Rajab Ali Khan (3 September 1874 at Narsinhgarh,

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

– 8 January 1959 at

Dewas Dewas is a city in the Malwa region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The municipality was formerly the seat of two 15-Gun Salute state princely states during the British Raj, Dewas Junior state and Dewas Senior state, ruled by the Pa ...

) was an

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindusta ...

vocalist and poet.

Early life and career

Rajab Ali Khan learned music from his father Manglu Khan in the tradition of Bade Mohammad Khan, and from Bande Ali Khan Beenkar.Profile of Rajab Ali Khan on parrikar.org website
Retrieved 31 December 2018 Therefore his style was a mix of the

Jaipur Gharana The Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana (also known as Jaipur Gharana, Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana, and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is a Hindustani classical music, Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity (''gharana''), founded by Alladiya Khan in the late-19th cent ...

and

Kirana gharana The Kirana Gharana is a Hindustani music apprenticeship tradition (''gharana'') made popular by Bande Ali Khan in the 19th Century and his cousins Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan. Evolved from the instrumental and vocal Gauharbani dhru ...

styles. He was a court musician of

and

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

. He also performed on concert tours. He was also a court musician of Ram Singh II of

Jaipur State The Kingdom of Amber, later the Kingdom of Jaipur or the Jaipur State, was located in the north-eastern historic Dhundhar region of Rajputana and was ruled by the Kachwaha Rajput dynasty. The kingdom was established by Dulha Rai, possibly t ...

. In 1909, he was conferred the title of ''Sangeet Ratna Bhushan'' by the

Maharaja of Mysore The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. The maharaja's consort was called the maharani of Mysore. In ...

, and in 1954 he received a

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 ...

. His last big concert was held in 1957, in Bombay now called

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 ...

. Rajab Ali was known as a master khayaliya but he was also a noted player of

Rudra Veena The ''rudra veena'' () (also spelled ''rudraveena'' or ''rudra vīnā'') — also called the ''bīn'' in North India — is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music, especially dhrupad. It is one of the major types of '' vee ...

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 ...

, Jaltarang and

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

. As a khyaliya Rajab Ali Khan was known for his expansive singing full of melodic patterns as well as his very fast and intricate

taan ''Taan'' (Hindi: , ) is a technique used in the vocal performance of a raga in Hindustani classical music. It involves the improvisation of very rapid melodic passages using vowels, often the long "a" as in the word "far", and it targets at imp ...

s. His disciples include his nephew Aman Khan and other musicians like Nivruttibuwa Sarnaik, Ganpatrao Dewaskar, Krishna Shankar Shukla, Krishnarao Majumdar, Rajabhau Deo, Yasin Khan (sarangi player), and Jyotiram of the

Mewati gharana The Mewati gharana is a musical apprenticeship tribe of Hindustani classical music. Known for being Pandit Jasraj's musical lineage, the gharana was founded by brothers Ghagge Nazir Khan and Wahid Khan (beenkar) of Indore in the late 19th c ...

. Amir Khan of

Indore gharana Indore gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Indian classical music. It was founded by Amir Khan, who studied the styles of Abdul Wahid Khan, Aman Ali Khan, Rajab Ali Khan and Abdul Karim Khan and amalgamated their style. Amir Khan grew up ...

and Salamat Ali Khan of

Sham Chaurasia gharana Sham Chaurasi Gharana is a vocal gharana (a family's style of singing) in Hindustani classical music known for the singing of vocal duets. It is also known as the cradle of drupad. It is one of the four singing gharanas of Punjab; the other thre ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

were also influenced by his

s. "He was a master of very vibrant, complex and speedy taan."Profile of Rajab Ali Khan on SwarGanga Music Foundation
Retrieved 31 December 2018

References

External links

* 1874 births 1959 deaths Hindustani singers Rudra veena players Indian sitar players Jal tarang players Hindustani instrumentalists Indian multi-instrumentalists Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian musicians People from Rajgarh district Indian male classical musicians Vocal gharanas Kirana gharana Jaipur gharana Musicians from Madhya Pradesh 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers Musicians from British India Poets from British India {{india-singer-stub