Pran Nath

Pandit Pran Nath (Devanagari: पंडित प्राणनाथ) (3 November 1918 – 13 June 1996) was an Indian classical singer and master of the Kirana gharana singing style. Promoting traditional raga principles, Nath exerted an influence on notable American minimalist and jazz musicians, including La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Don Cherry. He began performing in the United States in the 1970s, and established the Kirana Center for Indian Classical Music in 1972; he subsequently taught in various universities across the US and Europe.

Pran Nath stayed with Khan for nearly two decades He eventually married and reentered the world at the request (guru dakshana) of his guru, in order to ensure the preservation of the Kirana style. In 1937, he became a staff artist with All India Radio.

However, Nath stuck to Abdul Wahid Khan's extra-methodical and austere singing style, with a heavy emphasis on alap and slow tempo, which suited his voice well but was not very popular. Like his teacher, Pran Nath's singing emphasized precise intonation and the gradual, note-by-note exposition of tone and mood in the alap section of the music.

Nath supported himself as a music teacher, and worked at the University of Delhi from 1960 to 1970.

In 1985, he moved to the San Francisco area, and he continued to teach privately in the United States, Canada, Europe, and India. His album Ragas of Morning and Night was released by Gramavision Records in 1986 and he appeared with the Kronos Quartet on their album Short Stories, released by Nonesuch Records in 1993. including La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Marian Zazeela, Rhys Chatham, Jon Hassell, Catherine Christer Hennix, Charlemagne Palestine, Shabda Kahn, Jon Gibson, Michael Harrison, Yoshi Wada, Henry Flynt, and many others. Jazz musicians such as Don Cherry and Lee Konitz also drew influence from his teaching. Produced by Other Minds. Directed by William Farley. 1995 – Musical Outsiders: An American Legacy - Harry Partch, Lou Harrison, and Terry Riley. Directed by Michael Blackwood.