小简介
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan生於回曆1368（西元1948）年，卒於回曆1418（西元1997）年，享寿49岁的巴基斯坦旁遮普歌唱家，是当代最伟大的Qawwali宗师（Pandit）；回教歌坛中的帕华洛帝。Qawwali是回教苏非（神秘教派）信徒独创的吟唱歌乐，回教敬拜仪式中向来排斥音乐，苏非派却是其中的异数。自十三世纪以来，便以Tabla、Dhaolak、Naal手鼓、簧风琴（Harmonium）和着领唱与对位重唱的男声，引领真主信眾进入恍惚狂喜的忘我境界。承袭百餘年家学渊源的努斯拉?法帖?阿里?汗，其歌声如古昔韃靼健驹，狂驰於大漠天际，转板拔尖迅如电光石火；伴奏之鼓声击掌如诡雷拍浪，加上一呼百诺的合声，即使爵士的Scat唱腔也瞠乎其后，Qawwali的魅力因他而举世闻名。在这张选辑中，他时而颂讚阿拉，时而歌咏爱与和平，兼顾入世关怀与出世情操，演唱场地也从传统祭坛走向英、法两国的音乐厅。qawwali是一种崇神歌曲,一种纪念和歌颂先知默罕默德的吟唱。一般是由男子来表演。而Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan就是巴基斯坦演唱qawwali的高手，也是他把这种特有的演唱在全世界发扬光大。Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan胖胖的身体中充满了力量，他对于通过雄浑的歌声与神对话，用虔诚的心灵来诠释qawwali的精神。Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan与众多乐手合作过，象与Pearl Jam主唱Eddie Vedder合作电影原声《越过死亡线》，与ECM旗下的挪威Jazz乐手Jan Garbarek合作的爵士专辑《Ragas and Sagas》，史科西斯电影《基督最后的诱惑》的原声，Oliver Stone电影《闪灵杀手》原声等等。这个精力充沛的家伙的作品无数。
by Ken Hunt
Without doubt the most important qawwal is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party — Party is a generic term for a qawwali ensemble but is also used in Sikhism and to describe some classical music ensembles, for example, shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan & Party. Dubbed Shahen-Shah-e-Qawwali (the Brightest Star in Qawwali), he was born on October 13, 1948, in Lyallpur in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. He made his first recording in 1973 in Pakistan and a number of early EMI (Pakistan) albums jointly billed him with his uncle Mubarak Ali Khan. Since these mainly cassette albums were invariably undated and numerous, it is difficult to place them in any more accurate chronological sequence than catalog-number order. Between 1973 and 1993 his recorded output could only be described as prodigious, with more than 50 album releases to his name on numerous Pakistani, British, American, European and Japanese labels. Heavily over-recorded, blighted with a rash of poppy remix albums or albums with Westernized instrumentation or arrangements, his recorded work is a mire to suck in the uninitiated and their money. Converts, however, do not escape scot-free. Although some releases hint at their nature with coded titles such as Volume 4 Punjabi (Oriental Star CD SR013) from 1990 or Ghazals Urdu (Oriental Star CD SR055) from 1992, the chosen language and style is frequently a matter of conjecture or uncertainty. While the Western market is saturated with his work, the Indian market is supersaturated, and his recorded output is in danger of overwhelming any sense of taste.
Real World was the label largely responsible for Khans breakthrough into a non-Indian audience. It was their marketing skills and the platform provided by the WOMAD organization which introduced him to Westerners. Mustt Mustt (Real World CD RW 15) released in 1990 was a deliberate attempt to target the white market with its non-traditional arrangements, yet it seems positively cherubic beside later abominations. All these albums are experiments, he told me in 1993. There are some people who do not understand at all but just like my voice. I add new lyrics and modern instruments to attract the audience. This has been very successful. Success, however, bred indifference to the virtues and values of the original music. Many find the remix albums, the Western and youth-market releases, a source of despair: buyer beware remains the watchword. When singing his traditional work he remains peerless. Many fans regret the dilution of his talent that has occurred with his experiments. However, in 1994, reportedly tired of unauthorized releases, he took greater control of both his business affairs and his concert and recording activities. With his international renown at an all-time peak, Khan died on August 16, 1997; a seemingly endless procession of posthumous releases appeared in the years to follow.