Adil Najam
I am not sure how ATP readers will react to this, but let me say that I have been totally mesmerized by this music and have had it on auto-repeat play for the last three days.
But, first let me thank Zeeshan Suhail, on whose blog I found this wonderful fusion/jazz band called Brook’s Qawwali Party (BQP).
BQP produces a captivating sound based on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s classic works and turn it into a unique and peculiar fusion of sufi qawalli rhythyms and jazz. But I will let them explain what they and their music is about. According to the BQP webpage:
What would happen if New York jazz musicians were to play and improvise around the melodies of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan? From this idea, Brook’s Qawwali Party was born. BQP consists of fourteen musicians: five horns, three percussionists, guitar, acoustic bass, harmonium and three designated clappers. The exuberant sound of BQP has been enthusiastically welcomed in New York City and across the globe.
According to Sepia Mutiny “Brook’s Qawwali Party is … made up of non-desi Brooklynites who get together in Park Slope… [they are] probably one of the only Sufi bands with Jewish members in existence.”
Of the half dozen audio clips that are available at their website, my favorite is ‘Beh Haadh Ramza Dhasdha’ (He Manifests Himself in Many Forms) which you can listen to by clicking below or on the image on the left, or by going to their web page.
I am a big fan of the original by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (in the album Shahbaaz) — I believe it is a tribute to Mansoor Hallaj shouting Ana al Haqq, even as he is executed on the gallows.
The BQP version has a very different quality to it and in the beginning I could not pin it down. But as I hear it again and again it seems to me that because they are using 
horns, their version has a shaadi waala band sound to it (I say this as a compliment because I am a huge fan of shaadi waala brass bands).
This particular clip starts rather abruptly, but from around 25 seconds onwards (espeically to around 1 minutes 15 sections) there is this wonderful interplay of sounds and of instruments that should gladden the hearts of qawalli fans as well as jazz fans.
Anyhow, do listen and make up your own mind.
Of the other clips on their site, I also like Tou Kareemi very much. It again has that interplay of horns that reminds me of a good military band playing at a shaadi. Both of these are rather ‘fast’ numbers. If you are looking for mellower sounds you should try their rendition of Man Kuntou Moula. Their versions of Mast Mast and Allah Hou, Allah Hou are not bad but these seemed much more like instrumental versions of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s originals and, especially in the later, the chant of ‘Allah Hou’ gets a little too Americanized in accent for my taste.
Tou Kareemi:
Mast Mast:
Man Kunto Maula:
Beh Haadh Ramza Dhasdha:
Allah Hu, Allah Hu:
But, over all, I thought this was great stuff.
East is East, West is West, but the music is something
else ? perhaps not, Jazz is as pure as Qawwali, as it is
pure human expressions with the inner etat d’ame not
completely exposed in any language is not sufficient,
Qawwali has many things to state, technique, maqaam,
with its classical structure, but the charme of Jazz is
a unique Western expression of sprituality, clean, pure
and melodious with a crude approach to the inner of a
meloman. The poetry in Qawwali could be overdone as it
has been taken relentlessly towrads legerté. Although
Qawwali is highly established on solid classical structural
grounds but poetically we do treat it as an instrument.
yes ur the best fan of by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan i m allso
Folks,
Good news! BQP has a CD out with some four amazing songs. More info here: http://cdbaby.com/cd/brooklynqawwali
Enjoy, and spread the word!
Zeeshan
Hello,
Those of you who like music by Brooklyn Qawwali Party may also be interested in the collaboration between Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwal (nephews of Nusrat Fateh Ali) and Temple of Sound, a CD entitled People’s Colony No. 1.
You may also like the music of Shabaaz. They have released CDs under the name Ali Khan Band as well.
Ahmed
Just stumbled on this for the first time. Beautiful music. Love all the clips included here, but specially the first one based on Beh Haadh Ramza.
Firstly, many heartfelt thanks for your original post and the collection of thoughtful responses. We are honored to be at the center of such critical yet loving discourse. Brooklyn Qawwali Party (yes, our founder Brook Martinez is on hiatus from the band, but the ensemble and repertoire remains constant) is concerned primarily with expressing the beauty and power of Nusrat’s music. While we have made obvious concessions texturally (horns replace vocalists, percussion and drumset replace dhol–or in NFAK’s case, the flour-pasted tabla, added electric guitar and acoustic bass), the group makes a concerted effort to speak the language of Qawwali which is similar to jazz in it’s improvisitory elements, but fundamentally different in form. Traditionally, across a variety of jazz styles, the emphasis is placed upon the soloist, and between main melodies individuals seek out places to enter, develop, and conclude completed improvisitory statements. As members of BQP, we strive to pay tribute to the main melodies foremost, and approach solos more like the spirited interjections of gospel singers (in fact, many of us describe the band to new audience members as a type of “Pakistani gospel-musicâ€Â?). These ‘cries’ are meant not to draw attention to individual soloists, but to bolster the rolling, spinning, building quality which makes traditional Qawwali music so inspiring. In addition to the technical adaptations BQP exhibits, we also strive to embrace a healthy ‘translation’ of Qawwali, rather than the impossible reproduction of NFAK’s body of work. The ensemble is composed of members of various faiths (which at current includes no Sufis); our vocalist–while fluent in Urdu–works mainly in the Hindustani idiom. Point being, we have no intention of replicating the [untouchably perfect!] style of Nusrat et al, but instead hope to include willing audiences in an experiment of tribute: beautiful traditions meeting across dozens and thousands of years. Thank you for listening and caring. Please feel free to visit our websites (www.myspace.com/bqp or http://www.brooklynqawwaliparty.com) or contact us directly (info@brooklynqawwaliparty.com) or talk to us at a concert (we are performing mostly in NY and Brooklyn, but are always looking for appropriate venues further abroad). Peace.
love the harmonim sound in there, makes for a great sound with the trumpets and the drum (that is a drum, not a dhol, right?)
Folks, I am overwhelmed by the response (hits) to this post. Was just informed that
as of now, this post is No. 10this post went at least as high as No. 7 on the Top 100 Posts of the Day on Wordpress… It seems that it attracted a fair number of non-Pakistani Jazz fans. [Edited 2.31 a]I should also say that like Khalid and MSK, I too like the original very much. However, not sure if the comparison should be between the original qawalli and this version. Since these two are very different genres of music.