There is "classical music" that belongs in museums. And then there is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s classical music—a live wire, a burning flag, a heart attack of devotion.
Before the 20-minute sargam (improvised solfège) that makes your soul leave your body, Nusrat was a Khayal singer. Trained in the Patiala Gharana (school) by his father Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, he learned the brutal discipline of classical structure. nusrat fateh ali khan classical
Peter Gabriel called him the greatest voice of his generation. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) wept after meeting him. But for the classical purist? Nusrat preserved the Gharana tradition while blowing its doors off. There is "classical music" that belongs in museums
"Mera rang de basanti chola..." 🎶
He didn’t break the rules. He bent them until they bled ecstasy. a burning flag