Ustad Mohammad Omar: Virtuoso from Afghanistan

Afghan rebâb virtuoso Ustad Mohammad Omar, who was born sometime in the early 20th century, came to the United States in 1974 to Seattle’s University of Washington as an artist-in-residence in the ethnomusicology department. On November 18th, 1974, he gave his only U.S. concert, at the university’s Meany Hall. He was accompanied by 24-year-old Zakir Hussain, a budding Indian tabla player. Hussain went on to become a world-renowned tabla virtuoso. Ustad Mohammad Omar returned to Afghanistan after his year in Seattle and died in 1980.

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Track Listing

101	Shakal and naghma in the melodic mode of emen (yeman)	Ustad Mohammad Omar	21:40
102	Shakal and naghma in the melodic mode of bopali (bhupali)	Ustad Mohammad Omar	10:14
103	Tabla solo in the rhythmic cycle of jhaptal (10-beat cycle)	Zakir Hussain	07:55
104	Shakal and naghma based on the melodic mode of pelo (pilu)	Ustad Mohammad Omar	16:01
105	Keliwali in the melodic mode of kastori	Ustad Mohammad Omar	06:56