Ali Akbar Khan

Born in 1922 in Shibpore, East Bengal, now Bangladesh, as son of the legendary Acharya Baba ; died at 87 at his home in San Francisco on June 18, 2009, having suffered four years of kidney-related illness. His vocal training began at 3 and, after studying the surbahar, sitar and tabla, focused on the sarod. Ali Akbar Khan was one of today's most accomplished Indian classical musicians. Late American violinist , who became one of his earliest champions in the West, said he considered Ali Akbar Khan "an absolute genius, the greatest musician in the world.