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Riyaaz Qawwali's eastern musical influences include Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ravi Shankar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sher Ali Mehr Ali, Jagjit Singh, Jasraj, Bhimsen Joshi and Abida Parveen. His poetry favorites are Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, Amir Khusrrau, Saint Kabir, Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Ghalib and Shiv Kumar Batalvi.
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A UNIQUEQAWWALI GROUP Riyaaz Qawwali
Definitionof Qawwali Qawwali is a venerable yet refreshing musical tradition that dates back to the late 13th century. The word qaul refers to an "utterance (oftheprophet)"andthefirstQawwals(qawwali artists) repeated these qauls by making them thesubjectmatteroftheirqawwalis.
About Riyaaz QawwaliGroup RiyaazQawwalirepresentstheuniquediversityandpluralityofSouthAsia.Theensemble’smusicians,whoare settledintheUnitedStates,hailfromIndia,Pakistan,Afghanistan,andBangladeshandrepresentmultiple religiousandspiritualbackgrounds.Trainedineasternandwesternclassicalmusic,themembershavebeen professionally performing qawwali for the past twelve years. With conservative growth and heightened attentiontoquality,RiyaazQawwalihasperformedacrossthecontinentalU.S.,inPanamaandEurope. RiyaazQawwali’smissionistoexposeqawwalitonew audiences, while still paying homage to traditional qawwalithathasbeeninexistencefor700+years.The ensemblewantstoexpandthereachofthegenreto newstagesandpeopleofotherfaithsandtraditions. ThefoundingmembersofRiyaazQawwalichosethe qawwali genre of music because it houses unique musicalelementsinitsrepertoirethatarenotfoundin anyotherformofSouthAsianmusic.
Wadali BrothersSongs MostofthemusiciansinRiyaazQawwalihavefull- timejobs,employedinoil&gas,inhealthcare,and even higher education. They are all too familiar withcorporateexpectationsandthedemandsthat ofsuchanenvironment.Wecanrelatetothe9to5 grind.ListentofamousWadalibrotherssongs.
Riyaaz Qawwali combines this with poetry from famous South Asian poets of multiple linguistic and religious backgroundstocreateauniversalmessageofoneness(RiyaazQawwaliincorporatesworksfrompoeticgiantslike MirzaGhalib,AmirKhusrow,BullehShah,MirTaqiMir,SantKabirandGuruNanak,andindoingso,hopesto expose these poets’ works to new audiences and younger generations). Riyaaz Qawwali also uses numerous languagestorepresentthelinguisticandculturaldiversitythatexistsinSouthAsia.TheselanguagesincludeUrdu, Punjabi,Persian,Gujarati,andHindi.
Ghazal inUSA AGhazalisacollectionofcoupletscalledshersthatrhymeandhavea common refrain. Spend an amazing evening full of satin words and wonderful spirits. Enjoy Ghazal in USA. Integral to our mission is performingatnewplacesandsharingqawwaliwithnewaudiences. Last year, we did just that! 2015 started off on a high, with a performance at New York’s GlobalFest which is the launching pad for upcoming world musicians! We had the chance to perform at The WebsterHall.IsabelSoffer,thefestival’sco-directorexclaimedthatit’s beenherdreamtohaveqawwalirepresentedatGlobalFest!
Rahat Fateh AliKhan ThesongswhichconstitutetheqawwalisungbyRiyaazQawwali repertoirearemostlyinUrduandPunjabi(almostequallydivided betweenthetwo),althoughthereareseveralsongsinBrajbhasha andPersian.Thepoetryisimplicitlyunderstoodtobespiritualin its meaning and the central themes are love, devotion and longing(for the Divine). With a harmonious blend of South Asian and the Western influences, Sonny K. Mehta leads the ensemble as the artistic director for Riyaaz Qawwali. His eastern musical influences include Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ravi Shankar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,SherAliMehrAli,JagjitSingh,Jasraj,BhimsenJoshiand AbidaParveen.
HispoetryfavoritesareBullehShah,BabaFarid,AmirKhusrrau,SaintKabir,MirTaqiMir,MirzaGhaliband ShivKumarBatalvi.Heisequallymovedbywesternartistsindiversegenresincludingblues,pop,rap,gospel, countryandspokenword.
ContactUs 6910 Hidden Treasure,Friendswood, Texas, 77546,USA Phone Number:+832-875-4139 Email:riyaazqawwali@gmail.com
ThankYou! Website:http://riyaazqawwali.com/