Vasant Rai (1942–1985) was an Indian musician who played the Indo-Afghan instrument the

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

Personal life and education

Rai's family was born in Unjha, Gujarat. Rai was the last student of Baba

Allauddin Khan Ustad Allauddin Khan (8 October 1862 – 6 September 1972), was a Bengalis, Bengali sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation many ...

, who is best known as the teacher of

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 ...

. He died in his New York apartment shortly after a

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

performance.

Career

Rai had been visiting the United States since his teen years. He settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1969 and lived mainly in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

area and also for a short time at the

Chelsea Hotel The Hotel Chelsea (also known as the Chelsea Hotel and the Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the Chelsea, Manhattan, Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1883 and 1884, the hot ...

when he was not touring. From 1969 to 1985, he conducted the Alam School of Music in Greenwich Village. Alla Rakha, Mahapurush Mishra, Shamta Prasad and Zakir Hussain usually accompanied him on the

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 ...

. Vasant Rai taught Indian musicians, most notable are sarodist Pradeep Barot, mandolin player Emu Desai, and sitar player Shamim Ahmed Khan. Vasant Rai's notable western musicians were

Lex Hixon Lex Hixon (born Alexander Paul Hixon Junior, also known as Nur al-Anwar al-Jerrahi in the Sufi community; 1941–1995) was an American Sufi author, poet, and spiritual teacher. He practiced and held membership in several religious traditions. He ...

Collin Walcott Collin Walcott (April 24, 1945 – November 8, 1984) was an American musician who worked on jazz and world music. Early life Walcott was born in New York City, United States. He studied violin and tympani in his youth, and was a percussion stud ...

, and Don Cherry. Rai had been signed exclusively by

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

from 1975 to 1982. Vasant's first commercial recording was by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

and on the tabla was Alla Rakha. Vasant Rai's sarod was a gift from his guru Allauddin Khan, and was made by Allauddin Khan's younger brother Ayet Ali Khan in the 1930s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rai, Vasant 1942 births 1985 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists Sarod players Indian emigrants to the United States People from Satna Maihar gharana Vanguard Records artists 20th-century Indian musicians American people of Gujarati descent American male musicians of Indian descent American musicians of Indian descent 20th-century American male musicians Musicians from Manhattan People from Greenwich Village