Sarod meets guitar in string music celebration

Ustad Amjad Ali and his sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash collaborate with guitarist Sharon Isbin on fusion album 'Strings of Peace'

Ustad Amjad Ali, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash have just released an album with Grammy winner Sharon Isbin. Titled ‘Strings for Peace,’ it blends sarod with her classical guitar in four tracks.

The brothers took time off to chat with Showtime about the music-making process.

Tell us about ‘Strings of Peace’ and what it was like conceptualising it.

Amaan: The idea was to share the unique treasures of our own artistic traditions, as well as finding common ground in ragas and medieval modes. The idea was to achieve a cross-fertilisation of two classical music traditions, often held to be radically different.

Ayaan: The aim is to preserve the essence of both Indian and western traditions so they can flow into each other without compromise. The sarod and guitar come from a common family of stringed instruments. However, the sarod is a fretless instrument played with fingernails, while the guitar is a stringed musical instrument, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (pick).

You have been planning a collaboration with Sharon Isbin for many years...

Amaan: We feel honoured to collaborate with Sharon, who is so creative, artistic and enthusiastic.

Ayaan: This collaboration is about letting go of what we are best at and getting the best out of the other person. We have known Sharon for a decade but began to really work together only last year. When we started out, little did we know this creation would come to fruition at a time when humanity will need to consider meditation and contemplation more than ever.

At a time like this, how important do you think music is?

Amaan: Musicians and listeners have been communicating across all barriers from time immemorial. As we use flowers for worship, welcoming, honouring, departure, and celebration no matter what our race, origin, religion or language, we similarly arrange musical notes into ‘bouquets’ or compositions which display all our human feelings and emotions. Music heals the mind, body and soul.

Ayaan: Like all industries, the music industry, too, has been hit badly by the pandemic. So many concerts and projects have been postponed. Artistes all over the world are out of jobs. Sponsored digital concerts will be in demand at least for the coming months. Music should be a way of life, so you are always ready for something. Though classical music is magical in impact only in a concert hall, this is an interval on the planet so I’m sure that our second half will be more magical and breathtaking.

What are the other projects you are working on?

Amaan: All our concerts have been pushed to 2021 unless there is a magical medication that comes our way. What we are releasing now is only what we did in pre-corona times.

Ayaan: We are doing projects that are helping the cause of the pandemic and the frontline workers, the first one being I for India which was curated by Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar. We also did an online concert which was to take place in Vancouver but the presenters decided to go ahead with a virtual concert.

(Strings of Peace is available on Spotify, Amazon and YouTube)

Who’s who

Amjad Ali Khan is a preeminent sarod player hailing from Gwalior. He lives in Delhi. He has been performing with his sons Amaan and Ayaan. From Minnesota, USA, Sharon Isbin is a multiple Grammy award-winning American classical guitarist. She’s the founding director of the guitar department at the Juilliard School in New York City.