Grammy nomination won't make dad a greater musician: Ayaan Ali

"It's a great honour for India...I am very happy for my father but in all honesty I don't think the nomination makes him a greater musician for me, it's a salutation to a man who has been single-handedly taking forward the message of sarod, the message of Indian classical music all around the world for decades now," Ayaan said on the sidelines of the three-day Chivas Studio festival.
Terming the nomination as something which was least expected, Khan's younger son says it is very unique in terms of the music collaboration.

"It was absolutely unexpected because there are so many recordings of my father that have come year out after year, but what is very unique is this is the first time that an Iraqi and an Indian musician have come together to collaborate," says Ayaan, who's also an accomplished sarod player along with his brother Amaan.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has been nominated for a Grammy award in the best Traditional World Music Album category for the album 'Ancient Sounds', a joint effort with Iraqi musician Rahim Alhaj. The award ceremony will be held on January 31st 2010.
Amaan Ali also echoes his older bother's views when he says the nomination is also proof of the fact that the Grammy award is not up for sale.

"This nomination certainly shows that a Grammy cannot be bought and its a great feeling," says Amaan.
The musical duo believes this is the right time for classical music to be performed on a larger scale.

"We need to understand the fact that classical music is made for a very intimate setting. It began from the private gatherings of nobles and aristocrats and in the late 60's came to concert halls and we expect it to reach stadiums in the future. This nomination shows that Indian classical music is reaching a global audience too," says Ayaan.

The duo are also excited about their book '50 Maestros, 50 Recordings', a tribute to some of the maestros of Indian classical music, including the likes of Begum Akhtar, Bhimsen Joshi, Ravi Shankar and Bismillah Khan among others.

"Music is that which lies beyond words and when young musicians themselves write on musical maestros they have grown up with, then I suppose it makes it that much more special," Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, said after releasing the book in the capital yesterday.
"The motive behind writing this book was to encourage the younger generation to listen to classical music, and also get to know some of our musical legends," says Amaan.
Representing the seventh generation of the Senia Bangash school of music, the sarod brothers say their future projects include a live concert in Kolkata, and a Sufi album in progress, which will also feature Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.