Nishat Khan

Nishat Khan
Khan performs in Los Angeles, California, in October 2008
Background information
Born	1960s Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Instruments	sitar
Associated acts	Imrat Khan
Website	Nishat Khan

Nishat Khan is an Indian sitar player, composer and son of surbahar player Imrat Khan.

Khan was born in the mid-1960s in Kolkata. As the son and disciple of Imrat Khan, he is the torchbearer of seven generations and the 400-year-old tradition of India’s most renowned musical family. Khan has mastered not only the North Indian classical idiom but also realms as diverse as Gregorian chant, Western classical music, abstract jazz, and Flamenco. His remarkable intuition for other musical traditions has led to collaborations with leading performers and composers such as John McLaughlin, Philip Glass, Paco Pena, Evelyn Glennie, and Django Bates.

Khan has performed at major venues internationally, including Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York, and the Royal Albert Hall in London. In 2004, he was invited to perform alongside Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin and others at the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Dallas. In 2007, he toured across India with violinist Vanessa Mae and in 2008 toured Europe with his pioneering Spirit & Passion featuring Flamenco guitar great Paco Pena, and later that year performed a solo concert at the BBC Proms.