Pandit Habib Khan (sitar) and Matthew Montfort (guitar) 1.7 MG JPG
This internationally recognized musical team has enthralled audiences from California to India to Beirut, Lebanon. Matthew Montfort is the leader of the world music group Ancient Future for which Pandit Habib Khan appears as a guest artist as part of the Planet Jammin' Concert Series and on the Planet Passion CD. The two also have an association through the Habib Khan Indian Jazz Ensemble.
Jugalbandi is a classical North Indian musical duet (literally "tied together"), in this case with the unusual configuration of sitar and guitar accompanied by tabla or other percussion. While the sitar is known to the world as a leading instrument of Indian classical music, the guitar is not often used in the music of India. However, Matthew Montfort specializes in performing music from around the world on guitar, especially Indian classical music. He is a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar (an instrument combining qualities of the South Indian vina and the steel string guitar). He has studied sitar, and has applied his knowledge of that instrument to his playing. This jugalbandi works so well because Matthew Montfort is a guitarist with knowledge of sitar and Pandit Habib Khan has been described as the "Jimi Hendrix of the sitar" by L'ORIENT LE JOUR, Beirut's French language newspaper.
Pandit Habib Khan (sitar) and Matthew Montfort (guitar) 1.7 MG JPG
"Their March 31st concert was billed as a guitar-sitar ‘jugalbandi’ concert – a blend of classical Eastern and Western music featuring Montfort on guitar and Pandit Habib Kahn on sitar, with guests on dulcimer and percussion – and was simply an outstanding presentation.
What made the ‘jugalbandi’ concert so special was the fact that guitar is seldom featured in Indian classic music – yet Montfort is a pioneer of such and uses the scalloped fretboard guitar to bring out the best in Indian sounds. His background as a student of the notoriously-difficult sitar lends to translations which shine on guitar; and by having a blend of sitar and rare guitar interactions, the concert became an extraordinary presentation indeed, spiced by the intimacy of stage which felt nearly small and close enough to be a living room.
Ancient Future’s focus on world fusion music has always produced extraordinary artist interactions and results; but this concert was an exceptional meld of East and West and offered up unique fingerings, approaches and collaborative efforts. It also held the unique ability to reach out not only to audience members already versed in Indian classic music, but to newcomers to the genre. It’s not to be missed." –WorldDiscoveries.net
Featured Songs
Stream Planet Jammin' Concert Set 2. Courtesy of WorldFusionMusicRadio.Com. The Guitar/Sitar Jugalbandi variation of Ancient Future recorded this live in concert on 6/6/2003.
KPFA: Stephen Kent's Music of the World. This is an archive of a live broadcast of the Guitar-Siar Jugalbandi from May 4, 2006.
Socha Socha (Khan/Montfort. 10:34) 
(>audio. Free trial Planet Passion @ eMusic.com. FREE short version download at amazon.com. Indian raga with full instrumentation. From Planet Passion. (Ancient-Future.Com AF-2001). CD/Gift Card, $17.98: Add 1 to Cart. Buy 1 Now.
