Shujat Ali khan – with many personalities

We know shujat ali khan as a versatile singer now check out his versatility in looks..

Shujat Ali khan - group photo

Friends here is an exclusive picture of shujat ali khan with his fellow pakistani contetants faraz butt, sara raza khan, zaheer abbas and Ali abbas.

We have many other exclusive pics that will be put here for you very soon.Until that time keep waiting and enjoy this one.

Courtesy

Express news

In Tribute- Ustad Salamat Ali khan

In remembrance Ustad Salamat Ali Khan
The death of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan on 11th July 2001 marked the end of a glorious career spanning over six decades. The ustad’s untimely demise has prompted concerns that desperate measures are now required to save Pakistani classical music from oblivion. Saqib Razaq looks back at the career of the late maestro heralded as an icon of khayal singing and recognised as a major influence in the popularisation of classical music outside South Asia.

There is always great sorrow when a human being departs from this world. What makes the grief even harder to bear is when that individual has made significant contributions and achieved excellence in his field of speciality. Inborn genius, creativity, individuality and sheer dedication are some of the attributes that make the individual irreplaceable. The late maestro Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was bestowed with all these qualities, distinguishing him from others. Widely regarded by fellow musicians and connoisseurs as one the greatest vocalists of the 20th century, Salamat Ali Khan had a huge impact on South Asian classical music, achieving worldwide acclaim for his masterful artistry and command over khayal singing.
Born in 1934, in the heartland of Punjab at Shamchaurasi, district Hoshiarpur, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan belonged to a family of traditional musicians representing the Shamchaurasi gharana. It is claimed that the gharana was founded in the 16th century by Mian Chand Khan and Mian Suraj Khan who were contemporaries of Mian Tansen at the court of Mughal emperor Akbar. Prior to the emergence of Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan as exponents of khayal, the gharana specialised in the dhrupad form of singing and was particularly renowned for its tradition of duet performances known as jugalbandi. Mian Karim Bukhsh Majzoob, Ustad Ahmed Ali Khan, Ustad Niaz Hussain Shami, and Salamat Ali Khan’s father Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan were some of the illustrious members of the Shamchaurasi gharana.

Youngsters Nazakat Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan with their father
Salamat Ali Khan was initiated into classical music together with his elder brother Nazakat Ali Khan under the able guidance of their father Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan at the tender ages of five and seven respectively. They were initially taught the basis of dhrupad but later concentrated on learning khayal due to its increasing popularity. It was only after two years of training that they made their debut at the prestigious Harballabh Mela in 1941. They performed raag Mian ki Todi and were highly appreciated by both the audience and musicians present, these included Ustad Abdul Aziz Khan, Pandit Krishanrao Shankar, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Ustad Umeed Ali Khan, Ustad Tawakkal Hussain Khan, Ustad Malang Khan and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan recalled the performance in his autobiography; “we were so small that we had to be lifted onto the stage”.
Following their stirring debut, the youngsters gave numerous performances in Punjab and Sindh and began to attract the attention of the musical fraternity who predicted a bright future for the pair. During this period, the brothers began to give regular broadcasts from All India Radio, Lahore and two gramophone records of the young Salamat Ali Khan were published. In 1944, the duo received their first official state invitation from the Maharaja of Champanagar. Their stay in Champanagar lasted a few months and was followed by performances at the Allahabad and Gwalior music conferences where they had the good fortune of meeting and hearing Ustad Rajab Ali Khan of Dewas who made a lasting impression on Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and was a major influential figure in his career. The All-India Music conference of 1945 in Calcutta saw Nazakat and Salamat being included in a musical line up featuring Ustad Faiyyaz Hussain Khan of Agra, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Ustad Rajab Ali Khan, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Kesarbai Kerkar, Ustad Allauddin Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. These music conferences were of great benefit as they provided both brothers with ample opportunities to hear and perform before great musicians. In 1946, the duo conducted a nationwide tour of India which included performances at the courts of Gwalior, Hyderabad and Patiala. The popularity of the child prodigies soured as their singing expressed maturity far beyond their years, it was the young Salamat in particular who impressed listeners for his dazzling “tayyari” and “layakari”.
Following the creation of Pakistan, the family settled in Multan and lived in relative obscurity for the next couple of years. During this period of anonymity, the brothers concentrated on rigorous practice and occasionally performed in Multan and the adjoining state of Bahawalpur. By 1950, the brothers had achieved fame throughout the country; they began to give broadcasts from Radio Pakistan and permanently moved to Lahore. The brief stay in Multan did have an advantage in that the duo became exposed to the semi classical genre of Multani Kafi. Kafi is a musical form with its origins steeped in Sufism; the lyrical content is devoted to mysticism and can be performed in both a classical and folk manner. The genre is extremely popular in the regions of Punjab and Sindh, mainly due to the poetry being in the regional languages of Punjabi, Sindhi and Saraiki. Both Nazakat and Salamat were greatly impressed by the beautiful poetry of Sufi mystics Khwaja Ghulam Farid, Abdul Shah Latif, Shah Hussain and Baba Bullhe Shah and decided to incorporate the Kafi in their repertoire.
Two great maestros- Ustad Salamat Ali Khan with Ustad Amir Khan.

