- Sabri Brothers
Infobox musical artist
Name = The Sabri Brothers
Img_capt = The Sabri Brothers
Background = group_or_band
Origin =Kalyana ,East Punjab
Genre =Qawwali
Years_active =1956 -present
Label =Arion Auvidis UNESCO Virgin Piranha Oriental Star Agencies Xenophile Sirocco Nonesuch
Current_members =Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (1956 - present)Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri (1975 - present)
Past_members =Ghulam Farid Sabri (1930 -1994 )Kamal Sabri (? -2001 )The Sabri Brothers (
Urdu : صابری برادران) are aQawwali party fromPakistan .Original Members
The Sabri Brothers were originally comprised of
Ghulam Farid Sabri (b.1930 in Kalyana, East Punjab - d. April 5, 1994 inKarachi [ [http://pakistanspace.tripod.com/94.htm Pakistan Space - Obituary] ] ; lead vocals, harmonium),Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (b.October 12 ,1941 or1945 in Kalyana; lead vocals, harmonium),Kamal Sabri (d.2001 ; vocals, swarmandal),Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri (b.1949 in Karachi; vocals, bongo drums, tambourine),Fazal Islam (chorus),Azmat Farid Sabri (chorus),Sarwat Farid Sabri (chorus),Javed Kamal Sabri (chorus), Umer Daraz (chorus), Abdul Aziz (chorus), Masihuddin (chorus, tanpura), Abdul Karim (dholak), andMohammed Anwar ("nal", tabla).The Brothers
There were four Sabri brothers. The eldest brother was Ghulam Farid Sabri. A man of immense spirituality, he was considered to be a saint. He possessed a deep and powerful voice and presented the "
wajad " energy when performing. Maqbool Ahmed's light and melodious voice was able to immerse listeners into "haal ". When asked whether he ever gets aches and pains from sitting on the floor constantly, he replied, "I had five knee injuries and two operations. But sitting during a Qawwali performance is a must because it is following the Eastern tradition of sitting to meditate or pray and for respect of the word of God and the Prophet". Finally, there is Kamal Sabri and Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri.The Sabri Brothers enjoyed great popularity from the 60s to the mid 80s. In the late 80s, the party split up into two groups, and this started their downfall. Ultimately they rejoined in the early 90s, but soon Ghulam Fareed died, and this was the beginning of their end. Maqbool Ahmed still performs with the remaining members of the group, but without Ghulam Fareed, he could not attract the same audience as before.
The Sabri Brothers' musical lineage stretches back many centuries, to the time of the Mughal emperors. They claim to be direct descendants of
Mian Tansen , the legendary Hindustani musician of the court of Mughal emperorAkbar the Great .Mehboob Baksh Ranji Ali Rang , their paternal grandfather, was a master musician of his time;Baqar Hussein Khan , their maternal grandfather, was a uniquesitar ist. All members of the group belong to the "Sabriyya " order ofSufism , hence the name Sabri.Early life
The Sabri brothers learnt music from their father, Ustad
Inayat Sen Sabri . He trained his sons in Qawwali and North Indian classical music. Their first public performance was at the annualUrs festival of Hazrat PeerMubarak Shah in Kalyana in1946 . The family moved fromIndia toKarachi ,Pakistan following thePartition of India in1947 . Maqbool furthered his knowledge of music under UstadFatehdin Khan , UstadRamzan Khan , and UstadLatafat Hussein Khan Rampuri . With the help of his father, Maqbool formed a Qawwali group at the age of eleven. Soon afterwards, Ghulam Farid, who was then performing with UstadKallan Khan 's Qawwali party, joined him and became the leader of the party, which soon came to be known as The Sabri Brothers.Career & Legacy
Their first recording, released in
1958 under theEMI Pakistan label, was the popular Urdu Qawwali, "Mera Koi Nahin Hai". The Sabri Brothers became the first exponents of Qawwali to the West in1975 , when they performed to a sold-out audience atNew York 'sCarnegie Hall . Their career was marked by brotherly squabbles which led to periods of solo work by each. Ghulam Farid's funeral inKarachi was estimated to be attended by more than 40,000 mourners. The group now features Maqbool as the leader, supported by Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri. The Sabri Brothers have been praised for their sensitive and masterly performance ofQawwali that captures the beautiful traditions ofSufism . There was a great emphasis on revealing the poetry of the "khwajagaan " (saints). For years, The Sabri Brothers were regarded as the foremost living exponents of the tradition of Qawwali. Even after UstadNusrat Fateh Ali Khan burst on the scene and lifted Qawwali to a whole new level, The Sabri Brothers continued to be very highly regarded.Partial Discography
* "Ae Mere Hamnasheen" (Oriental Star Agencies,
1996 )
* "Ajmer Ko Jana Hai" (Oriental Star Agencies,2007 )
* "Balaghul Ula Bekamalehi " (Oriental Star Agencies,1997 )
* "Bindia Lagaon Kabhi" (Oriental Star Agencies,2003 )
* "Greatest Hits of Sabri Brothers, Vol.1-3" (Sirocco ,1994 -97)
* "Hazir Hain" (Oriental Star Agencies,1998 )
* "Jami" (Piranha,1996 )
* "Jhoole Jhoole Ji Mohammad" (Oriental Star Agencies,2003 )
* "Jitna Diya Sarkar Ne Mujhko" (Oriental Star Agencies,2005 )
* "Kawwali Musicians from Pakistan" (Arion ,1978 )
* "Khawaja Ki Diwani - Live in Europe 1981" (Oriental Star Agencies,1996 )
* "La Elah Ki Boli Bol" (Oriental Star Agencies,1994 )
* "Maikadah - Live in Concert" (Oriental Star Agencies,1997 )
* "Mangte Hai Karam Unka" (Oriental Star Agencies,2005 )
* "Milta Hai Kya Namaz Mein - Live in UK" (Oriental Star Agencies,1994 )
* "Nazan Hai Jis Pai Husn" (Oriental Star Agencies,1997 )
* "Piya Ghar Aya" (Oriental Star Agencies,1996 )
* "Posheeda Posheeda - Live in Concert" (Oriental Star Agencies,1997 )
* "Pyar Ke Mor" (Oriental Star Agencies)
* "Pyar Ke Morr, Vol. 1"(Oriental Star Agencies,1993 )
* "Qawwali" (Nonesuch ,1998 )
* "Qawwali Masterworks" (Piranha ,1993 )
* "Savere Savere" (Oriental Star Agencies,1994 )
* "Tajdare Haram" (Oriental Star Agencies,1996 )
* "The Music of the Qawwali" (Auvidis ,UNESCO ,1990 )
* "Ya Habib" (Virgin ,1990 )
* "Ya Mustapha" (Xenophile ,1996 )
* "Ya Raematal Lilalmin" (Oriental Star Agencies,2001 )External links
* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5779455631134030455&q=sabri The Sabri Brothers on video]
* [http://music.punjabcentral.com/artist/?artist=236&stab=2 Sabri Brothers at Punjab Central]
*
* [http://www.pakizm.com/nusrat/ Qawwali Lyrics at Pakizm]
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