#4262, The Qawwali Influence
The Sufi music of Pakistan known as Qawwali is nearly a thousand years old. It consists of spiritual texts set to often florid, soaring melodies, driven by what sounds like an almost modern dance beat, supported by handclaps. Hear this ecstatic Sufi prayer music as recorded at the 1985 WOMAD Festival by the great Qawwali singer from Pakistan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn (1948-1997). Listen to the live recording of the iconic song “Allah Ho Allah Ho,” and “Shahbaaz Qalandar,” from the carefully restored original analogue tapes of this concert.
Hear a version of the Qawwali hit tune, “Dama Dam Mast Qalandar,” by a group of studio musicians dedicated to advancing Pakistan’s classical music traditions and exploring western jazz music, the Sachal Jazz Ensemble. Also, listen to more Qawwali music by Riyaaz Qawwali, who offer this Sufi devotional music from Austin, Texas, with musicians from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
Then, from London-based tabla player, composer, and bandleader Sarathy Korwar, listen to the confluence of South Asian jazz and Indian classical musicians, featuring both spoken word artist, poet-philosopher Zia Ahmed and Indian classical vocalist and composer, Aditya Prakash. It comes from a defiant record of “brown pride” in response to the Brexit scaremongering, called More Arriving, “a tongue-in-cheek play on the fact that there are more people coming and you’ll have to deal with it!” says Korwar. -Caryn Havlik
#4262, The Qawwali Influence (First aired 8/13/2019)
ARTIST: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
WORK: Allah Ho Allah Ho [17:11]
RECORDING: Live at WOMAD 1985
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO: realworldrecords.com
ARTIST: Sarathy Korwar
WORK: Bol (feat. Zia Ahmed & Aditya Prakash) [9:20]
RECORDING: More Arriving
SOURCE: The Leaf Label
INFO: sarathykorwar.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Aditya Prakash Ensemble
WORK: Mara's Secret [4:16]
RECORDING: MARA
SOURCE: AKPMusic
INFO: adityaprakashensemble.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Riyaaz Qawwali
WORK: Mast Qalandar (In Praise of Shahbaaz Qalandar)
RECORDING: Kashti
SOURCE/INFO: riyaazqawwali.com
ARTIST: The Sachal Jazz Ensemble
WORK: The Sound of Wonder AKA Dama Dam Mast Qalandar [2:57]
RECORDING: Song of Lahore
SOURCE: Wrasse Records
INFO: wrasserecords.com
ARTIST: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
WORK: Shahbaaz Qalandar, excerpt [2:42]
RECORDING: Live at WOMAD 1985
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO: realworldrecords.com