In 1953 the brothers toured India and performed at the Harballabh Mela. This performance paved the way for the brothers to be regularly invited across the border. The Indian audiences lauded the young maestros and were highly appreciative of their art, Salamat Ali Khan particularly acknowledged the audiences of Bombay and Calcutta for their knowledge and patronage of classical music. In 1955, the brothers were invited to perform at the All India Music Conference in Calcutta which included musicians of the calibre of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Allauddin Khan, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Kesarbai Kerkar, Ustad Ahmedjan Khan Thirakwa and Ustad Habibuddin Khan. Their performance was highly acclaimed and had such an impact that they were given the honorary title of Ustad. Countless performances during the 1950s, particularly the Swami Haridas music conference in Bombay in 1957 and the All Pakistan Music Conference at Jinnah Bagh, Lahore in 1959 saw the brothers emerge as one of the leading vocalists of the subcontinent.
The success of the duo was a result of their dedication to practice, great understanding and a disciplined approach to their performance. Their singing style displayed shades of the Patiala gharana, particularly that of stalwarts Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. However both brothers contributed with their own individuality and made use of their initial training in dhrupad, which was most apparent in the alaap and vilambit (slow tempo) part of their presentation. The brothers were equally adept at performing in both the vilambit and drut (fast tempo) sections. The vilambit part of the presentation was clearly defined by their concentration on the development of the raag; Nazakat Ali Khan would create the general ambience of the performance and concentrate on building the aesthetic framework. He would act as a path leader to his younger brother who would dominate the drut half of the performance through thundering taans, cascading sargams and ingenious rhythmic interplay known as layakari. The greatest strength of the duo was probably their appeal to both the masses and connoisseurs. The brothers performed a wide variety of raags throughout their career but were known for their mastery over raags Rageshri, Abhogi Kanada, Gorakh Kalyan and Malkauns.
The brothers during a Radio Pakistan broadcast in the 1960s
The path of success continued for both brothers during the 1960s. In 1961, the Government of Pakistan recognising their contribution to classical music conferred the civilian award of “Pride of Performance” upon them and in 1967 King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan awarded them with the “Tamgha-e-Hunar”. International acclaim for the duo followed in 1969 when they were formally invited to tour the United Kingdom and Holland. Following their performance at the Edinburgh Festival, the brothers became renowned in the West as the “Ali brothers” and began to regularly feature in International music festivals.
In June 1974, the career of the duo was rocked when they decided to split up due to personal differences. This ended one of the most successful vocal partnerships in the history of Indian classical music. Any hopes of a musical reunion were later dashed when Nazakat Ali Khan passed away in 1983. Following a short stint as a solo vocalist, Salamat enlisted his eldest son Sharafat Ali Khan to accompany him and fill the huge void left by Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan. In later years, the ustad was also accompanied by his youngest son Shafqat Ali Khan. Despite the absence of his elder brother, the maestro gave some memorable performances during the mid-1970s and continued to fly the flag of the Shamchaurasi gharana.
A new phase- Ustad Salamat Ali Khan with Sharafat Ali Khan
The maestro received another setback in 1978 when he suffered a stroke during a concert in London. The stroke affected his speech and doctors advised him to consider retiring. However, the maestro made a courageous recovery and continued with his rigorous schedule of performing. Even though Salamat could not recapture his form of earlier years, his performances still retained the vitality and vigour of previous years. The maestro was probably one of the few classical musicians who achieved popularity with both the masses and discerning audiences in Pakistan. Keeping this in mind, he published his autobiography titled “Main aur Mausiqui” which was well received by readers in Pakistan and abroad.
Mastery over layakari can probably be regarded as Salamat Ali Khan’s greatest contribution to South Asian classical music. He would commonly sing in time cycles regarded as difficult including Talwara, Ikwaai, Punjabi Dhamar and Soolfakhta. The audience would always be in awe with the ease at which Salamat would arrive at the sum through intricate tihais, sargams and bol taans. In addition to layakari, Salamat was renowned for his command over taan patterns, of which the choot and sapat variety were considered his specialty. The ustad also created a number of raags and composed bandishes under the name of “Man Rang”. His creations include Madhkauns, Shamwati, Thames, Nandeshwari, Jog Kanada, Madh Kalyan, Roopdhani, Roopawati Kalyan, Milan Gandhar, Abhogi Kauns, Lagan Kauns and Kanwal Bhairav. Salamat Ali Khan always retained a broad perspective on music and experimented with fusion music so that classical music could be appreciated by a broader audience, this is highlighted in his album “Princess of the Sea” as well as in a specially arranged piece in raag Pahadi which he named “International Pahadi”. Primarily trained by his father, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was always upfront to cite other musicians from whom he had received training, these were his uncle Ustad Niaz Hussain Shami, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan, Ustad Tawakkal Hussain Khan, his father in law Baba Natthu Khan, Pandit Pran Nath, Ustad Habib Khan Beenkaar and the father of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan Qawwal.

