Russell Khan

Russell Khan, also written Rasel Khan, was a Bangladeshi guitarist who for more than three decades accompanied many of the country's leading singers on stage and in the studio. He was not a headline star, but a respected session and live musician whose guitar lines were a familiar part of concerts, recordings and television shows in Bangladesh, and who sometimes stepped forward to sing himself. He died in Dhaka on 22 October 2026, aged 52.

Little has been published about his early life. His family came from Bikrampur, the historic region south of Dhaka now largely in Munshiganj district, where his ancestral home and family graveyard are.

Over a career of more than 30 years, Bangladeshi outlets reported, he played with almost all of the country's front rank singers, including popular and legendary artists, working on studio recordings as well as live shows and concerts. Dhaka Post wrote that he built his own identity by standing behind the singer and lifting their performances with his guitar. Prothom Alo published a photograph of him with the rock musician Ayub Bachchu and other colleagues at an event. Alongside his work as a guitarist, he occasionally performed songs in his own voice.

His last stage performance was at an event in Manikganj on 13 October 2026. In the days that followed he fell ill with dengue and chikungunya, two mosquito borne diseases common in Bangladesh, and as his condition worsened he stayed at his elder sister's home in Banani, Dhaka. On the morning of 22 October he collapsed in the bathroom there. A doctor who examined him pronounced him dead and said he had suffered a stroke. His death was confirmed by the instrumentalist Azmir Babu.

News of his death brought an outpouring of grief from fellow musicians, singers and admirers, many of whom shared memories of working with him on Facebook. His namaz e janaza was held at 3:30 in the afternoon at a mosque near his sister's home in Banani, and his body was then taken to Bikrampur for burial in the family graveyard. He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.