Ali Akbar Khan 1974 'Raga Alamgiri & Raga Jogiya-Kalengra'

Here is a 1974 release by Ali Akbar Khan. The cover, I believe, is supposed to be in colour, however mine is in black and white? I have no idea why, but never mind. It kind of feels like a special edition haha... The record is in pretty good condition so some good results. Raga Alamgiri is Ali Akbar Khan's own creation named after his father and Guru Allauddin Khan.

Label: His Master's Voice ‎– EASD 1407

Tracks:
A - Raga Alamgiri (Vilambit & Drut Gat - Teentaal)
B - Raga Jogiya-Kalengra (Vilambat Gat - Teentaal)

WAV 16/48 unaltered

WAV 16/48 cleaned

MP3 320kbps cleaned

Digitised with: Project Essential II Turntable, Ortofon Red Stylus, recorded as WAV 16/48 in Audacity and saved unaltered (apart from track separation/info tags) as WAV 16/48, and then separately edited with: Clickrepair (low settings) then slight reduction on surface noise + normalised to -1.5db in Audacity and exported as WAV 16/48 and MP3 320kbps.

Bhaskar 1977 'Dances And Chants Of India'

Like the name implies these are dances and chants. Quite interesting and a bit of a change from the usual classical performances normally posted.

"Bhaskar, born in Madras, India, began his professional career as a boxer at the age of 15, and climaxed his pugilistic efforts by winning the welterweight championship of Madras. Persuaded by several other experts of the dance to give up boxing and begin the study of dance, he became a first rate dancer in a very short time. He studied with the most famous teachers in India, including G. Ellappa, whose other most prominent pupil was Uday Shankar. While performing as a dancer, Bhaskar attracted the attention of movie producers and became a movie and stage actor in India.

Soon he was one of the most sought after choreographers in his native land, both for films and the stage. In 1952 he was decorated by Prime Minister Nehru for his contributions to Indian theatre. He toured India with his company of dancers and musicians and was invited by the Governor of Ceylon to perform before Her Majesty, the Queen of England, when she visited there. Bhaskar was brought to this country by Max Liebman for an acting and dancing role in the TV spectacular ,"MARCO POLO," later appearing in many other television shows. He has danced with great success—alone and with his company—on -New York concert stages, at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Chicago International Fair, Radio City Music Hall and at numerous universities and concert halls throughout the United States.

Bhaskar appeared on Broadway in "CALIGUALA" and then In the musical "CHRISTINE," which starred Maureen O'Hara. The critics unanimously praised him as the most unusual and exciting performer in the production. Bhaskar returned to New York from his extended tour of South America and South Africa for the premiere of his film, "Creation of Women," which was nominated for an Academy Award. Following the film premiere, he appeared at the Adelaide Arts Festival in Australia with Yehudl Menuhin and the London Philhar-monic Orchestra. He has since appeared in London on the West End in the play "THE KINDLY MONKEYS" and has just completed a movie called "INSTANT LOVE" starring Rossano Brazzi and Rhonda Fleming, to be released shortly."

Label: Request Records (2) ‎– SRLP 10095

Tracks:
A1 - Surya Nirham Or The Dance Of The Rising Sun
A2 - Naga Nirtham Or The Dance Of The King Cobra
A3 - Natanam Adinar: Literally Means "He Danced"
A4 - Pooja - The Dance Of Invocation
B1 - Thala Nirtham Or The Disc Dance
B2 - Dance Of The Hunter
B3 - Allaripu
B4 - Thillana
B5 - Krishna Ni Beganu Baru

WAV 16/48 unaltered

WAV 16/48 cleaned

MP3 320kbps cleaned

Digitised with: Project Essential II Turntable, Ortofon Red Stylus, recorded as WAV 16/48 in Audacity and saved unaltered as side A and B in WAV 16/48, and then separately edited with: Clickrepair (low settings) then slight reduction on surface noise + normalised to -2.0db in Audacity and exported as WAV 16/48 and MP3 320kbps.

Rais Khan Rare 1968 'Khansahib Rais Khan'

Here is Rais Khan's first LP from 1968. I think it has been re-released in various forms but probably not a good quality. Whilst there was a fair bit of surface noise on this vinyl it's still quite enjoyable after a little bit of light post cleaning. I though the info on the back cover was pretty interesting, so will copy it here also.

