A Fine-Tuning of Classical Indian Sounds

Indian classical music changes at a glacial pace. If it were possible to hear recordings of 19th century artists, their performances would not sound unfamiliar to contemporary fans of this enormously complex, improvisation-based art form.

But change does, nonetheless, take place, and players such as sitarist Shujaat Husain Khan and tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain are slowly sculpting their own, unique interpretations of the ancient tradition. At UCLA’s Royce Hall on Friday, the gifted duo offered a set of ragas fashioned in a manner that made the music’s complexities directly accessible to a vigorously enthusiastic audience.

Khan, whose work in the gayaki ang style is already rich with vocal sounds produced by sensuously sliding melodies, added forceful, sometimes strikingly dense strumming to his presentation. And Hussain drew repeated applause for his astonishingly facile soloing. Equally fascinating, he expanded the traditional palette of the tabla drums, using the lower-pitched instrument to add supportive note patterns, and occasionally tossing in unusual drumhead slaps and fingernail strokes.

It was a remarkable performance by extraordinary players, each refusing to limit his visionary powers to a repetition of the patterns of tradition. And it would not be inaccurate, nor completely out of context, to think of them as the John Coltrane and Elvin Jones of Indian classical music.