努斯拉·法帖·阿里·汗

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known as NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, Hindustani classical vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music director. While primarily being associated with qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music from Pakistan and India, he belonged to the historic Qawwal Bachchon ka Gharana (Delhi Gharana) and was trained in pure classical khayal architecture under his father Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and later uncle Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. Though widely celebrated for his qawwali performances, his standing as a master of Shastriya Sangeet (classical music) was validated by the classical community when he received the Hafiz Ali Khan Award in 1997. He ranks as one of the most influential South Asian singers of all time. Widely recognised as the "Shahanshah-e-Qawwali" (lit. 'the King of Kings of Qawwali'), he has been recognised as one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR and 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. The New York Times named Khan the greatest qawwali singer of his generation. while Credited with introducing Qawwali music to international audiences, he was known for his vocal abilities and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours.

Born in West Punjab, Khan had his first public performance at the age of 15 at his father's chelum. He became the head of the family qawwali party in 1971 and added his unique style of sargam, khayal, and rhythm to his family's legacy. He was signed by Oriental Star Agencies, based in Birmingham, England, in the early 1980s. Khan went on to release movie scores and albums in Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan, and the United States. He engaged in collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a well-known world music artist. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries. In addition to popularising qawwali music, he also had a profound impact on contemporary South Asian popular music, including Pakistani pop, Indian pop, and Bollywood music. He was also a master of Hindustani classical music.

Biography

Early life

Khan was born into a Punjabi Muslim family in Lyallpur in 1948. Khan's family belonged to Jalandhar. His ancestors learned music and singing there and adopted it as a profession. He was the fifth child and first son of Fateh Ali Khan, a musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and qawwal. Nusrat, who had four older sisters and a younger brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, grew up in central Faisalabad. The tradition of qawwali in the family has been passed down through successive generations for almost 600 years. This qawwali tradition has also been preserved by other family members, such as his cousins Badar Miandad and Sher Miandad Khan. Initially, his father did not want Khan to follow the family's vocation. He had his heart set on Nusrat choosing a career path that commanded greater respect in society and wanted him to become a doctor or engineer because he felt qawwali artists had low social status. However, Khan showed such an aptitude for and interest in qawwali that his father finally relented.