Customer Reviews

Shukriya

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This CD sounds better every time I play it, and I play it daily.
I even sing along with it, and I assure you I am no singer.
Qawali music was constructed, in my understanding, to induce a
transcendental state of bliss in the listener (and, I assume, the artist). Sukhawat Ali Khan has accomplished this magnificently. I am fortunate to live in Sonoma County, where Sukhawat resides. I have heard him perform live on 2 occasions, and both times have been peak experiences for me.
I believe, and this is just my personal view of things, that the reason Sukhawat is able to perform this music so effectively is due to his training (which is beyond compare), his beautiful Soul(but who am i to judge?), and his genetic gift. He is the fortunate heir to the DNA of the greatest Qawali artists on the planet. He has nurtured his natural gift into a treasure that is now accessible to the rest of us. I have no doubt that we will see a new direction in the evolution of music; one that will help spread joy and unite people of all tribes in a loving peace.

Of the 11th generation of musicians since the time of Akbar the Great, Moghul Emperor in India, along with his 3 other musician brothers and a musician sister, too, Sukhawat Ali Khan seems to naturally flow with music and spirituality, though he underwent long, hard years of training with his esteemed father, Salamat Ali Khan. A qawwali Sufi and raga singer (and harmonium player), he, as his brother Shafqat Ali Khan, also easily moves into composing modern fusion. These songs are rich in rhythm and joy, tradition and modernity: hymns, romances, raga, and ghazal mystical poetry. His voice, higher in pitch than his father, is actually, in my view, the best of his contemporary kin. There is a sweetness in it. I recently spent some time with Sukhawat Ali, when he was a guest of the Yuval Ron Ensemble in Turkey, particularly among the dervishes, and his voice at times was magical, transporting. Listen, for example, to tracks 5 and 6, the raga Natnarayani, incidentally derived from a compositon of his father combining elements of ragas Nat and Nayarani. (Pandit Jasraj also composed a similar scale to make Rag Nat Narayan.) It is a raga of the night close to midnight, infused with passion and peace, which pretty much describes Sukhawat. This album covers many forms and territory. If you are interested in ragas, qawwali singing, and Sufism, then you may also enjoy this album.