Jamaluddin Bhartiya: [SP 4] Seniormost Disciple of Ravi Shankar (c. 1973)

This lovely LP on the Amsterdam-based Space Records was likely issued sometime between 1972 and 1975, if the catalog numbering used by the label is assumed to be chronological. There is no indication of a date for either the recording or LP release on the sleeve or label.

As noted in the title of the record, apparently Bhartiya became the first disciple of Ravi Shankar in 1955. There is not a tremendous amount of information available about him on the web, so I can't verify or refute this. Apparently he also studied with the great vocalist Amir Khan and sang as well as played sitar at many of his concerts. I'm surprised there's not even a stub of an entry in wikipedia.

Jamaluddin Bhartiya was born in 1929 and died at the age of 83 in February 2012. He eventually moved to Amsterdam where he opened up a school. His most prominent student is sitarist Darshan Kumari who plays tanpura on this LP.

This is really a delightful performance of two wonderful ragas. The most common comment I could find about Bhartiya's style was that he "combined the Maihar style of Ravi Shankar with the vocal articulation of Vilayat Khan in his playing" -- which sounds like a nonsensical generalization produced more from the pressure of a deadline than actual thought (and I speak from experience as a former music journalist). However, I think there is something here that rings true. 

It's certainly a shame that Bhartiya's entire recorded catalog seems to consist of three LPs. As often happens in these cases, I tend to daydream about meeting his family and discovering a trove of unreleased recordings which I then issue carefully on my record label. 

Until that unlikely day, we have both this recording and also this well-respected audiophile recording transferred at the long dormant "Anthems for the Nation of Luobaniya" blog.

Side 1: Raga Charukeshi
Side 2: Raga Jog

Tabla: Zamir Ahmed Khan
Tanpura: Kumari Darshan

Equipment used in transfer:

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in water, followed by a quick vacuum drying with a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Shure M97x
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.
Recorder: Edirol R-09HR at 24bit/44.1kHz resolution

Software: Audacity to normalize and carefully remove a few enormous noises per side using the "repair" and "amplify" [in "negative amplification" mode] tool. No change in EQ was made. Conversion to 16/44.1 took place in Audacity. xAct was used to convert to FLAC and mp3. Files were compressed to "zip."

Despite my best efforts at cleaning the LP, there was still quite a bit of groove noise as well as a surprising number of clicks which had to be removed -- more than 30 per side. Against my usual policy, I utilized Audacity's "click removal" effect and also applied very gentle noise reduction to these files. I think it is as good as I will obtain using this specimen and my equipment.

Some otherwise unobtainable recordings by Jamaluddin Bhartiya:

Raga Bhimpalasi

Raga Charukeshi

Raga Todi

[SP 4] Seniormost Disciple of Ravi Shankar (c. 1973) 24bit 44.1kHz FLAC

[SP 4] Seniormost Disciple of Ravi Shankar (c. 1973) 16bit 44.1kHz FLAC

[SP 4] Seniormost Disciple of Ravi Shankar (c. 1973) 320 kbps mp3

VG Jog: Ragas Jhinjhoti and Adana [ECSD 41501] (1982)

Here we have a delightful LP by V. G. Jog (22 February 1922 – 31 January 2004) of two Ragas with a lighter Dhun to end the program.

VG Jog was not exactly over-represented on LP and CD, but what his discography lacks in quantity it always seems to make up for in quality, especially in terms of melodiousness. This is an LP to share with people who believe Indian Classical music is stuffy and stodgy.

Tabla by the amazing Swapan Chaudhury.

Side 1: Raga Jhinjhoti
Side 2: Raga Adana and Poorvi Dhun

This specimen was unplayed until I made the transfer.

Equipment used in transfer:

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 5 minutes in water, followed by a quick vacuum drying with a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Shure M97x
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.
Recorder: Edirol R-09HR at 24bit/44.1kHz resolution

Software: Audacity to normalize and carefully remove a few small clicks and pops per side using the "repair" tool. No change in EQ was made. Conversion to 16/44.1 took place in Audacity. xAct was used to convert to FLAC and mp3. Files were compressed to "zip."

