Harihar Rao (January 21, 1927 – January 13, 2013) was an Indian-born American musician, noted for playing

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� ...

and

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 ...

. He was born into a prominent musical family in

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1964, residing in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Rao was a Fulbright Scholar at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

., He worked in the ethnomusicology department at UCLA and privately taught and mentored students of the sitar. Rao explored a variety of fusions of Indian and western music. His 'Hindustani Jazz Sextet', which included the trumpeter

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his lif ...

, combined classical Indian rhythms and jazz forms. In 1965 Rao and Ellis co-wrote ''An Introduction to Indian Music for the Jazz Musician'', which was printed by Jazz Magazine. The 1966 album ''

Raga Rock Raga rock is rock or pop music with a pronounced Indian influence, either in its construction, its timbre, or its use of Indian musical instruments, such as the sitar and tabla. In addition, rock music from the 1960s and 1970s that incorporate ...

'' combined Rao's sitar playing with the Folkswingers' western instruments to cover popular rock songs, such as "

Paint It Black "Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European in ...

" and " Norwegian Wood". In 1967, Rao published the book ''Introduction to Sitar'', which sold more than 500 copies in its first two weeks of publication, and ultimately thousands of copies in four printings. Rao was the longest-standing protégé and a close friend for more than six decades of sitar player

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 In ...

. Rao and Shankar co-founded the Music Circle, an organization dedicated to promoting Indian classical music. He served as the Artistic Director of the Music Circle for 40 years. He became a U.S. citizen in 1969. Rao attended a number of colleges and universities in Southern California, including UCLA, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Los Angeles, California Institute for the Arts, and

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

References

Bibliography

* Rao, Harihar (1967). Introduction to sitar. Peer International. * Rao, Harihar; Don Ellis (April 1965). "An Introduction to Indian Music for the Jazz Musician". Jazz magazine.

Additional references

* "Peer Southern Increases Indian Music Collection". Billboard 81 (15): 44. April 12, 1969. Retrieved Aug 11 2011. * "About the Music Circle". The Music Circle. Retrieved Aug 11 2011. * Fenlon, Sean (2002). The Exotic Rhythms of Don Ellis. Baltimore, MD: The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. pp. 6. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Harihar Sitar players 1927 births 2013 deaths California Institute of Technology faculty 20th-century Indian musicians