Renowned Sitar Player Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan passes away

Celebrated sitar player Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan passed away on 4 January 2017 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 88.

Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan is regarded as one of the 'Sitar Trinity' of India along with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan.

About Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan

• Born in 1929 in Jawra, Madhya Pradesh, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan was a versatile vocalist, sitarist and beenkar.

• He belonged to the Beenkar Gharana of Indore.

• In the early 1940s, he worked as an All India Radio artiste.

• In 1958, he collaborated with jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck.

• He also performed with the renowned English classical guitarist Julian Bream in 1963.

• He is also renowned for his innovation, Jafferkhani Baaj, which he described as, "a synthesis of precision in technique, systematic thought."

• He has also been credited with bringing Carnatic ragas Kirwani, Kanakangi, Latangi, Karaharapriya, Manavati and others into the sitar repertoire. He delivered them through a Hindustani sensibility and in the Jafferkhani style.

• He was the first Hindustani musician to collaborate with Carnatic music in a performance with noted Veena player Emani Sankara Sastry.

• He has also composed and played music for films like Mughal-e-Azam, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, Kohinoor and others.

• In 1976, he established the Halim Academy of Sitar in Mumbai.