Kishon Khan

Bangladeshi-British jazz pianist, composer, arranger and music producer

Afro-Cuban
Jazz

Occupation(s)

Pianist
composer
arranger
music producer

InstrumentPianoYears active1999–present

Musical artist

Kishon Khan (Bengali: কীশোন খান; born 1 August 1970) is a Bangladeshi-born British jazz pianist, composer, arranger and music producer.

Early life

Khan grew up in North London and learned to play the piano as a child. He studied Economics at the University of East Anglia. During his 20s, he lived in Cuba for a while, which led to him being interested in Afro-Cuban music.^[1]

Career

In 1999, Khan set up the Afro-Cuban funk jazz band Motimba. The lineup of Motimba included Justin Thurgur (trombone), Graeme Flowers (trumpet), Oreste Noda (percussion), Jimmy Martinez (bass), Javier Camillo (vocals), Phil Dawson (guitar), and Tansay Ibrahim (drums). In 2003, Motimba's first album Monkey Vibrations was released.

Khan set up Lokkhi Terra, a musical project combining Bangladeshi music traditions with those from Africa and Latin America.^[2] A few members of the Motimba crew also play for Lokkhi Terra; in addition, the band features the Bengali vocalists Sohini Alam, Aanon Siddiqua and Aneire Khan. Lokkhi Terra have released two albums to date.

References

^ Al-mahmood, Syed Zain (6 November 2009). "The Wizards of Timba". The Daily Star. Vol. 8, no. 93. Bangladesh. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
^ "Lokkhi Terra". Ronnie Scott's. 25 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.