78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Master Ibrahim (clarinet)

Once a good song came out in a popular movie, instrumental versions soon followed, often featuring the same orchestration that had been used in the original, with a clarinet, violin, harmonica, or piano substituted for the voice. One highly regarded “version tune” player was the clarinetist Master Ibrahim. Here he renders two songs from the 1943 film Poonji, both originally featuring the vocalist Shamshad Begum.

Ab koi tute hue dil ka sahara:

Gadiwale dupatta udaa jayaare:

Ruskin Bond was a fan of Master Ibrahim’s playing:

I was also fond of the clarinet (turj) playing of an Indian musician, Master Ibrahim, and I had some of his recordings which transported me back to the streets and bazaars of small-town India. Light, lilting and tuneful, I preferred this sort of flute music to the warblings of the more popular songsters.

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