"Born in 1940 at Indore, Rais Khan is perhaps the youngest to occupy the rank of stalwarts in the art of sitar-playing. His father, Ustad Mohammad Khan, himself an accomplished sitar and been (veena) player, initiated him into the art at the tender age of two. A toy sitar made of a coconut shell fascinated the child and this was the beginning. The progress of the child was surprising and, at his debut in a concert hall, at the age of five, he was hailed as a child prodigy by a distinguished audience presided over by the wife of the then Governor of Bombay. Since then it has been an onward march towards greater progress and at twenty-seven today, Rais Khan is acclaimed as a sitar-wizard. This success has been achieved by him after several years of intensive training, perseverance and an overwhelming desire to carve out a niche for himself in the domain of Indian classical music. And he has done It! The ragas Todi and Kedara with which Ustad Mohammad Khan initiated his son into the art were practiced by Rais Khan for over ten years until he mastered them to the satisfaction of his father."

"Side II of this disc opens with the raga "Todi". Rais Khan has a very rich heritage both from the paternal and maternal sides which probably explains his extraordinary proficiency at such an early age. From the father's side his lineage can be traced to such musical luminaries as Ustad Haddu Khan, Ustad Hassu Khan, Ustad Nathu Khan, Ustad Baboo Khan of Indore, Ustad Rajabali Khan of Dewas and Ustad Murad Khan, who in his days was known as a maestro on the been. On the mother's side maestro Vilayat Khan is the real maternal uncle of the young artist. No wonder Rais Khan has risen so fast and has dazzled and baffled music critics and music lovers all over the country by his remarkable proficiency. One perceives in his style a predominance of the "Gayaki Ang' (way of singing). All the gimmicks a vocalist is capable of producing are at the finger-tips of Rais Khan. It will not be an exaggeration to say that in his hands, the sitar sings in the style of an accomplished vocalist."

"He has toured extensively all over India and has performed in the Western and Eastern countries of the world as well, as a member of cultural delegations sent to these countries by the Government of India. In a grand conference of musicians from all over the globe, at Warsaw, in 1955, Rais Khan was adjudged the best instrumentalist from among the Indian group. Out of one hundred and eleven instrumentalists, only six were awarded gold medals. And Rais Khan was one of them. He has thus won a large number of admirers in foreign countries as well as in India. His frequent appearances at the various stations of All India Radio and in the music conferences are eagerly looked forward to by his fans. This first Long Play disc of Rais Khan is sure to establish him as a disc-artist of top calibre and since he has a very long and bright future, we are hoping to bring to you successive recordings by him to provide listeners with first-class entertainment. The tabla accompaniment by Ustad Basheer Ahmed Khan deserves a special mention for the very able support given to the artist."

Label: His Master's Voice ‎– ECLP-2359

Tracks:
A - Raga Jhinjhoti
B1 - Raga Todi
B2 - Lokpriya Dhun

WAV 16/48 unaltered

WAV 16/48 cleaned

MP3 320kbps cleaned

Digitised with: Project Essential II Turntable, Ortofon Red Stylus, recorded as WAV 16/48 in Audacity and saved unaltered (apart from track separation/info tags) as WAV 16/48, and then separately edited with: Clickrepair (low settings) then slight reduction on surface noise + normalised to -1.5db in Audacity and exported as WAV 16/48 and MP3 320kbps.

Shamim Ahmed & Zakir Hussain 1981 'Classical Instrumental - Sitar & Tabla'

Here is a 1981 release of Shamim Ahmed Khan with the famous young Zakir Hussain. This LP has probably been posted before, but let's celebrate again! I have one more Shamim Ahmed LP I am planning to post, which is a rare Polydor 1973 release.

Label:  ‎Music India Ltd. ‎– 2392 968

Tracks:
A1 - Raga Jaijaiwanti (Alap, Jod, Gat In Tritaal)
B1 - Raga Hindol (Gat In Roopak Taal)
B2 - Mishra Mand (Dadra Taal)

WAV (Unaltered 16/48)

WAV (Cleaned 16/48)

MP3 (Cleaned 320kbps)

Digitised with: Project Essential II Turntable, Ortofon Red Stylus, recorded as WAV 16/48 in Audacity and saved unaltered (apart from track separation/info tags) as WAV 16/48, and then separately edited with: Clickrepair (low settings) then slight reduction on surface noise + normalised to -1.0db in Audacity and exported as WAV 16/48 and MP3 320kbps.

