Sabri Brothers
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The Sabri Brothers are a group of qawwali musicians from Pakistan. They originally consisted of Haji Ghulam Fareed Sabri (b.1930 in Kalyana, East Punjab - d.1994 in Karachi), Haji Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (b.October 12 1945 in Kalyana or Doujana) and Party. (Party is the term used in qawwali for the miscellaneous members of the group.)
The Sabri Brothers were taught music by their father, Ustad Haji Inayat Sen Sabri, who was also a qawwal. He trained his sons in qawwali and North Indian classical music. The family moved from India to Karachi, Pakistan following partition, and claims to be descended from Tansen, the legendary Hindustani musician. Tansen was a musician in the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar, and is credited with miraculous powers as a musician. Maqbool learnt further from Ustad Fatehdin Khan, Ustad Ramzan Khan, and Ustad Latafat Hussain Khan. With the help of his father, Maqbool formed his first party of qawwals at the age of 11. Soon afterwards, in 1956, Ghulam Fareed (who was then singing with Ustad Kallan Khan's qawwali party) joined him, and became the leader of the party, which now came to be known as the Sabri Brothers. They made their first recording in 1958 for EMI Pakistan, scoring a popular hit with 'Mera Koi Nahin Hai'. Their career was marked by brotherly squabbles which led to periods of solo work by each. Ghulam Fareed's funeral in Karachi was estimated to be attended by more than 40,000 mourners. The group now features Maqbool as the leader, supported by Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri (a cousin of the first two, rather than a brother).
The Sabri Brothers have been praised for their sensitive and masterly performance of qawwalis showing the beautiful traditions of sufism. There was a great emphasis on revealing the poetry of the khwajagaan ("saints"), such as Amir Khusro, Maulana Rumi and Bulleh Shah. For many years, the Sabri Brothers were regarded as the foremost living exponents of the 700 year-old tradition of qawwali. Even after Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan burst on the scene and lifted qawwali to a whole new level, the Sabri Brothers continue to be very highly regarded.
Partial Discography
- Kawwali Musicians from Pakistan (Arion 1978)
- The Music of the Qawal (Auvidis, UNESCO 1990)
- Ya Habib (Virgin 1990)
- Qawwali Masterworks (Piranha, Germany 1993)
- Pyar Ke Morr, Vol. 1 (Oriental Star Agencies, U.K. 1993)
- Jami (Piranha, Germany 1996)
- Ya Mustapha (Xenophile 1996)
- Greatest Hits of Sabri Brothers, Vol.1-3 (Sirocco, U.K. 1994-97)
- Qawwali (Nonesuch 1998)
External links
- [Sabri Brothers web site maintained by their booking agents]
- [Sabri Brothers at Punjab Central]
- [] at MusicBrainz
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