Instrumentalists

Musicians known for instrumental performance and bandleading.

People in Instrumentalists

28 profiles

Musician

Fela Kuti

Pioneering Afrobeat and turning extended songs into attacks on political corruption.

Guitarist

Paco de Lucía

Expanding flamenco guitar through virtuosity and collaborations with jazz musicians.

Musician

Ravi Shankar

Bringing Hindustani classical sitar music to worldwide audiences.

Musician

Amjad Ali Khan

Carrying the sarod tradition to international concert audiences.

Musician

Yo-Yo Ma

Combining classical cello performance with wide-ranging musical collaborations.

Violinist

Itzhak Perlman

Performing and recording the classical violin repertoire.

Trumpeter

Hugh Masekela

Combining South African musical traditions with jazz and anti-apartheid songs.

Musician

Bismillah Khan

Bringing the shehnai from ceremonial settings to the Hindustani classical concert stage.

Musician

Zakir Hussain

Making tabla a leading voice in Indian classical music and international musical collaboration.

Musician

Ali Akbar Khan

Introducing the sarod and Hindustani classical music to generations of international listeners and students.

Composer

Astor Piazzolla

Creating nuevo tango by bringing jazz and classical ideas into Argentine tango.

Musician

Anoushka Shankar

The sitar player who carries Hindustani classical training into collaborations across musical traditions.

Musician

Hüsnü Şenlendirici

Bringing Turkish clarinet traditions to international audiences through Laço Tayfa and Taksim Trio.

Musician

Naseer Shamma

Expanding the oud’s solo possibilities and founding the Arabic Oud House.

Musician

Hariprasad Chaurasia

Bringing the bansuri flute to international audiences through classical music and collaboration.

Musician

Shivkumar Sharma

Bringing the santoor into Hindustani classical music and recording Call of the Valley.

Musician

Debby Nasution

Shaping Indonesian rock recordings as a keyboardist and arranger.

Musician

Marcus Viana

Combining violin-led progressive music with Brazilian screen soundtracks.

Guitarist

Sami Yli-Sirniö

Playing guitar with Kreator, Waltari and Barren Earth.

Musician

Made Kuti

Extending Afrobeat through the self-performed album For(e)ward.

Musician

Rory Gallagher

Performing blues-rock guitar with Taste and as a solo artist.

Musician

Ramdas Palsule

Performing and teaching Hindustani tabla.

Musician

Chris Joss

Making funk and electronic records inspired by imaginary film soundtracks.

Musician

Pandharinath Nageshkar

Performing and teaching tabla in the Hindustani tradition.

Musician

Brian Jones

Founding the Rolling Stones

Musician

Kishan Maharaj

Benares gharana tabla performance

Musician

Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay

Tabla performance in the Benaras tradition.

Musician

Taranath Rao

Preserving and teaching rare tabla and pakhavaj compositions.