So-called "noise removal" and dynamic range compression were avoided in order to best preserve the dynamic nuances and tone quality of the original sound. 

[ECSD 41501] mp3 at 320 kbps

[ECSD 41501] 16 bit, 44.1 kHz flac

[ECSD 41501] 24 bit, 44.1 kHz FLAC

A video of Amjad Ali Khan and VG Jog performing together

Sharan Rani: "The Music of India" [WP-1418] (1962)

Here we have the first LP recorded by Sharan Rani Backliwal (née Mathur) (9 April 1929 – 8 April 2008), one of the first (if not the first) female sarodists in India. She was a direct disciple of  Allauddin "Baba" Khan and his son Ali Akbar Khan (see previous posts and also his eponymous college). 

Although many female musicians in India respond to negative pressures from a patriarchal society by avoiding performing in public and instead teach at a university, Sharan Rani chose the path of performing and training disciples. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan (the third-highest honor for a civilian in India) in 1980 and continued to perform publicly until just before her death. She was a collector of rare instruments and before her death donated over 450 musical instruments to the National Museum in Delhi. 

Her discography seems to have stalled in the late 1960s, which is a shame. Perhaps there are some AIR concerts or other live recordings floating around in collectors circles?

Tabla performed by Chatur Lal (1925-65)

• Tambura – Robert Gareias

Side 1: Raga Kausi-Kanada
Side 2: Raga Lalit and solo tabla in panchan savari 

Equipment used in transfer:

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 5 minutes in water, followed by a  quick vacuum drying with a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Shure M97x
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780 in "mono" mode.
Recorder: Edirol R-09HR at 24bit/44.1kHz resolution

Software: Audacity to normalize, convert to a single channel, and carefully remove several dozen clicks and pops per side using the "repair" tool. No change in EQ was made. Conversion to 16/44.1 took place in Audacity. xAct was used to convert to FLAC and mp3. Files were compressed to "zip."

So-called "noise removal" and dynamic range compression were avoided in order to best preserve the dynamic nuances and tone quality of the original sound. 

24bit, 44.1kHz flac file

16bit, 44.1kHz flac file

320kbps mp3 file

Note: There is a CD of this LP (which also includes a solo LP by Chatur Lal) which was released by El! Records in the UK a few years back. As far as I can tell, this LP is in the public domain in the UK and that El! release is a straight vinyl transfer with no royalties going to the artist's family or the current owner of Liberty Records (it might be EMI). Therefore I don't consider it to be a legitimate CD release and I will share the sound files of my transfer until someone can demonstrate that this LP is currently available in a legitimate CD release.

Also, there is an out of print LP which claims to be a stereo release. I believe the session was recorded in mono and the stereo was "Electronically re-channeled to simulate stereo" -- anyone with verified knowledge to the contrary is invited to let me know!

An interesting LP transfer of a vintage Sharan Rani release is available at this blog

Ali Akbar Khan [EMI ECSD 2587] (1979)

Here we have an excellent LP by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan with Pandit Swapan Chowdury on tabla.

At this point Swapanji had taken over for Zakir Hussain as the main tabla instructor at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, CA, after Zakirji's hectic performance schedule no longer allowed him to fulfill his teaching commitments.

There is a school of thought which posits that Khansahib should have stayed in Calcutta and helped his school there to flourish, rather than spend more and more time in California, where (admittedly) there were more dollars and more sports cars. You can find plenty of articles on the internet describing in minute detail Khansahib's supposed decline in terms of his creativity and playing and bemoaning the "good old days" of the 1940s and 1950s.

It's always easier to be a superhero musician when almost no one is recording your performances. People can tell anecdotes about brilliant private house concerts which put to shame anything recently released, without there being any evidence to contradict them. When you start releasing 4 or 5 albums a year, you are exposed to a lot more scrutiny. Certainly, there is a somewhat commercial aspect to albums entitled "Music for Meditation" and a surprising stopwatch quality to others entitled "The 40 Minute Alap" and "The 80 Minute Raga."

