Sunday, July 10th, 4:30 pm

Sukhawat Ali Khan Ensemble

A “which way west?” concert
from the Sham Chorasi gharana
tradition of Sufi music

Sukhawat Ali Khan‘s music is rooted in the 600-year-old Sham Chorasi traditional school of music, established by his direct ancestors during the reign of Emperor Akbar of India. His training in both classical raga and Sufi Qawwali singing began at the age of seven in Lahore, Pakistan under his father, legendary vocalist Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, widely considered the preeminent classical vocalist of his generation and famed as half of the revered Ali Brothers, who reigned supreme in the music beginning in the 1940s and continuing into the 1970s. The video at this link features Sukhawat and his brother Shafqat performing with their father.  The video linked to Sukhawat’s name at the top of this paragraph hints at the ease with which he travels with this profound music across time and continents.

Sukhawat and his sister Riffat Sultana both reside and perform in the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally.  Together with their siblings Shafqat Ali Khan, Sharafat Ali Khan and Latafat Ali Khan they carry on the family tradition of the Sham Chorasi gharana today.

Sukhawat has employed his unique ability to draw from traditional and contemporary musical forms to develop cross-cultural collaborations ably displayed in his groups Ji, Shukriya and Shabaz. Sukhawat has performed at the Montreal, Monterey and Prospect Park jazz festivals, the Fillmore in San Francisco, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, and many other major venues and music festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe.