(b Denau, 1951). Uzbek ghidjak player and composer. He was blind from birth and learnt to play the ghidjak through oral tradition. From 1967 to 1971 he studied at the Bukhara College of Music with Aminjon Nasritdinov and Marufjan Tashpulatov, who was a pupil of the ghidjak player Hoja Abdurahman. In 1971 he entered the Tashkent State Conservatory, where he studied with Fakhriddin Sadyqov and Mahmudjan Muhammedov. Following his graduation in 1976, he began to teach the ghidjak at the Bukhara College of Music, and in 1983 he received first prize in a makom competition in Uzbekistan. In 1987 he returned to the Tashkent State Conservatory to teach his instrument, remaining there until 1994; from 1987 to 1994 he also worked for the Uzbek State Philharmonia as the leader of the traditional music ensemble Zeravshan, and from 1990 to 1991 he worked for Uzbek State Radio. He wrote the music for a set of historical films, Bobur, Chu'lpon, Navoi and Ilohiy ohanglar, and composed many songs, more than 50 of which were recorded for the archives of Uzbek State Radio. The Uzbek division of the Melodiya company also released several recordings of his performances. He became known principally for his skill in improvisation in Uzbek traditional classical music, but he also performed in other styles; in 1986 he took part in a jazz festival in Leningrad (St Petersburg). In 1993 he was awarded the title Honoured Artist of Uzbekistan, and in the following year he began teaching at Bukhara Folk University, developing his interest in makom and the Sufi tradition. In 1998 he toured Holland and France.
The Tradition of Bukhara, perf. A. Babakhanov and Ensemble Sharshmaqam, New Samarkand Records SAMCD 9002 (n.d.)
Muhammasy Husainy, Pan Records (forthcoming)
RAZIA SULTANOVA