Career
Khan was born in Agra, as the fourth generation of what was to become the Imdadkhani Gharana (school) or Etawah gharana, named after a small city outside Agra where the family soon moved. He was taught by his father, Sahabdad Khan, a trained vocalist and self-taught sitar player, but Imdad came to greatly develop and define the family style and techniques. In the 19th Century, the instrumental classical music of North India was dominated by the Senia style, passed down through the musical dynasty of Miyan Tansen"s descendants, who played in the dhrupad ang.
Imdad instead evolved a style based on the newer, more popular khyal singing.
lieutenant is said that in his youth at Etawah, Imdad practiced on the sitar in a state of chilla (isolation) for some twelve years. When he moved with his family to Kolkata, the house in which they lived was named "Riyaz" (practice).
The Imdad Khan family is of Ustad Vilayat Khan himself composed many bandishes using the pen name Nath Piya. Some of these recordings have been released on Civil Defense, on the Great Gharanas: Imdadkhani compilation in RPG/Electric and Music Industries"s Chairman"s Choice series.
