Alam Khan, Immersion Review

The sarod is a multiple stringed instrument that has a profound and percussive sound that is intimate and enthralling. It is a fretless instrument with sympathetic strings that resonant, the slides between notes known as meend (glissandi), are very important in Indian Classical music and that is one of the many beauties of the sarod’s sound. The son of the late legendary Sarode Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, Alam Khan has been continuing to keep this great instrument to the forefront. Ali Akbar Khan’s careful crafting and guidance shows in each note as well as in Alam’s imaginative way of articulating the ragas. The sarodist has a new album out titled, Immersion where he presents two ragas (six tracks) passed down from the courts of Emperor Akbar by Mian Tansen of the 16th century. Alam is now the teacher of advanced instrumental classes at the Ali Akbar College of Music and has dedicated his life to preserving, performing, and teaching this music to the world. Immersion is a stunning collection of playing by an expert of the sarod, that’s the short of it!