Comments on: Traditional Qaawwali Performances from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Traditional Qaawwali Performances from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

kosem — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 15:39:34 -0800

Mezmerizing videos of Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan along with lyrics and translation. More performances at youtube: 1, 2, 3, 4.

By: kosem

kosem — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 15:43:19 -0800

Interview with Jeff Buckley Jeff Buckley's Liner Notes to The Supreme Collection

By: headless

headless — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 15:43:45 -0800

Wonderful! You deserve a million thank yous!

By: rxrfrx

rxrfrx — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 15:56:38 -0800

SO GOOD

By: Merik

Merik — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:07:00 -0800

kosem (your links, fixed): Interview with Jeff Buckley Jeff Buckley's Liner Notes This is really interesting to listen too. Music that is very different is so much more enjoyable and accesible when its created by highly skilled and talented artist. Good find. Thanks

By: micayetoca

micayetoca — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:11:35 -0800

Mesmerizing indeed. You do deserve a million thank yous.

By: Merik

Merik — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:15:52 -0800

"Qawwali is the devotional music of the Sufis. (Sufism is a mystic tradition of Islam.) Originally performed mainly at Sufi shrines throughout what is now India and Pakistan, it has also gained popularity in the mainstream, especially through the work of artistes like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Qawwali is a vibrant musical tradition that stretches back more than 700 years." from wikipedia.

By: kosem

kosem — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:21:14 -0800

Thanks for the fix Merik. Missed the messup on preview.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:26:26 -0800

By: vaportrail

vaportrail — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:28:06 -0800

Afreen Afreen is indeed mesmerizing. Thanks.

By: Surfurrus

Surfurrus — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:33:26 -0800

About 14 years ago I had the chance to see Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in concert in Seattle. It was one of those things where I thought I knew a little, but in fact really had no idea of just how much it would affect me. People in the audience (mostly Pakistanis and Indians) went wild -- dancing in the aisles and riding on each others' shoulders. I left floating on air. Masti Masti!

By: Merik

Merik — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:34:40 -0800

from kosem's interview link (which is just great): JB: You once had a dream that is now very famous. Can you describe it to me? NFAK: My father [the Qawwali singer Ustad Fateh Ali Khan] died in 1964, and ten days later, I dreamed that he came to me and asked me to sing. I said I could not, but he told me to try. He touched my throat, I started to sing, and then I woke up singing. I had dreamed that my first live performance would be at my father's chilla [funeral ceremony], where we would all sit together again and read prayers from the Koran and so on. On the fortieth day after his death, we held the ceremony, and I performed for the very first time.

By: kozad

kozad — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 16:54:51 -0800

In the name of (fill in the blank), bless you.

By: owhydididoit

owhydididoit — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 17:17:33 -0800

Thank you!

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 17:21:13 -0800

Very nice -- thanks!

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:04:57 -0800

Nusrat totally rules. Amazing, amazing singer. Never looked him up on the net, though, so thanks so much for this post. Seeing him sing is a real treat. Years back, in NYC, whenever I'd happen to get into a cab with a Pakistani driver, I'd mention Nusrat, and of course they'd always know about him and speak reverently about his great artistry.

By: mike3k

mike3k — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:18:13 -0800

I really love his music. Here's another great song at Youtube: Dam Mast Qalandar Mast Mast

By: carter

carter — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:25:21 -0800

Many thanks, kosem. Mesmerising! Unfortunately I didn't get to see him perform, but I did see some qaawwali in Kashmir, many years ago.

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:31:36 -0800

wow

By: lupus_yonderboy

lupus_yonderboy — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 19:12:16 -0800

I saw Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan many years ago and I was actually a little disappointed -- not with the man's voice itself, which was astonishing, but the band (which was mainly his kids) was fairly generic. I'm a big fan of music from the Indian sub-continent and have seen, heck, probably hundreds of concerts of masters including Zakir Hussain, Ustad Ali Akhbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, and I prefer to see shows where there are at least two strong personalities involved so they can play off against each other -- no matter how good the individual master is, one voice gets dull after an hour. There were two amazing parts of the show, however. The first was that a few minutes after the start of the show, his manager came to the front of the audience and threw money at him, and then the rest of the show, audience members were constantly throwing money onto the stage. Why don't my audiences do this? The second part was the physical mass of NFAK -- he was almost unable to walk and had to be helped onto the stage by two of his sons but as he sang, he was transported by the music and would rise up out of the cross-legged position in which he sat.

By: msali

msali — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 19:29:49 -0800

I think you mean Nusrat Fateh Ali Motherfucking Khan. Just as Bruce Lee should properly be referred to as Bruce Fucking Lee and Steve McQueen should properly be called Steve Fucking McQueen. On account of the coolness. posted by Astro Zombie at 7:26 PM EST on September 10 I am gonna have to go with Astro Zombie on this one

By: jason's_planet

jason's_planet — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 19:43:19 -0800

Great post! Thank you!

By: infini

infini — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 01:38:59 -0800

My favourites are his duets with AR Rahman [sue me, I love the indopop] for the album ' Vande Mataram'.

By: fourcheesemac

fourcheesemac — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 06:56:35 -0800

Wow. Thanks for this. He was amazing. One can see an early live performance of NFAK -- in Pakistan -- in the fine film I Am a Sufi, I Am A Muslim. It might be my favorite film clip of NFAK. I saw him sing live once, too, and it blew me away. Without a doubt he was one of the greatest singers of the modern era.

By: RMALCOLM

RMALCOLM — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:11:49 -0800

I had a chance to meet him a few years before he died. What struck me most was a "purity of spirit" - a complete lack of guile in a man who had just entranced a thousand people an hour before. He explained that his sole purpose was to uplift people and he succeeded beyond any rock star with his humble simplicity. Great post - many thanks for this.