Nusrat: I can't believe it's been ten years.

I plan to write a remembrance tomorrow for the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's passing. In preparation, I decided to see what treasures YouTube might yield...and there are some classics. I just couldn't wait until tomorrow.

A lot of the clips just hit the beginning of various qawwals and ghazals--meaning, before they're over before the songs really heat up. (And of course, there's a lot of bad compression, indescribable cheeze, and hideous videography to wade through, so be forewarned.)

This is one of the most popular clips on YouTube (not surprisingly, given the love his fans had for "Dam Mast Qalandar Mast Mast"; guessing by the membership of his party (ensemble), voice quality, and appearance, I'd say that this was recorded in the mid-1990s:

Not embedded, but here's one (marked as 1985) that beautifully captures the interplay between NFAK and his brother, the late Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan (a wonderful and underappreciated artist in his own right).

And one of my favorites, "Sanson Ki Mala" (from 1983):

Comments

[Steve Layton]

And just in case it's a bit confusing to find it on YouTube, here's the url for part 2 of this "Sanson Ki Mala" performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3P80bkt3xg

[Anastasia Tsioulcas]

Thanks for that link, Steve!