi Hassan and learned singing from him.
Discography
* Blue Moods: Ghazal and Hindi Collection (2000) - Ehsan Aman
* Samvad (Conversation) with Ustad Tari Khan (2005) -
Deepak Ram
Deepak Ram (born 1960) is a South African born flautist, composer, keyboard player and producer of Indian origin. Deepak is considered a master of bansuri, an Indian flute of ancient origin made from bamboo. He is a senior disciple of world reno ...
* Sangam (2006) Alif Laila * An Unforgettable Evening with Ustad Tari Khan (2008)
Personal life
Tari Khan lives in California, US. He trains his disciples in Tabla in California also. He has a number of followers around the world and has several students across the globe.
"Expanding his horizons, he moved to California 16 years ago, founded an academy for tabla studies there, and started touring universities and conservatories throughout America and Europe. At the same time, he's been absorbing the creative influences of other musics: jazz, African, rock, etc."
References
;Notes
;Sources
*Mistry, Aban E. (1999). ''Pakhawaj & Tabla: History, Schools and Traditions''. . Digitala.