Aashish Khan, the renowned sarod maestro who introduced the instrument globally and worked with famous musicians such as George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Ringo Starr, passed away, as confirmed by his family.
The 84-year-old musician passed away in a Los Angeles hospital in the US on Thursday, with family, friends, and students by his side, according to his brother Alam Khan’s Instagram post.
“My oldest brother, master of the Sarod and spiritual leader of the Maihar Gharana, Ustad Aashish Khan, has deceased. For the past two days in Los Angeles, he was encircled by love from family, friends, and students at the hospital as he passed away,” he posted.
Khan, who was born in 1939 in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh, received training from his grandfather Ustad Allauddin Khan, the creator of the “Senia Maihar Gharana”, along with his father Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and aunt Annapurna Devi.
He had a crucial part in introducing Indian classical music to audiences worldwide, enchanting listeners and motivating students globally.
In 1989, after the example set by greats such as Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pannalal Ghosh, he was appointed as the composer and conductor of All India Radio’s Vadya Vrinda group.
He worked with iconic Western musicians like George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Charles Lloyd, and Alice Coltrane.
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Khan also collaborated with Pandit Ravi Shankar and played a significant role in creating the music for movies like “Apur Sansar”, “Parash Pathar”, “Jalsaghar” directed by Satyajit Ray, as well as “Gandhi” directed by Richard Attenborough.
He additionally created music for movies like “A Passage to India” directed by David Lean, “The Man Who Would Be King” by John Huston, and “Jotugriha” by Tapan Sinha.
In the 1960s, Khan and tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain collaborated to create their own successful Indo-jazz band “Shanti”.
Khan received a Grammy Award nomination in 2006 for his album “Golden Strings of the Sarode” in the ‘Best Traditional World Music Album’ category.
