Vasant Rai
Encyclopedia
Vasant Rai was one of world's most acclaimed performers of Indian music and virtuoso of the Indo/Persian/Afghan instrument Sarod
.
, Kutch, Gujarat and studied music in India
. Rai was the last student of Allauddin Khan
, who is best known as the teacher of Ravi Shankar
.
Rai's sons Satyam (b 1982) and Andrew (b 1979) are also upcoming sarodists. Satyam and Andrew continue to maintain the family school in New York City.
He died in his New York apartment shortly after a Carnegie Hall
performance.
in 1969 and lived mainly in the Greenwich Village
area and also for a short time at the Chelsea Hotel
when he was not touring. From 1969 to 1985 he conducted the Alam School of Music in The Greenwich Village. Alla Rakha, Mahapurush Misra, Shamta Prasad, Zakir Hussain
and K Paramjyoti usually accompanied him on the tabla
.
Rai had been signed exclusively by Vanguard Records
from 1975 to 1982. Vasant's first commercial recording was by EMI
and on the tabla was the late Alla Rakha
During the early 1980s, Rai and the jazz flutist Herbie Mann
jammed together live on weekend nights at packed venues such as the Bottom Line
and Village Gate. Vasant Rai taught many Western musicians such as George Harrison
, John Coltrane
, Collin Walcott
and other rock and jazz personalities of that time.
Rai also trained a number of Indian classical musicians the more noted ones are sarod
players Pradeep Kumar Barot, Ashok Roy, Stephen James, and sitar
players Amiya Das Gupta, Deepak Chaudhary and Shamim Khan. Vasant Rai's sarod was a gift from his guru Allauddin Khan, was made by Allauddin Khan's younger brother Ayet Ali Khan in the 1930s.
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
.
Personal life and education
Rai was born in UnjhaUnjha
Unjha is a city and a municipality in Mehsana district in the Indian state of Gujarat.-Geography:Unjha is located at . It has an average elevation of 111 metres .-Demographics:...
, Kutch, Gujarat and studied music in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Rai was the last student of Allauddin Khan
Allauddin Khan
Allauddin Khan , was a Bengali sarodiya and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most renowned music teachers of the 20th Century in Indian classical music.In 1935, he toured Europe, along with Uday Shankar's ballet troupe, and later also worked at his...
, who is best known as the teacher of Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
.
Rai's sons Satyam (b 1982) and Andrew (b 1979) are also upcoming sarodists. Satyam and Andrew continue to maintain the family school in New York City.
He died in his New York apartment shortly after a Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
performance.
Career
Rai had been coming to the United States since his teen years but finally settled in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1969 and lived mainly in the Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
area and also for a short time at the Chelsea Hotel
Chelsea Hotel
Chelsea Hotel can refer to:*Hotel Chelsea in New York City*"Chelsea Hotel #2", a song from the 1974 Leonard Cohen album New Skin for the Old Ceremony*Chelsea Hotel, a book of photographs by Claudio Edinger, published in 1983See also...
when he was not touring. From 1969 to 1985 he conducted the Alam School of Music in The Greenwich Village. Alla Rakha, Mahapurush Misra, Shamta Prasad, Zakir Hussain
Zakir Hussain (musician)
Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer.-Early life:Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St...
and K Paramjyoti usually accompanied him on the tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
.
Rai had been signed exclusively by Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
from 1975 to 1982. Vasant's first commercial recording was by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
and on the tabla was the late Alla Rakha
During the early 1980s, Rai and the jazz flutist Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
jammed together live on weekend nights at packed venues such as the Bottom Line
Bottom Line
The Bottom Line was a music venue at 15 West Fourth Street between Mercer Street and Greene Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
and Village Gate. Vasant Rai taught many Western musicians such as George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Collin Walcott
Collin Walcott
Collin Walcott was a North American musician. He was a student of Ravi Shankar and Vasant Rai. Collin expanded the role of the sitar in western music. Walcott studied music and ethnomusicology at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and at The University of California at Los Angeles...
and other rock and jazz personalities of that time.
Rai also trained a number of Indian classical musicians the more noted ones are sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
players Pradeep Kumar Barot, Ashok Roy, Stephen James, and sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
players Amiya Das Gupta, Deepak Chaudhary and Shamim Khan. Vasant Rai's sarod was a gift from his guru Allauddin Khan, was made by Allauddin Khan's younger brother Ayet Ali Khan in the 1930s.