Ustad Wajahat Khan - The Performing Musician

Ustad Wajahat Khan is one of the most outstanding sarod virtuosos of India today. Son and nephew of the legendary maestros Ustad Imrat Khan and late Ustad Vilayat Khan respectively, he represents the eighth generation of India's most distinguished dynasty of sitar and surbahar players, whose lasting contributions have profoundly influenced and shaped the course of north Indian instrumental music up to the present day.

Wajahat Khan started his training under his father from the age of three studying singing, sitar and surbahar in his family’s tradition, and later the sarod. He started his musical career as a child prodigy vocalist, but soon in his early teens he went on to become the first sarod player in this eminent family. He is now established as one of the exceptional world-ranking Indian musicians of his generation.

Based in Calcutta and London, he tours regularly and has performed at prestigious venues and festivals, in over 30 countries of the Indian sub-continent, the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, the USA, the former USSR, Africa, South-East Asia and the Far-East. For some of his career highlights please see international career.

Wajahat Khan's distinctive Style on the Sarod

Even though several renowned sarod players have trained under his musical dynasty, Wajahat Khan is the first member of this illustrious family of sitar and surbahar players to take up the sarod. He has brought to the sarod the intricate and fluid styles evolved and popularised by generations of his family, including his pioneering adaptation of the four-string technique of the surbahar to the sarod, and interweaves a wide spectrum of dhrupad, khyal and thumri forms of the vocal tradition, with the authentic sarod baaj (instrumental repertoire). He uniquely uses seven pegs, instead of the conventional six or eight pegs that are used by other contemporary sarod masters. Continue...

Audio Examples: Solo Sarod Vocal, Sarod, Tabla
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Live Performance

In an age where music is increasingly influenced and made with the aid of computers, Wajahat Khan's live performances are an unforgettable experience of great depth and musicianship of the highest level, rarely found in live performance today. See international career for more information.