Zindagi

Amazon.com
Only a few East-West fusions have worked as well as this album does--there's Shakti of course, and Sheila Chandra, and some of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's collaborations with Michael Brook. On this release, divinely inspired brother and sister qawwali singers Sukhawat Ali Khan and Riffat Salamat join together with outstanding guitarist-producer Richard Michos and a well-matched set of contributors. Together they create an invigorating blend of music that combines ornate vocals with passionate playing and ingeniously incorporates elements of bhangra, jazz, rap, flamenco, and rock. Pieces range from the spacey expansiveness of Surat to the dance-hall funk of Mast Kalander. Michos's complex yet uncluttered production works perfectly to bring brightness and clarity to each song. --Jeff Grubb

From Rhythm Magazine
While much is made of some members' links to qawwali singing, the Ali Khan Band borrows elements from traditional Indo-Pakistani music and uses them as components in a mix of electronics and bhangra, resulting in another chapter in the ongoing fusion saga. The music is light and lively, offering interesting instrumental colors, easily remembered melodies and some adept solos on traditional and electric instruments. While the traditional material adapts itself most reluctantly to this current trend, the proficiency of the performers makes up for their genre's limits. Riffat Salamat is an enticing vocalist, her colors blending perfectly with the sonic surroundings. There is also some rapping, as fusion needs all it can get to keep going. One just hopes that these fine performers will develop a form that can better utilize their progressive leanings. --Allan Evans

Tracks:

Mere Zindagi
Piyar Piyar
Mast Kalander
Sindhri Da
Deem Dana
Bhairagi Jungle
Gorak Kalyan
Surat

Amazon.com

Only a few East-West fusions have worked as well as this album does--there's Shakti of course, and Sheila Chandra, and some of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's collaborations with Michael Brook. On this release, divinely inspired brother and sister qawwali singers Sukhawat Ali Khan and Riffat Salamat join together with outstanding guitarist-producer Richard Michos and a well-matched set of contributors. Together they create an invigorating blend of music that combines ornate vocals with passionate playing and ingeniously incorporates elements of bhangra, jazz, rap, flamenco, and rock. Pieces range from the spacey expansiveness of Surat to the dance-hall funk of Mast Kalander. Michos's complex yet uncluttered production works perfectly to bring brightness and clarity to each song. --Jeff Grubb

Customer Reviews:

excellent.......2000-05-03

Bother and sister Qawwali singers Sukhawat Ali Kahn and Riffat Salamat. Are the main vocalist behind this debut Album from the San Francisco based Ali Khan Band. The first song "Mere Zindagi" "my life" is melodious and hypnotic in the way that Sheila Chandra 's classic European Indian fusion hit "Ever So Lonely" was. Not as successful are the two rap numbers Piyar Piyar "Love Love" and Mast Kalander. A tribute to the Sufi mystic of Sind, Hazrat Lal Kalander. For some reason the rap as sung by Issac Frierson is not integrated sufficiently to prevent it appearing as an after thought. This is not an album for traditional listeners of Qawwali because at various points the album drifts into fast paced dance tracks. The Bangra elements are especially good here. The album is so languid at the beginning that you could be fooled into believing that this will set the mood for the remainder of the CD. However this album leans closer towards dance-trance than to meditative New Age music. The stunning front cover "Beyond Surfaces" is by the artist Shahzia Sikander