Alam Khan: A Classical Music Marvel
The ability to create a feeling of transcendence with great music runs deep in the blood of the Khan family. Alam Khan, son of the legendary Sarode Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, is carrying on the legacy that carries within it great cultural significance. Alam expresses the importance of the Sarode to the Indian culture.
Alam Khan grew up in a house where soulfully transcending music was like a way of life. His father, the legendary late Ali Akbar Khan, was the most notably famous Sarode player in the world. Alam plays the instrument with the same care and the passion that his father did. In his precision to the craft of playing the Sarode, Alam honors the expression of the ancient ragas passed down from the courts of Emperor Akbar by Mian Tansen in the 16th century.
Ali Akbar Khan passed away in 2009.
Alam, 29, passionately seeks out ways to keep the Sarode relevant in today’s culture of music with a high produced type of sound. Alam grew up in the bay area of California; he began training to play the Sarode at 7. He has been performing since he was 15 years old and has toured the world and attracted the praise and attention of another Indian music legend, Ravi Shankar. Shankar is best known for his musical talents playing the Sitar. Alam also plays the Sitar.
Alam discusses carrying on this legacy in an age where the younger generation has unique tastes in music.
“The music world has definitely changed,” Alam said. “It’s totally presented in a different way; we live in such a technological age. It shows in the music quite a bit.”
There are not very many people who engage in music that is heavily based in an instrumental sound, it can and often does sound very electronic. The vocoder is a heavily used instrument of today; it electronically synthesizes the vocals of an artist.
“There is such a computer aspect to it. Almost everyone has kind of a produced sound. It’s something to look back—The Beatles; that was pop music of its time. If you take that and compare it to something today, it just sounds so different. I hope that the kids of today don’t lose touch with that era of music. It was a great era for music.”
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