Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (18 February 1927 – 4 January 2017) was an Indian

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

player. Khan received the national awards

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

(1970) and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

(2006) and was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

for 1987.

Early life

Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan was born in 1927 in Jaora (35 km away from

Ratlam Ratlam is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam district, which was created in 1947 after the independe ...

, Madhya Pradesh) as the son of Jaffer Khan, a versatile vocalist, sitarist and beenkar. He belonged to the Beenkar Gharana of Indore and was an All India Radio artiste since the early 1940s. A few years before the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

met

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

, in 1958, Khan collaborated with jazz pianist and composer

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

. Brubeck who was in Bombay through the U.S. State Department sponsored Jazz Ambassadors Program was impressed by the improvisation in Indian music and said that the experience accompanying Halim Jaffer Khan led him to play in a different way. Brubeck says of that meeting, "We understood each other." Khan also performed with the noted English classical guitarist

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...

in 1963.

Career

Khan is known for his own style ''Jafferkhani Baaj''. He describes it as, "a synthesis of precision in technique, systematic thought"Khan, Abdul Halim Jaffer. Jafferkhani Baaj: Innovation in Sitar Music. Kohinoor Printers, 2000. with a vigorous playing style. Cultural anthropologist and reader at the University of Mumbai, Dr. Kamala Ganesh states: "His music making is full of eclectic yet deeply informed choices. He is a thinking musician but puts across his complex views with a simplicity and feeling which demarcate the articulate performer from the articulate theoretician.... In him, one gets an unmistakable sense... a syncretic tradition". The Indian santoor player

Shivkumar Sharma Shivkumar Sharma (13 January 1938 – 10 May 2022) was an Indian classical musician and santoor player who is credited with adapting the santoor for Indian classical music. As a music composer, he collaborated with Indian flautist Hariprasad ...

remembers of Khan's performance of the raga Chhayanat: "It was probably in 1955–56, I was relaxing in my terrace in Jammu. In the stillness of the night I heard the notes of Raga Chhayanat on the sitar emanate from my neighbor's radio. I immediately noticed that the tone of the sitar was completely different and the style of playing radically unique. I rushed to switch on my radio.... I was totally engrossed and was very curious to know who this maestro was." Khan has been credited with bringing Carnatic ragas Kirwani, Kanakangi, Latangi, Karaharapriya, Manavati, Ganamurti, and others into the sitar repertoire, rendering them through a Hindustani sensibility and in the Jafferkhani style. He was the first Hindustani musician to collaborate with Carnatic music in a performance with renowned Veena player

Emani Sankara Sastry Emani Sankara Sastry (23 September 1922 – 1987), was a renowned Veena player of Carnatic music. Life sketch Emani Sankara Sastry was born on 23 September 1922 in Draksharamam, India. He came from a family of celebrated classical musicians. ...

. Khan was also involved with Indian cinema. Music Director

Khwaja Khurshid Anwar Khwaja Khurshid Anwar (21 March 1912 − 30 October 1984) was a Pakistani filmmaker, writer, director and music composer who earned recognition in both India and Pakistan. He is credited as being one of the most original and inventive music dir ...

introduced him to the Hindi film industry in 1946 at the age of 17 when he played sitar in the songs of film '' Parwana''. He also composed and played for films like ''

Mughal-e-Azam ''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian Epic film, epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Empire, Mughal Prince ...

'', ''

Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje () is a 1955 Indian Hindi-language dance film directed by V. Shantaram. It stars Shantaram's wife Sandhya and dancer Gopi Krishna in lead roles. One of the earlier Technicolor films made in India, the film won the All India Certificate of M ...

'' (1971), '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959), '' Kohinoor'' (1960) and collaborated with noted music directors such as

Vasant Desai Vasant Desai (1912–1975) was an Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in V. Shantaram films like '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' (1955), ''Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' (1957), Vijay Bhatt's '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959), ''Samp ...

, C. Ramachandra, Madan Mohan and

Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian composer for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the use of ...

who has said, "he not only enriched film music, but his participation lent prestige to my songs." Music critic for the Times of India, Amarendra Dhaneshwar described Khan's playing as, "Sitar virtuosity at its peak." In 1976, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan established Halim Academy of Sitar, India's first sitar academy in Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, with Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan as its inaugural Chief Guest

Death

Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan died on 4 January 2017, at his home in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India, from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

, aged 89.