Despite being a musician of exceptional virtuosity, he was a human being of unmeasured compassion. He was always kind and considerate towards everyone he met which gave an impression of trust and intimacy. Blessed with a great sense of humour and wit, the maestro would always convey a mood of happiness and joy wherever he went. In spite of the recognition he received throughout his life, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was not an artist who was motivated by fame or wealth and did not seek opportunities which would promote his personal aspirations. He always displayed high regards for fellow musicians and would always encourage upcoming musicians. This is evident in the following sound clip, in which the maestro has composed a bandish in tribute to the late Qawwal, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
In the company of Ustad Allah Rakha, Pandit Ram Narayan and Lata Mangeshkar

The ustad was a great teacher and responsible for training the next generation of musicians including his sons Sharafat, Sakhawat, Latafat, and Shafqat Ali Khan who are trying very hard in becoming worthy successors to their father’s tradition. He also trained his grandson Shujaat Ali Khan and other family members such as Hussain Bukhsh Guloo, Imtiaz Ali Khan, Riaz Ali Khan and Rafaqat Ali Khan. Other shagirds include Abida Parveen, Taj Multani, Nazir Afridi and Aqeel Manzoor. Furthermore, Salamat Ali Khan took a brave decision in training and permitting his daughter Riffat to become a performing musician, who is at present one of the very few female vocalists hailing from a family of professional musicians.
The final years of the maestro were marred with ill health connected to the paralytic stroke and thus affecting his ability to perform. During the 1990s, Salamat Ali Khan was diagnosed with diabetes and a heart ailment which further weakened him and resulted him to restrict the number of performances he could do. Further complications related to diabetes resulted in the loss of his vision and thus he retired from classical music in 1998. The end finally came on the 11th July 2001, the world of classical music losing a musical genius whose life was wholly dedicated to the cause of classical music. There will be many other musicians who will achieve fame and glory in years to come but very few will ever attain the stature, greatness and excellence of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. The ustad remained to his last breath a teacher, a friend and above all a musician who left a lasting impression as a human being for whom music was not just an art but a way of life.


This article is a couetesy of sadarang.com

Here is the link to the orignal article
http://www.sadarang.com/Ustad%20salamat%20ali%20khan.htm

Shujat Ali Khan endorsed by Star one

Here is great news for all the fans of Shujat Ali khan. A few days back the shujat Ali khan version of “Khamaj” was used in the most popular show of star one “Dil Mil Gaye”.
It is a big thing for an artist to be encouraged like this.Dil mil Gaye is among top 20 according to TRP ratings of Indian TV channels.

This is really a big achievement for shujat ali khan that instead of original one, his version was used in that show. Shujat is thankful to all his fans, which liked and acknowledged his version this much that now it got such a big success.

