Alla Rakha Khan

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Ustad Alla Rakha
Background information
Born	April 29, 1919(1919-04-29) Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
Origin	India
Occupation(s)	Tabla
Instrument(s)	Tabla

Ustad Alla Rakha (April 29, 1919 - February 3, 2000) was a master of the tabla, a classical Hindustani percussion instrument. He is considered one of the greatest tabla players of the 20th century.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Ustad Alla Rakha was born as Allarakha Qureshi on April 29, 1919 at Phagwal village, near Jammu, India. He became fascinated with the sound and rhythm of the tabla at the age of 12, while staying with his uncle in Gurdaspur. The determined young lad ran away from home, became a disciple of and began studying tabla with Mian Kader Baksh of the Punjab Gharana. By doing this, he was initiated into the world of music. He studied voice and Raag Vidya under Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala Gharana. His regimen of practice and dedication were legendary: hours upon hours of hard, disciplined practice, that would later pay off.

[edit] Career

He began his musical career as an accompanist in Lahore and then as an All India Radio staffer in Bombay in 1940, playing the station's first ever tabla solo and elevating the instrument's position in the process. Soon after, he would compose music for a couple of Hindi films from 1943-48. However, he still also played as an accompanist, for soloists like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Allauddin Khan, Vasant Rai and Ravi Shankar. The venerable master achieved world renown as Pandit Ravi Shankar's chief accompanist during his apex in the 1960s, delighting audiences in the West with his percussive wizardry, not only as an uncanny accompanist with flawless timing and sensitivity but also as a soloist where he was a master of improvisation, a prolific composer and an electric showman. The partnership was particularly successful, and his legendary and spellbinding performances with Shankar at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival in 1969 served to introduce classical Indian music to general Western audiences.

He became a Guru (or teacher) to Yogesh Samsi and his sons Taufiq Qureshi and Fazal Qureshi. His eldest son, Zakir Hussain is also an accomplished tabla virtuoso.

[edit] Global influence

The Ustad popularized the art of tabla, playing across the globe, elevating the status and respect of his instrument. Abbaji (as he was affectionately known by his disciples) also bridged the gap between Carnatic music and Hindustani music by playing with both renowned Carnatic musicians and other Hindustani stalwarts.

Leading American percussionists in Rock n' Roll, such as the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, admired him and studied his technique, benefiting greatly even from single meetings. Hart, a published authority on percussion in world music, said "Allarakha is the Einstein, the Picasso; he is the highest form of rhythmic development on this planet"

[edit] Death

He died at 3:30 a.m. on February 3, 2000 at his Simla House residence on Napean Sea Road following a sudden heart attack attributed to death of his daughter, Razia, the evening before his death. He was survived by his wife, Bavi Begum, his three sons, Zakir Hussain, Fazal Qureshi and Taufiq Qureshi, his daughter Khurshid Aulia nee Qureshi and nine grandchildren.

[edit] Sources

1. Inlay notes to A Life Story of a Genius compilation CD set (Saregama India Ltd, 2006)

[edit] External links

• Ustad Alla Rakha at allmusic.com