Dawud Wharnsby Ali

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Dawud Wharnsby Ali

Background information
Origin Canadian, Scottish, English
Instrument(s) 6 string guitar, 12 string guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, bazouk, oud, piano, djembe, daff/bodhran, bongos, clarinet, tin whistle
Website http://www.wharnsby.com
http://www.enterintopeace.com
http://www.myspace.com/wharnsby

Dawud (David) Wharnsby Ali (born June 27, 1972) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, performer and television personality. He is the owner of folk/world-music label and publishing entity Enter Into Peace.

Contents

[edit] History

Born in Kitchener, Ontario in 1972, David Wharnsby became active in local theatre productions during his teens. By 19 he began performing throughout Southern Ontario as a solo musical artist and as a member of various folk and rock groups, alongside the likes of fellow Canadian performers Paul MacLeod (Skydiggers), Danny Michel, Corey Schmidt (Scarboro Aquarium Club), Heather Chappell and Sandy McIntosh (Tristan Psionic).

In 1993, he embraced the teachings and philosophy of The Qur'an, changing his name to "Dawud" - the Qur'anic form of "David" - and adopted the name "Ali" to his surname.

Dawud pioneered the genre of English language nasheed (spiritual songs of a folk/world-beat style, drawn from Islamic tradition) and has released several albums since 1995, including Blue Walls and The Big Sky and Vacuous Waxing (with Canadian writer Bill Kocher).

As a world renowned children's educator, Dawud has released over 10 popular albums of children's music, including A Whisper of Peace and The Prophet's Hands. His songs released through Sound Vision are sung and taught in schools world wide.

In recent years Dawud has collaborated with the likes of Stephen Fearing, Irshad Khan, Danny Thompson, Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens), Chris McKhool, Dale Marcell, Sami Yusuf and Zain Bhikha.

As a television personality, Dawud has hosted programs produced in conjunction with Canada's Vision TV, the National Film Board of Canada, Al Huda TV (Saudi Arabia) and BBC Scotland.

Wharnsby's songs have also found their way onto the recordings of other notable artists. His popular children's songs "Sing, Children of The World!" and "Al Khaliq" were both covered by Yusuf Islam & Friends on the 2004 CD "I Look I See" (Jamal Records) and his song "A Whisper of Peace" was included by Canadian children's performer Chris McKhool on the CD "Celebrate!".

In August 2006 Dawud began work on "Out Seeing The Fields" (Co-produced with LA based pianist Idris Phillips), scheduled for release in early 2007, as well as a children's folk music album entitled "Hi Neighbour! Salam Neighbour!" with US based percussionist Bataki. Dawud also appears on the 2006 album release by South African artist Zain Bhikha entitled "Allah Knows", performing a cover of "Flowers Are Red" by Harry Chapin along with other duet and backing vocals.

Dawud Wharnsby Ali currently lives in Colorado, USA, but also keeps bases in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada (where he also records most of his work), and in Cairo, Egypt.

Though family ties do exist, Dawud (David) Wharnsby-Ali is not to be confused with film editor (and husband of actress Sarah Polley) David Wharnsby, also a native of the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Other notible Canadian talents linked to Dawud Wharnsby-Ali are sports writer Tim Wharnsby and former Canadian hockey player, sports announcer and member of parliament Howie Meeker.

[edit] Discography of Solo Work

  • Vacuous Waxing (Enter Into Peace, 2005)
  • Love Strong - CD Single (Enter Into Peace, 2004)
  • The Prophet's Hands (Sound Vision, 2003)
  • Sunshine, Dust And The Messenger (Sound Vision, 2002)
  • The Letter - Songs Of Struggle And Hope (Enter Into Peace/Sound Vision, 1999)
  • The Road To Madinah (Sound Vision, 1998)
  • The Colours Of Islam (Enter Into Peace/Sound Vision, 1998)
  • A Whisper of Peace (Enter Into Peace/Sound Vision, 1996)
  • Blue Walls And The Big Sky (Enter Into Peace, 1995)

[edit] Discography of Collaborative Work

  • Allah Knows (With Zain Bhikha) (Jamal Records, 2006)
  • I Look, I See (With Yusuf Islam) (Jamal Records, 2005)
  • Celebrate! Holidays of The Global Village (With Chris McKhool) (Independent, 2005)
  • Expressions of Faith (Various Artists) (MCB, 2005 - UK Release only)
  • Days of Eid (Various Artists) (Sound Vision, 2004)
  • Salaam (With Irfan Makki) (Sound Vision, 2003)
  • In Praise of The Last Prophet (With Yusuf Islam and Friends) (Jamal Records, 2002)
  • Bismillah (With Yusuf Islam and Friends) (Jamal Records, 2001)
  • Faith (With Zain Bhikha) (Jamal Records, 2001)
  • Light Upon Light (Various Artists) (Sound Vision, 2000)
  • Fine Flowers in The Valley (With Heather Chappell) (Three Keyed Maple Seeds, 1994)
  • Off To Reap The Corn (With Heather Chappell) (Three Keyed Maple Seeds, 1993)

[edit] Discography of Narrative Work

  • Companions of The Prophet (Sound Vision, 2004)
  • A Simple Guide To Prayer (With Yusuf Islam) (Mountain Of Light, 2001)
  • Timeless Wisdom Volume 1 (Sound Vision, 2001)
  • Timeless Wisdom Volume 2 (Sound Vision, 2001)
  • 40 Hadith (Introduced by Dawud Wharnsby) (Sound Vision, 2000)
  • Gifts of Muhammad (Introduced by Dawud Wharnsby) (Sound Vision, 2000)

[edit] Music Videos

  • Midnight (2006)
  • Midnight (short film version) (2006)
  • Allah Knows (with Zain Bhikha) (2006)
  • You Can't Take It With You (With Zain Bhikha) (2006)

[edit] Published Work

[edit] Selected Television & Video Appearances

  • As Salamu Alaikum! (Sound Vision, 2005) (Soundtrack and actor/puppeteer)
  • A New Life In A New Land (Milo Productions/University of Saskatoon/NFB, 2004) (Soundtrack and host)
  • BBC Schools - Watch Celebrations: Ramadan And Eid (BBC Scotland, 2003) (Host)
  • Sing, Children of The World (Sound Vision, 2002) (Host)
  • Stories Behind The Songs (Sound Vision, 2002) (Host)
  • Rhythm of Islam (Sound Vision, 2002) (Host)
  • Alif Is For Allah (Sound Vision, 2000) (Soundtrack and actor/puppeteer)
  • The Humble Muslim (Sound Vision, 1999) (Soundtrack and actor/puppeteer)
  • Ramadan Mubarak (Sound Vision, 1998) (Soundtrack and actor/puppeteer)
  • To Catch A Thief (John Howard Society of Canada, 1990) (Actor)

[edit] External links

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