by Ken Hunt
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) was one of the great vocalists of the 20th century. He was one of the leading vocalists of the Patiala gharana — Patiala was once a princedom but it forms part of the present-day Indian state of Punjab and the gharana seated there is renowned for the quality of its vocalists. The panache and sheer style of the gharana lives on in Bade Ghulam Ali Khans son Munawar Ali Khan and in turn in Ajoy Chakrabarty who learned from him. Regrettably he is ill-served by material in catalogue.