Search - Shafqat Ali Khan :: Shafqat Ali Khan

Shafqat Ali Khan is the son of famed Pakistani singer Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, who was the uncle and one of the first teachers of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the best-known exponent of Pakistani Qawaali singing. But you can't listen to a lineage, and Shafqat Ali Khan blazes his own path on this self-titled album co-composed with keyboardist Douglas McKeehan, known for his work with the world-fusion group Ancient Future. Together, they create a contemporary extrapolation of the gharana music tradition, a sound of unbridled passion that spins off vocal ornaments that sound like a baroque painting on acid. This isn't traditional music souped up with modern arrangements, but new compositions built from the ground up. Shafqat writes his own, Rumiesque lyrics, ranging from the love song of "Ashina" to the ecstatic rave-up of "Dance of My Soul." It's that mixture of sensuality and spirituality that creates the tension of Qawaali music. McKeehan's inventive arrangements often eschew Pakistani signposts completely, from the bluegrass banjo on "Dust to Dust" to the cyclical guitar lines of Richard Michos on "Valley of Memories." Beautifully produced, Khan and McKeehan create a dynamic relief to what can often be an unremittingly intense music. --John Diliberto