Al Gromer Khan


Al Gromer Khan is a German-born sitar player and composer whose music spans the multiple genres of ambient, new age, world and electronica. He is author of 4 novels and author of National-Radio documentaries and features about music since more than 25 years and works as a visual artist.
Al Gromer Khan was awarded the RABINDRANATH TAGORE CULTURAL PRIZE 2015 for his lifetime achievement as musician/performer on sitar and surbahar of the highest order, composer, writer and visual artist by the Indo-German Society.

Early influences

Al Gromer Khan was born on April 8, 1946, at Frauenzell in the alpine foothills of Bavaria between Lake Constance and Munich.
During his college time he founded a skiffle-group became a jazzguitarist and left his home to become a jazz musician and a beat poet, spending time in London, Tangier and India.
Gromer Khan claims that he was drawn to the "mysteries of sound", from early childhood, be it the sound of the bells worn by the Bavarian cows grazing in the alpine meadows near his birthplace, or the "singing" telephone wires on the wind in the freezing Bavarian winters, and later American blues and country music, Indian stringed instruments, the drums of North Africa. Gromer Khan claims to have rejected the academic or diplomatic careers his parents expected him to take up.
The 1960s found a twenty-something Al Gromer in London where he took part in a number of creative experiments which were to have a lasting influence on him. According to Gromer Khan, the Prince Tiane na Champassak of Laos introduced him to tantric art and pop star Marc Bolan invited him to join in the all-night jam sessions he hosted. He explored psycho-acoustic phenomena with film director Mike Figgis, and saxophonist Ronnie Scott of Ronnie Scott's Jazzclub, who introduced Al to Ben Webster, Max Roach and Miles Davis, while Cat Stevens, gave him a taste for English poetry. At times he attended a London art school.

Development as a sitarist

There is no doubt that Gromer Khan's creative encounters during the 1960s deeply formed his musical taste and style; however, Gromer’s ultimate musical awakening came at a recital by sitarist Ustad Vilayat Khan in Westminster Abbey 1968. Gromer Khan professes to have been so moved by the performance that he instantly decided to devote his life to the study of the sitar. He went to India, where he was to find a powerful teacher in Vilayat Khan's brother, Ustad Imrat Khan. Gromer Khan remained in India for the next three years, speed-learning his instrument at the feet of his guru. He returned to Bavaria in 1973, already an accomplished sitarist.
Gromer Khan spent the next 7 years studying with Imrat Khan in Europe and India. In 1975, his teacher performed the Ghanda Ceremony, thus initiating Al Gromer into the Khan-I-Gharana lineage of sitarists. He was the first outsider to be accepted into this particular Gharana, which like most Hindustani musical traditions, passes knowledge down the generations from father to son. After his initiation, Al Gromer added "Khan" to his name.

Creative works

Concurrently, Khan engaged in a number of experimental projects, pioneering the proto-electronic music amongst others together with Popol Vuh. He was involved in contemplative and world music for radio, television, film and sound recordings projects. With his extensive compositional work he was the initiator and key figure of musical genres that are now known as Ambient and World Music, New Age.
Travel and concerts of classical Indian music in India and Europe followed. In addition, texts and documentaries on music for various ARD radio stations.
Since 1974, Khan has released more than 50 albums.
He currently resides in Munich, Germany.
In 2006 the novel Der Lehrer sein Schüler und der weiße Mogul audiobook was released. 2007 the short novel Jazzweihnacht audiobook followed. 2011 the English version e-book Jazzchristmas. 2009 the novels Jimi of Silence and Der weiße Mogul were released. 2013 the English version The White Mogul and e-book 2015. Kurt und Bongo und die Hippies novel released in German 2017 as well as the English version Kurt and Bongo and the Hippies book and e-book.

Discography