Shamim Ahmed 1979 'Soulful Melodies On Sitar'

Here is a 1979 release of Shamim Ahmed Khan. This was posted on Oriental Traditional Music back in 2012...the year Shamim Ahmed passed away. I thought it would be nice to have a refresh and I have posted my transfer in the spirit of keeping the artist and his music alive.

A nice rendition of Ahir Bhairav that I recognised straight away before before checking the cover to see if I was right. I'm not great at guessing ragas from just listening but Ahir Bhairav is one of those iconic ones that stick out.

Label:  ‎Philips ‎– 6405 644

Tracks:
A1 - Raga Ahir Bhairav (Alap and Gat in Roopak Taal)
A2 - Dhun Mishra Kamaj (Dadra Taal)
B1 - Raga Desh (Alap, Jor, Jhalla and Gat in Teentaal)

WAV (Unaltered 16/48)

WAV (Cleaned 16/48)

MP3 (Cleaned 320kbps)

Digitised with: Project Essential II Turntable, Ortofon Red Stylus, recorded as WAV 16/48 in Audacity and saved unaltered (apart from track separation/info tags) as WAV 16/48, and then separately edited with: Clickrepair (low settings) then slight reduction on surface noise + normalised to -1.0db in Audacity and exported as WAV 16/48 and MP3 320kbps.

Kartick Kumar Rare 1970 'Sitar'

I was fortunate enough to find two copies of this rare Polydor release of Kartick Kumar - but not fortunate enough that they play particularly well. They both have a lot of surface noise... anyway because it's a rare LP, I thought to share it anyway until someone else (ever) shares a better copy...

Kartick was one of Ravi Shankar's senior students. He didn't produce a lot of LPs but his first two with Deutsche Grammophon and Heliodor are fairly accessible and worth a listen. Later works are also very good. For anyone who hasn't listened to his son Niladri Kumar, definitely worth some research. I really love Niladri's style - a really gifted musician who can express a lot of emotion through sitar. There a quite a few good videos on YouTube as well.

Label:  ‎Polydor ‎– 2392 811

Tracks:
A1 - Raga Hemant (Roopak Taal)
B1 - Raga Des (Teen Taal - Vilambit & Drut)
B2 - Thumri - Raga Mihra Pilu

WAV (Unaltered 16/48)

WAV (Cleaned 16/48)

MP3 (Cleaned 320kbps)

Digitised with: Project Essential II Turntable, Ortofon Red Stylus, recorded as WAV 16/48 in Audacity and saved unaltered (apart from track separation/info tags) as WAV 16/48, and then separately edited with: Clickrepair (low settings) then slight reduction on surface noise + normalised to -1.5db in Audacity and exported as WAV 16/48 and MP3 320kbps.

Hariprasad Chaurasia 1973 'Down Melody Lane'

Here is a 1973 Indian release of Hariprasad's third solo LP. This one had a lot of surface noise, so took a lot of care in preparing the cleaned version. I try to use the lowest settings possible when running through declick/decrackle. I am waiting on Hariprasad's second LP released in 1970, which is quite rare... I'm looking forward to receiving it and praying it's in good condition. I'll share it when it comes.

Label:  ‎His Master's Voice ‎– ECSD 2733

Tracks:
A1 - Raga Gujri Todi
B1 - Raga Bageshwari
B2 - Raga Mishra Piloo

WAV (Unaltered 16/48)

WAV (Cleaned 16/48)

MP3 (Cleaned 320kbps)

Digitised with: Project Essential II Turntable, Ortofon Red Stylus, recorded as WAV 16/48 in Audacity and saved unaltered (apart from track separation/info tags) as WAV 16/48, and then separately edited with: Clickrepair (low settings) then slight reduction on surface noise + normalised to -1.5db in Audacity and exported as WAV 16/48 and MP3 320kbps.