Vilayat Khan

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Vilayat Khan

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Famous Indian sitar player (1928—2004), son of Enayat Khan and elder brother of Imrat Khan. He is the father of Shujaat Husain Khan and Hidayat Khan.
After he lost his father at the age of eleven, having had only 5 or 6 years of training, the most eminent amongst his father’s disciples denied him the training of his gharana. Years before he had already recorded his first 78 for the Megaphone label at age 8.

He left Calcutta in his early teens in search of training and a career, and can therefore be considered a largely self-taught musician. He later studied also the Surbahar under his father's brother, Ustad Waheed Khan.

Besides his extraordinary career as an instrumentalist – he is estimated to have released between 70 and 100 commercial recordings during his career spanning six decades – he composed and conducted the score for three feature films. The music for “Jalsaghar” won a national award.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1964 and the Padma Bhushan award in 1968, but refused to accept them, declaring the committee musically incompetent to judge him. In 2000, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan and refused again. The only titles he accepted were the special decorations of "Bharat Sitar Samrat" by the Artistes Association of India and "Aftab-e-Sitar" (Sun of the Sitar) from President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. He passed away in 2004 from lung cancer.

Data provided by Discogs

Top Tracks

Most popular songs on Last.fm · click ▶ to preview on Spotify

1

Jalshagar [Title Music]

Vilayat Khan

2

Arrival in Benaras [From the Guru]

Vilayat Khan

3

Dhun Punjabi

Vilayat Khan

4

Arrival In Benaras

Vilayat Khan

5

Raga Mand Bhairav

Vilayat Khan

Setlists

1 live performances · data from Setlist.fm

All · 1
1985

Setlist data provided by Setlist.fm

January 18, 1985

Dover Lane

Kolkata, Bengal, India

  • 1. Malkauns Alap and Jor 44:52

  • 2. Malkauns Jhala 50:17

  • 3. Bhairabi 19:46

Missing a show? Setlists sync automatically every 7 days.

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Vilayat Khan has released 40 albums between 1961 and 2010. Notable releases include Live In Mumbai, When Time Stood Still..., Shringar. Explore their complete discography on this page.

Vilayat Khan's most-played tracks include Jalshagar [Title Music], Arrival in Benaras [From the Guru], Dhun Punjabi, Arrival In Benaras, Raga Mand Bhairav. Listen to these songs and explore more from their catalog on this page.

Famous Indian sitar player (1928—2004), son of Enayat Khan and elder brother of Imrat Khan. He is the father of Shujaat Husain Khan and Hidayat Khan.After he lost his father at the age of eleven, having had only 5 or 6 years of training, the most emi... Read the full biography on this page.

You can find Vilayat Khan vinyl records, CDs and collectibles on eBay. Browse the selection of new and used releases available for purchase.

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