Sukhawat Ali Khan

Sukhawat Ali Khan, son of Indian-Pakistani vocalist Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and nephew of Nazakat Ali Khan [http://wm07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=1:SUKHAWAT|ALI|KHAN] , is a Qawwali singer in the Sham Chorasi tradition [http://www.ektaonline.org/~shabazmu/] , as well as a performer of North Indian and Pakistani classical music and related folk music [http://sukhawatalikhan.calabashmusic.com/] . He began singing and playing the harmonium at age seven [http://sukhawatalikhan.calabashmusic.com/] and has performed around the world. [http://www.ektaonline.org/~shabazmu/] He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area [http://worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=575] where he performs in the world-fusion ensemble Shabaz (formerly the Ali Khan Band) with his sister Riffat Salamat and her husband Richard Michos [http://wm07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=1:SUKHAWAT|ALI|KHAN] .

About his heritage and music, Ali Khan has said:

Bquote
Each song I do has classical thought behind it and I know how to sing it properly, but my style comes from my life too. I spent time in New York. I go to clubs. I like the hip hop beat, Latin, rave. ... There's a performing energy there that I also feel. It's the same kind of energy a good Qawwali singer has, and we can really express it freely in America. [http://worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=575]

Discography

*"Tawsir" - 1998 (with the Ali Khan Band)
*"Zindagi" - 2000 (with the Ali Khan Band)
*"Shabaz" - 2001 (with Shabaz)
*"Shukriya" - 2007

External links

* [http://www.ektaonline.org/~shabazmu/ Shabaz]
* [http://worldmusiccentral.org/artists/artist_page.php?id=575 World Music Central Biography/Discography]
* [http://wm07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=1:SUKHAWAT|ALI|KHAN All Music Guide Entry]
* [http://sukhawatalikhan.calabashmusic.com/ Sukhawat Ali Khan at Calabash Music]