Legacy

Khan trained several prominent sitar players, including Ravi Chary, and his son, Zunain Khan.

Works and awards

Select awards

* Tagore Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2012 * Hanumant Sanman Murari Bapu, 2010 * Godavari Gaurav Kusumagraj Pratishthan, Nashik, 2010 *

Government of India 2006 * Pillar of Hindustani Society TACCI, Mumbai, 2006 * Lifetime Achievement Award, Legends of India, 2005 * Giants International Award, 2004 * Kala Ratna Mumbai, 2003 * Swarsagar Award (PCMP), Pimpri-Chinchwad, 2003 * Acharya Pt. Ramnarain Foundation Award, Mumbai, 2002 * Sharda Ratna Mumbai, 2002 * Tansen Samman, Gwalior, 2000 * Sangeet Research Academy ITC-SRA Award, Mumbai, 2000 * Srestha Kala Acharya, 1998 * Nada Nidhi Avadhoota Datta Peetham, Mysore, 1998 * Haafiz Ali Khan Award Haafiz Ali Khan Memorial Trust, 1992 * Swar Sadhana Ratna Award, Mumbai, 1992 * Shikhar Samman Government of Madhya Pradesh, 1991 * Gaurav Puraskar, Government of Maharashtra, 1990 *

, Delhi, 1987 * Ustad Allauddin Sangeet Ratna Bhopal, 1986 * Civil Medal awarded by the Mayor of Bombay, 1985 * Tantri Vilas, Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai, 1984 * "Silver Tanpura," AICC Delhi, 1975 *

, Government of India, 1970 * Hzt Amir Khusrau Gold Medal, Hyderabad, 1959 * Gold Medal, Bombay State Music Conference, 1956 * "Silver Sitar," Hyderabad, 1955 * Gold Medal All Bengal Music Conference, 1953

Video

Narrated by violinist Yehudi Menuhin, Deben Bhattacharya's film ''Raga'' features a young virtuosic Halim Jaffer Khan playing raga Sindh Bhairavi.

Select discography

* 75th Celebration Swar Sadhna (Raag Zila Kafi) * 70th Birthday Release (Raag Tilak Kamod, Raag Jaijaiwanti, Raag Sindhi Bhairavi) * Columbia (EP) (Raag Mand, Raag Ahir Bhairav) * Enchanting Sitar (Raag Aarabi, Raag Multani) * Guzra Zamana (Live in Concert- 1968) (Raag Abhogi) * His Master's Voice (EP) (Chakra dhun, Thumri in Deepchandi taal) * Immortal Series: Vol 1 (Raag Pahadi, Raag Kedar); Vol 2 (Raag Kirwani, Raag Jaunpuri) * Instrumental Classical: Sitar (Raag Jaijaiwanti, Raag Sindhi Bhairavi) * Lilting Strings (Raag Bhairavi, Raag Gaud Sarang, Raag Kamod, Raag Rageshri, Raag Shyam Kalyan, Raag Yaman Kalyan) * Live in Jaipur 1968 * A Night at the Valley (Raag Kirwani, Raag Marwa, Raag Pahadi, Chakradhun, Thumri) * Sangeet Suman (Raag Patdeep, Raag Shyam Kedar) * Sitar Quintet (Raag Chandani Kedar, Raag Mazamiri, Raag Khusravani, Raag Sharavati, Raag Kalpana, Raag Miya ki Malhaar) * Sitar Through the Ages oofiyana rang, Raag Bhimpalasi, Raag Zila Kafi, Raag Farghana * Sitar Ecstasy aag Hemavati, Raag Jaitshri, Sufiana Sama (dhun)* Theme on Strings (Raag Saraswat Ranjani, Sitar Anjuman, Hulban) * Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (Raag Champakali, Raag Chhaya Nat, Raag Mishra Pilu) * Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (Raag Jaunpuri, Raag Rajeshwari, Raag Anand Bhairav, Thumri) * Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (Raag Araj, Raag Madhyami) * Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (Raag Marwa, Raag Pahadi)

References

External links

*
The Beenkar Gharana
''

ITC Sangeet Research Academy ITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar, Falguni Mitra, Ajoy Chakrabarty, ...

'', Kolkata, 2001.
JafferKhaniBaaj
- Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan 1927 births 2017 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sitar players Musicians from Madhya Pradesh