Akram Khan

Ustad Mohammad Akram Khan comes from a long line of Ajrada Gharana tabla players. His father was the renowned Ustad Hashmat Ali Khan, and Akram Khan himself represents the seventh generation of this school. As a boy, he trained first with his great-grandfather, Ustad Mohammad Shafi Khan, and later with the celebrated Ustad Niazu Khan.

For over four decades, Akram Khan has been a guardian of the Ajrada tradition. He has kept the repertoire and style alive, preserving more than fifteen of the gharana’s classic kaydas through his teaching and performances.

He began learning tabla at the age of eleven and gave his first public recital in Lucknow at seventeen. In 1987, at the age of twenty-two, he made his international debut in Norway. Since then, he’s played in over 11,000 concerts worldwide. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations lists him as a top-grade artist, and he’s featured on All India Radio more than 800 times, plus over 150 television appearances. He also lends his talent to charity events and works with SPIC MACAY to bring this music to young audiences.