Indo-British band Yorkston Thorne Khan’s first- ever India tour

Indo-British band Yorkston Thorne Khan

British Council is delighted to bring on their first-ever tour across India the experimental Indo-British collaborative group that includes James Yorkston one of the most "influential singer/songwriters on the Scottish folk scene”, Jon Thorne, best known as jazz double bass player with electro outfit Lamb and Suhail Yusuf Khan, award winning sarangi player and classical singer from New Delhi.

Playing together as Yorkston Thorne Khan, they tackle a wide array of different sounds and songs. Alongside pieces of their own, there’s a fair chunk of improvisation, plus covers of Ivor Cutler’s ‘Little Black Buzzer’ and Lal Waterson’s ‘Song For Thirza’. Jon’s jazz back-ground definitely comes to the fore, as does Suhail’s devotional singing and outstanding sarangi playing. 

Alan Gemmell, OBE, Director, British Council India says: “The British Council’s work in the Arts includes bringing together musicians, creative producers and practitioners from the UK and India to create new collaborative work. The folk and jazz sectors in the UK have seen successful re-emergence and diversification of the genres, with practitioners and artists conserving traditional music forms and styles while developing new dimensions that reflect a more contemporary sensibility and sound. We are pleased to support this exciting collaboration and India tour”.
Yorkston Thorne Khan’s debut album ‘Everything Sacred’ was released in January 2016 on Domino Records and received mighty fine reviews. Record Collector said “Throughout, this is the sound of three world class talents raising their respective games, as if trying to keep up with each other, creating something far greater even that the sum of their world-class parts.” The Guardian called the album “bravely original Indian-folk-jazz fusion”. The trio is working on their next album for release in early 2017.

Partners in the four cities who are supporting this tour include Delhi International Arts Festival, Phoenix City Mall, Littlei, Hotel Hindustan International, Calcutta School of Music and Arthshila.

Note on artists:

Suhail Yusuf Khan plays the Sarangi, an instrument he describes basically as an “Indian 'cello”. He comes from a rich musical background and within his family he is the eighth generation Sarangi player carrying on the tradition. Suhail descends from the Moradabad-Rampur and Senia Gharana of Miyaan Tansen. He is the grandson of renowned Sarangi legend Padmabhushan and Padmashree awardee Ustad Sabri Khan and nephew of the Sarangi genius Ustad Kamal Sabri.  Suhail is the recipient of many prestigious awards: The Best Instrumentalist Award by Chinmaya Center of Music, The Best Sarangi Player award by Expressions 2003 and 2004 at Pragati Maidan, The Best Emerging Musician at DPS Noida Thunder Festival, 2005, The Best Musician at Pepsi Storm held at Hamsadhwani theatre, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. He also received the prestigious President`s Gold Medal in All India Radio competition held in 2004. Suhail has toured extensively in India and played in France, England, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, Singapore, North America and the Middle East. Suhail is also a very accomplished singer, trained in the Indian Classical fashion, whilst acknowledging influences from Sufi devotional singing and artists such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Jon Thorne is an English double bassist and composer. Musically Jon is self-taught and started playing at the age of 23. He studied and played jazz for a number of years and considers legendary British bassist Danny Thompson his bass mentor. Jon has also been strongly influenced on bass by Charles Mingus. Renowned as a passionate, energetic and highly skilled performer, Jon Thorne’s career as a double bassist has spanned a broad range of the musical spectrum. As bassist in the band Lamb between 1996-2016 he recorded 5 albums, toured 40 countries in 5 continents and played at most of the world’s leading festivals including Coachella, Roskilde, Wechter, Glastonbury, Montreux Jazz, North Sea Jazz and NYC Central Park Summerstage.
His first orchestral suite is entitled Watching the Well. It was a Manchester Jazz Festival commission, written for and featuring Danny Thompson, debuted at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester in 2007, and was released on the Naim label in November 2010 to strong critical acclaim.
He has also recorded, performed and appeared on albums with artists as diverse as Liam Bailey, Robert Miles, Trilok Gurtu, Robert Fripp, Donovon, Guy Barker, Badly Drawn Boy, Kate Havnevik, Lou Rhodes, James Yorkston, King Creosote, The Accidental, Amos Lee.

James Yorkston has been releasing a series of much acclaimed albums since 2001 and has toured the UK, North America and Europe, building a loyal and dedicated following. A popular figure in the contemporary music world and integral member of the much lauded Fence Collective, his style shows a mastery of folk traditions, often drawing on traditional songs, which has seen him collaborate with such heritage artists as the Waterson family, Martin Carthy and the late Bert Jansch. James Yorkston is a regular performer at festivals such as Green Man, Latitude, Bestival and Meltdown.

James has been featured twice on BBC2's The Culture Show, has had a 20-minute documentary about him screened on Channel 4 and was a musical director for the BBC Electric Proms tribute to Lal Waterson. In 2011 his debut book 'It's Lovely to be Here - The Touring Diaries of a Scottish Gent' was published by Faber, and his eighth album ‘The Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society’ was produced by Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip) and released in August 2014. In April 2016 Freight Books published James’ debut novel ‘3 Craws’.