| Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN | |
| 1948 births | |
| 1997 deaths | |
| musicians in the guinness book of world records | |
| pakistani singers | |
| pakistani qawwali singers | |
| performers of sufi music | |
| sufi music | |
| qawwali | |
| real world artists | |
| picasso medalists | |
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Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (نصرت فتح علی خان; October 13 , 1948 - August 16 , 1997 ) was primarily a singer of '' Qawwali '', the devotional music of the Sufis , a mystical offshoot of Islam . Traditionally, Qawwali has been a family business. Nusrat's family (originally from Afghanistan ) has an unbroken tradition of performing qawwali for the last 600 years. He was born in Lyallpur , Punjab (later renamed Faisalabad ) on Wednesday, October 13 , 1948 to Ustad Fateh Ali Khan , a distinguished musicologist, vocalist and instrumentalist, and skilled Qawwali performer. He had one brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan . Initially, his father did not want Nusrat to follow him into the Qawwali business. He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor, because he felt Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Nusrat showed such an aptitude for, and interest in, Qawwali that his father finally relented and started to train him in the art of Qawwali and he was also taught to sing within the classical framework of Khayal . This training was still incomplete when Ustad Fateh Ali Khan died in 1964 while Nusrat was still in school, and the training was continued by Nusrat's paternal uncle, Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan . Ten days after his father's death, Nusrat had a dream where his father came to him and told him to sing, touching his throat. Nusrat woke up singing and made his first public performance at his father's funeral ceremony forty days later. Nusrat was compelled to join the family Qawwali party (a group of trained Pakistani musicians including several family members). Under the guidance of Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, he became the group's leader in 1965 and the group was called Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. Nusrat's first public performance as leader of the family Qawwali group was in March 1965, at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival called Jashn-e-Baharan organized by Radio Pakistan. It took Nusrat several years more to perfect his craft and emerge from the shadow of the groups that were regarded as the leading contemporary Qawwals. But once he did, there was no looking back. He firmly established himself as the leading qawwal of the 20th century. His incredible voice and his complete mastery of the genre made him a superstar in the Islamic world, especially in Pakistan and India . He sang in Urdu and his native Punjabi , as well as Persian . He was also one of the first South Asian singers to perform before large Western audiences. Nusrat took over his family's ). This was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation, and featured only sparse use of Nusrat's innovative Sargam improvisations. Nevertheless the song became a major hit, as many listeners were attracted to the Timbre and other qualities of Nusrat's voice. He reached out to Western audiences with a couple of fusion records produced by Canadian guitarist Michael Brook . In 1995, he collaborated with Eddie Vedder on the Soundtrack to '' Dead Man Walking ''. His contribution to that and several other soundtracks and albums (including '' The Last Temptation Of Christ ''), as well as his friendship with Peter Gabriel , helped to increase his popularity in Europe and the United States . Peter Gabriel's Real World label released five albums of Nusrat's traditional Qawwali performances in the West. He also performed traditional Qawwali live to Western audiences at several WOMAD world music festivals. Apparently, when Nusrat toured in foreign countries, he would watch television commercials in order to identify the melodies and Chord Progressions popular in that country. He would then try to choose similar sounding songs from his repertoire for his performances. According to the '' Guinness Book Of World Records '', Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist—a total of 125 albums. Nusrat was taken ill with kidney and liver failure on Monday, August 11 1997 in London , England while on the way to Los Angeles from Lahore to receive a Kidney Transplant . While still at Cromwell Hospital , Nusrat died of a sudden Cardiac Arrest on Saturday, August 16 , 1997 , aged 48. His body was then transported back to Faisalabad , Pakistan where thousands of distraught people attended his funeral and burial procession. NUSRAT'S STYLE OF QAWWALI Nusrat was responsible for the modern evolution of qawwali. Although not the first to do so, he popularized the blending of Khayal singing and techniques with qawwali. This in short took the form of improvised solos during the songs using the Sargam technique, in which the performer sings the names of the notes he is singing (for example, in western notation it would be "do re mi"). He also attempted to blend qawwali music with more western styles such as Techno . Nusrat's qawwali songs usually follow the standard form. A song begins with a short instrumental prelude played on the ). After the introductory verses, the main song starts, and the rhythmic portion of the song begins. The tabla and ). A song usually has two or three sets of refrains, which can be compared to the verse chorus structure found in western music. Songs last about 20 minutes on average, with a few lasting an hour or more. Nusrat was noted for introducing other forms of improvisation into the style. From his classical music training, he would interject much more complex alap improvisations, with more vibrato and note bending (). While it is undoubtedly difficult to put into words what makes Nusrat's music appeal so deeply to so many listeners, many of whom do not understand a single word of the languages he sings in, here is one fan's attempt to explain: "Nusrat's music invites us to eavesdrop on a man communing with his God, ever so eloquently. He makes the act of singing a passionate offering to God. But we do not merely eavesdrop. The deepest part of Nusrat's magic lies in the fact that he is able to bring our hearts to resonate with the music, so deeply, that we ourselves become full partners in that offering. He sings to God, and by listening, we also sing to God." TRIBUTES "Singing with Nusrat was pretty heavy," says Eddie Vedder . "There was definitely a spiritual element. I saw him warm up once, and I walked out of the room and just broke down. I mean, God, what amazing power and energy." The late American rock singer Jeff Buckley paid tribute to Nusrat on the album " Live At Sin-é (Legacy Edition) ." In his introduction, he states, "Nusrat, he's my Elvis," before performing the song "Yeh Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai". This recording generated interest in Nusrat among an audience that was previously unaware of his music. It should be noted that Buckley died May 1997 in Memphis, Tennessee, three months before Khan. In 2005, a tribute band called Brook's Qawwali Party was formed in New York City by percussionist Brook Martinez to perform the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The 11+ piece group performs (mostly instrumental) jazz versions of Nusrat's traditional qawwali songs, using the instruments conventionally associated with jazz (saxophones, brass, electric guitar, double bass, djembe, drum set, and percussion) rather than those associated with qawwali. FILMS Documentaries
Concert films
QAWWALI PARTY The composition of Nusrat's party changed many times over the 26 years that he led the party. Two members who remained in the party from the beginning to the end were Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan and Dildar Hussain. Listed below is a snapshot of the party on an unknown date, but probably circa 1983: 1) Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan: Nusrat's cousin, senior member of the party 2) Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan : Nusrat's brother, Vocals and Lead Harmonium 3) Rehmat Ali: Vocals and Second Harmonium 4) Maqsood Hussain: Vocals 5) Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan : Nusrat's nephew, pupil singer 6) Dildar Hussain: Tabla 7) Majawar Abbas: Mandolin, Guitar 8) Mohammed Iqbal Naqbi: Chorus, secretary of the party 9) Asad Ali: Chorus 10) Ghulam Farid: Chorus 11) Kaukab Ali: Chorus The one significant member of the party who does not appear on this list is Atta Fareed. For many years, he alternated with Rehmat Ali on Vocals and Second Harmonium. He is easily identifiable in videos since he plays the harmonium left-handed. EXTERNAL LINKS
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