| The Sabri Brothers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Kalyana, East Punjab |
| Genres | Qawwali |
| Years active | 1956-present |
| Labels | Arion Auvidis UNESCO Real World Piranha Oriental Star Agencies Xenophile Sirocco Nonesuch |
| Members | |
| Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri (1975 – present) | |
| Past members | |
| Ghulam Farid Sabri (1930–94) Kamal Sabri (? -2001) Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (1945–2011) |
|
The Sabri Brothers (Urdu: صابری برادران) are a Qawwali party from Pakistan.
Contents |
The Sabri Brothers originally consisted of Ghulam Farid Sabri (b. 1930 in Kalyana, East Punjab – d. April 5, 1994 in Karachi; lead vocals, harmonium), Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (b. October 12, 1945 in Kalyana – d. September 21, 2011 in South Africa;[1] lead vocals, harmonium), Kamal Sabri (d. 2001; vocals, swarmandal), Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri (b. 1949 in Karachi; vocals, bongo drums, tambourine), Fazal Islam (chorus), Azmat Farid Sabri (chorus), Sarwat Farid Sabri (chorus), Javed Kamal Sabri (chorus), Umer Daraz (chorus), Abdul Aziz (chorus), Masihuddin (chorus, tanpura), Abdul Karim (dholak), and Mohammed Anwar (nal, tabla).
The Sabri brothers learnt music from their father, Ustad Inayat Sen Sabri. He trained his sons in Qawwali and North Indian classical music. Their first public performance was at the annual Urs festival of Hazrat Peer Mubarak Shah in Kalyana in 1946. The family moved from Kalyana India to Karachi, Pakistan following the Partition of India in 1947. Maqbool furthered his knowledge of music under Ustad Fatehdin Khan, Ustad Ramzan Khan, and Ustad Latafat Hussein Khan Rampuri. With the help of his father, Maqbool formed a Qawwali group at the age of eleven. Soon afterwards, Ghulam Farid, who was then performing with Ustad Kallan Khan's Qawwali party, joined him and became the leader of the party, which soon came to be known as Sabri Brothers.
Their first recording, released in 1958 under the EMI Pakistan label, was the Urdu Qawwali, Mera Koi Nahin Hai. Their later hits included Tajdaar-E-Haram (King of the Kaaba, 1975) and Balaghal Ula Be Kamalehi (Reaching the Highest Heights Through Perfection, 1977). They were the first exponents of Qawwali to the West, when they performed at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1975. They played the Womad festival in the UK in 1989 – one of a series of appearances there – and released the album Ya Habib (O Beloved) on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records label the following year.[2] The Sabri Brothers is the only qawwali troupe which has a "first class" status in the Pakistan Television Corporation. Popular film and recording artists in Pakistan, the Sabri Brothers troupe has toured Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In 1970 the Government of Pakistan sent them to Nepal as representatives for the royal wedding. In 1975 they performed in the United States and Canada under the auspices of The Performing Arts Program of The Asia Society.. The group is now led by Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri.
Over the years, several of their qawwalis have featured in films. Mera Koi Nahin Hai appeared in the 1965 film Ishq-e-Habib, Mohabbat Karne Walo in the 1970 film Chand Suraj, Aaye Hain Tere Dar Pe in the 1972 film Ilzam, Bhar Do Johli Meri Ya Muhammad in the 1975 film Bin Badal Barsaat, Teri Nazr-e-Karam in the 1976 film Sachaii, Tajdar-e-Haram in the 1982 film Sahaaray, and Aftab-e-Risalat in the 1977 Indian film Sultan-e-Hind.