Master Ebrahim (1915-1980) was an Indian clarinetist. He was trained in Hindustani classical music. He performed ragas as a solo artist many times a month on All India Radio, Bombay from 1936 to 1974. He also gave instrumental support to many All India Radio Programs such as songs, plays, special programs in Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi. He was a staff artist at HMV (now Saregama) from 1942 onward. He played instruments for thousands of Hindi film songs with famous singers such as Lata and Rafi, and, with many composers such as Naushad and Shankar Jaikishan.
While at HMV, he also produced instrumental versions of famous Hindi film songs on the clarinet. His tunes were regularly used by Radio Ceylon (now Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) in their daily programs such as Saaz Aur Awaaz. Hundreds of his recordings were issued on 78 rpms, audio cassettes, audio CDs, two EPs and one LP.
He is probably the only Indian clarinetist on whose work a doctoral dissertation was produced at an American university.
His legacy is being carried forward by his three sons, Salim Ajmeri, Farooq Ajmeri and Iqbal Ajmeri. They have continued working with all the major singers and composers providing instrumental support for their compositions, filmi and non-filmi.
This book traces the journey of Master Ebrahim from his home town Ajmer to his life and work in Bombay in great detail. The book is based on interviews with his son Iqbal Ajmeri and a huge amount of source material meticulously preserved and provided by the family. The book has more than one hundred rare photographs and documents never before seen in public.