What cannot be denied, however, is that Khansahib was a primary musical force in 20th century Hindustani classical music. He helped popularize it in the West and taught many individuals who themselves would go on to become respected teachers. Besides, when one considers the fact that Nikhil Banerjee considered himself a disciple of Ali Akbar Khan, that is all I really need to know in order to greatly respect him.

This LP, recorded for EMI at an undisclosed location (probably India, but there were recording studios in California at the time, too) was released in 1979. It has an iconic cover with a brilliant repeating design and was pressed at the Gramophone Company's plant in Dum Dum, India.

side1:
Raga Suha-Todi
(Compositions in Jhaptal and Trital)

side2:
Raga Chhayanat
(Alap and compositions in Trital)

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 10 minutes in water, followed by a  quick vacuum drying with a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Shure M97x
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.
Recorder: Edirol R-09HR at 24bit/44.1kHz resolution

Software: Audacity to normalize and carefully remove one or two clicks per side using the "repair" tool. No change in EQ was made. Conversion to 16/44.1 took place in Audacity. xAct was used to convert to FLAC and mp3. So-called "noise removal" was avoided in order to best preserve the dynamic nuances and tone quality of the original sound. 

24 bit 44.1kHz FLAC files

16bit 44.1kHz FLAC files

320 kbps mp3 files

here is a live video of Khansahib, Swapanji and Mary Khan on tanpura

Here is another, different transfer from a blog post published in 2011

Kabir Khan - Mellow Moment on Sitar [Oscar Records PIKA-23] (1978)

Here is my final LP from the somewhat mysterious Oscar Records label. They issued a half dozen LPs in the late 1970s and early 1980s and were based out of New York. There were a few live albums of ghazals from singer Mehdi Hassan. One of popular Pakistani film songs. Then there was no more. It seems they had some sort of contact with EMI Pakistan -- probably help with recording, or else allowing people out of exclusive recording contracts, or something else. There is no evidence for a belief I once held that these were US releases of licensed EMI Pakistan recordings.

There is not much information I could find about Ustad Kabir Khan. He was born in Jaipur in 1924 and died in Karachi in 1980. He is considered to be a member of the Senia Gharana and according to one reference book ("Who's Who: Music in Pakistan"), he counted Ali Akbar Khan and Amjad Ali Khan (both sarod players) as teachers. [Certainly Nikhilji did not mind having two sarod players as gurus.] He appears to have a son who is active musically in Pakistan.

This is from near the end of that dark era when mentioning the name of the tabla player on an LP was considered optional and possibly a waste of time.

The track titles are as follows:

Side 1:
Raga Mian Ki Todi
Peelo (possibly Raga Pilu?)

Side 2:
Raga Multani
Raga Paraj

I would like to thank my internet friend and fellow music lover "Tawfiq" for discussing this label and this LP with me offline. As always his blog is self-recommending and its latest post is noted at right. He also has a superb store on Discogs.com. He might be the most reliable supplier of new-old-stock Indian Classical LPs on the planet. This LP was purchased from a different seller on discogs. LPs from this label only rarely show up on internet sites and only once have I seen one in person before paying for it (that LP was also posted on this blog -- take a look for it!)

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 10 minutes in water, followed by a quick vacuum drying with a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Shure M97x

Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Edirol R-09HR at 24bit/44.1kHz resolution

Software: Audacity to normalize and carefully remove a few clicks on each side. No change in EQ was made. Conversion to 16/44.1 took place in Audacity. xAct was used to convert to FLAC and mp3. So-called "noise removal" was avoided in order to best preserve the dynamic nuances and tone quality of the original sound. The record is visually in excellent shape but unfortunately there is some faint surface noise still present in the transfer. 

320 kbps mp3 

16bit 44.1 kHz flac

24bit 44.1kHz flac