Sabri Khan

Ustad Sabri Khan (21 May 1927 - 1 December 2015) was an Indian sarangi player of the Senia gharana, which traces the tradition of its music back to Mian Tansen. Born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, he was initiated into sarangi playing by his grandfather, Ustad Haji Mohammed Khan, and later continued his training under his father Ustad Chajju Khan. He also learned rare techniques from his uncle Ustad Laddan Khan of Rampur.

Sabri Khan played sarangi with vocalist musicians on All India Radio and served as a staff artiste there. He accompanied the noted sitarist Ravi Shankar and tabla player Alla Rakha on their tour of the United States in the early 1960s, earning credit for introducing the sarangi to American and European audiences. He performed a duet with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and was invited as a visiting professor by the University of Washington, Seattle in 1981.

Throughout his career, Sabri Khan toured extensively across Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Japan, USSR, United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and numerous other countries. In recognition of his contributions to Indian classical music, he received the Sangeet Natak Academy Award (1986), the Padma Shri (1992), and the Padma Bhushan (2006). His sons Kamal Sabri and the late Sarwar Sabri, and grandsons Suhail Yusuf Khan and Nabeel Khan continue the family sarangi tradition.