IAAC presents The Sarod Quintet

Keeping India’s ethos of traditions and legacies alive, Three Generation Quintet represents the 6th, 7th and 8th generation of musicians coming together on stage and performing together. The concert will feature Sarod Grand Master Amjad Ali Khan and his virtuoso sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash on Sarods. They will be joined by Ayaan’s 10 year old Twins Zohaan Ali Bangash and Abeer Ali Bangash. Also accompanied on tabla by Anubrata Chatterjee and Amit Kavthekar. The family recently completed a five city tour in India.

Amjad Ali Khan is one of the undisputed masters of the music world. Born to sarod maestro Haafiz Ali Khan, he gave his first performance at the age of six, and is credited with reinventing the technique of playing the sarod. Over the course of a distinguished career spanning more than six decades, Amjad Ali Khan has won numerous accolades including the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum, Unicef's National Ambassadorship and the Fukuoka Cultural grand prize. Ancient Sounds, a joint-venture of Amjad Ali Khan with Iraqi oud virtuoso Rahim Alhaj nominated for a Grammy award in the best traditional world music album category in 2009. He has performed at venues the world over including Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as at the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2014 in Oslo, Norway.

Samaagam, his first Sarod Concerto, has been performed by the Britten Sinfonia, Orchestre National d'lle de France, Orchestre d'Auvergne, London Philharmonia, Gulbenkian Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Amjad Ali Khan has also been a visiting professor at Stanford University, University of New Mexico and Jacob’s School of Music. Amjad Ali Khan recently received coveted Global Music Awards under the Gold Medal category for their outstanding contribution to the global music industry and excellence in the classical music sphere. The UN Day Concert 2018 featured Sarod virtuoso Amjad Ali Khan, accompanied by his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, and the Refugee Orchestra Project. The concert dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi was themed on “Traditions of Peace and Non-violence” in the presence of António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations.

In 2020, STRINGS FOR PEACE: Premieres for Guitar & Sarod released on Zoho Music. Steeped in the tradition Indian classical music with Sarod master Amjad Ali Khan, his virtuoso sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, and guitarist Sharon Isbin. The recording debuted at number 3 on the Amazon Hot New Releases/World Music bestseller list and rose to number 2 in its first week. Amjad Ali Khan recently Joined Gwen Stefani, Jon Bon Jovi for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee and multi-GRAMMY Award winning musician Joe Walsh’s Vetsaid Charity Concert on 4th December 2020. Amjad Ali Khan with Joe Walsh have come together with a 3 song EP named ‘Prayers’ as a tribute to doctors, frontline workers and for everyone who is going through these trying times. It's a wonderful project where the East meets West with an idea to bring the spirit of sharing the great unique treasures of their own artistic traditions, as well as finding common ground at both the cellular and cosmic levels of two musical traditions, which are often held to be radically different.

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Cultural and musical traditions gives life and purpose to the work they bring to the stage. By asking audiences to listen from the heart, Sarod virtuosos Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash breakthrough the troublesome polarities of continuity and change, tradition and innovation. In their sound we encounter technical assuredness bolstered by elegant lyricism and joy-filled dynamism.

It is music forged from a unique artistic vision that rests upon a legacy seven generations deep and includes their revered father and grandfather, Amjad Ali Khan and Haafiz Ali Khan. Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash represent the 7th generation of a musical lineage, as sons and disciples of the sarod icon, Amjad Ali Khan. They have performed across the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and Royal Albert Hall.

They have also collaborated with guitarist Derek Trucks, of the Allman Brothers Band, Guitarist Sharon Isbin, Chicago Philharmonic orchestra, Avignon symphony orchestra among others, and established themselves as a duo, carrying forward their musical legacy in sync with both tradition and contemporary times. They performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2014 in Oslo and recently won the Gold Medal at the Global Music Awards in LA for their new album Peace Worshippers. More recently, the performed their father’s Concerto Samaagam with New Jersey Symphony Orchestra with Conductor Xian Zhang, Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Bronx Arts Ensemble. The UNDay Concert 2018 featured Sarod virtuoso Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash and the Refugee Orchestra Project conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya, Conductor themed on “Traditions of Peace and Non-violence” in the presence of António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations.

In 2020, STRINGS FOR PEACE: Premieres for Guitar & Sarod released on Zoho Music. Steeped in the tradition Indian classical music with Sarod master Amjad Ali Khan, his virtuoso sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, and guitarist Sharon Isbin. The recording debuted at number 3 on the Amazon Hot New Releases/World Music bestseller list and rose to number 2 in its first week. Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash joined Gwen Stefani, Jon Bon Jovi for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee and multi-GRAMMY Award winning musician Joe Walsh’s Vetsaid Charity Concert in December 2020. Amaan and Ayaan joined together father Amjad Ali Khan with Joe Walsh for a 3 song EP named ‘Prayers’ as a tribute to doctors, frontline workers and for everyone who is going through these trying times. They are joined by several iconic Los Angeles-based musicians; drummers Stewart Copeland (of the Police) and Jim Keltner, bassists Nathan East, Leland Sklar and Abe Laboriel Sr., keyboardist Ed Roth, guitarists Davey Johnstone (Elton John’s longtime lead guitarist) and multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale. Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash have been announced as Associate Artists at Wigmore Hall, in advance of the Hall’s 120th anniversary celebrations. They join fellow new Associate Artists such as Lawrence Power, Nitin Sawhney and Gweneth Ann Rand, and are committed to a five-year relationship with the Hall, performing at least once every season. Sarod-playing family are partnering this year with the brilliant, multiple Grammy nominee, Chinese pipa soloist Wu Man. This cross-cultural project supports the AAPI (Asian-American and Pacific Islander) movement, raising awareness to the discrimination, victimisation, violence and racism this group has been subjected to in America. Amaan and Ayaan made tier debut at Royal Albert Hall in August 2022 at BBC Proms.