Here is the video for you



Courtesy
jazz199779
india forums

The nation - interviews Shujat Ali khan

Sunday Plus
The Nation
Nawa-i-Waqt
Encounter
…and now a star
Shujaat Ali Khan, nephew of legendary classical singer Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and son of leading contemporary classical singer Sharafat Ali Khan, has been singing since he was four. Coming from Sham Churasi gharana, which was founded in the 16th century by Mian Chand Khan and Mian Suraj Khan who were contemporaries of Mian Tansen at the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Shujaat inherited the special talent for music. His grandfather Salamat Ali Khan and uncle Nazakat Ali Khan were rated among the top classical singers. His uncle Shafqat Ali Khan is currently heading the Sham Churasi gharana and performs in concerts across the globe. But he had never thought fame would come his way so soon. It all changed when he entered the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge – a talent hunt show in Mumbai. Now back home after coming in the first 10 of the challenge Shujaat is basking in the glory of fame. People in the street recognise him and stop to shake hands.Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge is a musical reality show that is widely seen across the globe. The participants this year were from Singapore, UK, USA, Oman, UAE, Pakistan and India. There were auditions in different cities. 36 singers were selected for the show that continued for months. The first episode was aired on June 24 this year. Ghazal singer Ghulam Ali and musician Sahir Ali Bagha took Shujaat’s audition. The youngster won over the heart of both by singing Raag Gorak Kalayan. Last year young singer Amanat Ali had made among the first three. No Pakistani, however, has been able to win since the show was started in 1995.Talking to Sunday Plus about his experience in the talent hunt show and future plans Shujaat was all praise for his mentors and the learning experience that he had at the reality show. He, however, was critical how the whole show was made as if it was a war between Pakistani and Indian singers.“The show was all right in the beginning till the time when the judges decision mattered less. Later it turned into a war of music between Pakistan and India. There should be end to this music war like attitude. It is a shame for the whole world of music. The programme’s format is such that there is public voting. I believe it is all sham. The response of the general public there was amazing towards the Pakistani artistes.“This SMS and email voting is a doubtful thing. The appreciation that I got from Asha Bhonslay and other judges as well as the mentors is what matters more to me. Asha Bhonslay said to other judges that mine was the voice they were looking for. When I sang ‘Sawan beeto jai’ singer Hamesh and many other wept. I was overcome with the situation and also started crying. Even if I do not win the competition it does not matter as I have won the hearts of the people who understand music,” Shujaat was of the view.He was of the view that it was shown as a battle between Pakistani contestants and Indian ones. “This should never be the case. Singers are eliminated from the rounds sometimes to create spice in the programme. Faraz, Zaheer, Sarah Raza were remarkable singers but were still removed from the programme. Asha Bhonsley, Amjad Ali Khan, Sureshi Wadikar and Kavita Krishna Murti were the judges while our mentors were Preetum, Hamesh Reshammiya, Ardesh Shrivastav and Shankar Mahadeven. We had promotional shows in Bhopal, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and New Delhi. The appreciation and love of the general public for the Pakistani singers was astonishing,” Shujaat said his eyes shining with pride.Shujaat said it was for the first time that he stayed away from home for such a long time. “I am the only son and felt homesick there. But then my aunt Riffat used to call me daily from USA. Uncle Shafqat Ali Khan was a great support and encouraged me to adapt to the new conditions. My father told me that my every action should leave an impression on people there so that may hold the Pakistani in high esteem,” he said.Shujaat said what he hated the most there was when the organisers would wake him up very early in the morning for singing practice. “That was the only thing troubling. It was fun at other times – a great opportunity for me to share and learn. I had heard they do politics there and that I would not be allowed to progress to the top spot. But I was ready for the challenge. Even then it is a great place to promote new talent. And I owe the recognition in the street from the programme,” he said.The youngster from Lahore was impressed with the welcome that the media gave him at the Allama Iqbal Airport on his return. “I have performed with my grandfather and know what it feels like to be famous. But I never expected media channels and journalists to welcome in this big way. It came as a pleasant surprise,” he explained.He said all his mentors knew his grandfather or had heard of him and cooperated with him in every way. “They appreciated that nephew of such a great singer had come to participate in the challenge,” he averred.About his future plans, Shujaat said like his ancestors his life was devoted to music. “Music is in my blood and I want to excel in the field like my other family members. I had got admission in the four-year-degree programme in musicology at the National College of Arts. But then I passed the audition for this show. It was an opening for me and I decided to participate. Now I am back and would request the college administration to take me back,” he said. Shujaat did his intermediate from the Government College University, Lahore.He said he would be going back to Mumbai for the grand finale on January 3. After that a world tour has been designed for all winners in the show and I would be going along.Shujaat said he has many offers from both Pakistan and India. Music director Preetum talked to producer Vikram Bhatt to sign contract with the young singer for his next movies.

This interview is a courtesy of “The nation Sunday plus”
Here is the link to original post

http://splus.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Encounter/13-Nov-2008/and-now-a-star

saregamapa grand finale stage and pakistani contestants

5th July was the day when Pakistani singers graced the stage of saregamapa with their presence and by their amazing performances; they proved that they are promising.
At that time we couldn't even imagine that the finals will take place without any of these Pakistani contestants. However, due to the current state of affairs between India and Pakistan, none of the Pakistani contestants will be performing in the grand finale, which is going to be held on the 24th of January. The stage will unfortunately be deprived of performances by all Pakistani contestants of challenge 2009.

The artist who gave a historical performance like KHAMAJ could not make to the finals. The performer who set the stage on fire with his performance of “Bulla ki jana main kaun”, the mesmerizing singer who gave a tough competition to all other contestants till top 7, the first ever female singer who represented Pakistan on the stage of saregamapa and got the title of “Pakistan ki mallika”, these paksitani representators who maintained 100% results up till voting rounds, will all be missed in the finals.
This is a very disappointing fact, that amazing singers like: Shujat Ali Khan; Zaheer Abbas; Faraz Butt; and Sara Raza Khan, are not even performing on that stage, though they deserve to be there in the finals, but not even a single contestant will be present.
On behalf of these contestants I wish all three finalists: yashita zaheer and vaishali a very best of luck.