Ustad Tari Khan

Percussion Tabla

Ustad Tari Khan

2 minute read

Abdul Sattar Khan, popularly known as Ustad Tari Khan, is a Pakistani tabla player and vocalist. Tari Khan hails from the Punjab gharana and is the student of Ustad Miyan Shaukat Hussain. He has been awarded with many accolades such as Taj Poshi (Golden Crown), the Hazrat Amir Khusrow Award, as well as Pakistan’s Pride of Performance Award (Pakistan’s highest artistic honor) in 2008. Tari Khan belongs to the tabla playing gharana called the Punjab gharana. Today, he is acknowledged as one of the foremost Tabla players of all time by musicians all over the world.

Ustad Tari Khan delivered a mesmerizing performance at the Darbar Festival 2023, showcasing his exceptional tabla artistry alongside Prakash Pal. Renowned for his intricate rhythms and electrifying improvisations, he brought a dynamic energy to the stage, captivating the audience with his mastery of the Punjab gharana style. His performance was a testament to his legendary status in the world of percussion.

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Best of Ustad Tari Khan | Tabla

Tabla Prince, Ustad Tari Khan, a trailblazing tabla player known for insightful ghazal accompaniment – that swoon worthy genre synonymous with emotional depth and lyrical beauty. Learn more about the music: Though he has accompanied the likes of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan, the intensity of expression in his astute laggis or intricate rhythmic compositions makes his solos soar. Indian classical music regards tabla as a spoken language. Khan uses that grammar to paint sur (pitch) and ras (essence), infusing each phrase he plays with pure emotion and infectious rhythm. The school of music he is trained in (the Punjab gharana) is characterised by robust, larger-than-life playing, rhythmically complex compositions, and bold strokes, making it one of the most influential and respected gharanas in the world of North Indian classical music. Listeners can’t help but be drawn in, and with a stalwart like Khan, the verdant fields of Punjab come alive. Khan’s ancestral roots trace back to Bhai Mardana, a devoted Sikh companion of Guru Nanak Dev. His maternal grandfather, Bhai Chanan, was a rabābī of the Golden Temple. That kind of pluralism and acceptance defines Khan’s gentle nature and unshakeable belief in the power of music to unite. Rhythm, he insists, was the cosmos' first creation. Jupiter, Mars and Earth, all dance to its pulse. Tonight, expect to be kept at the edge of your seat as he plays with both abandon and restraint – calculated mathematical precision and flamboyant, thrilling grace. You’ll find the universe will fall right into step. Subscribe to the Darbar Player to access the full, uncut performance.