The 11th death anniversary of the world's most outstanding vocalists, the great Sufi Qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was observed on Saturday. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Pakistani singer who had worked with Western musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Peter Gabriel and progressive guitarist and producer Michael Brook, died at the age of 48, a private television channel reported.
Born into a family with a centuries-long tradition of Qawwali singing, Khan began recording in the early '70s after ignoring his father's wishes that he would pursue medicine. Nusrat Fateh Ali was considered as one of the greatest Qawwals in the world. He was a master of Qawwali singing, which combines lyrics from Sufi religious poems with hypnotic rhythms and vocal chants.
He never performed in English and sang in Urdu, Punjabi and Farsi. He also captivated many Westerners, including such musicians as Vedder, Joan Osborne and the late Jeff Buckley, as well as Hollywood types like Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. Khan had made a great impression on the music scene with his mix of Eastern poetic music with that of the West.
After travelling to London for treatment for liver and kidney problems, Khan was rushed from the airport to Cromwell Hospital, where he suffered a fatal heart attack. Khan departed from this sphere on the August 16, 1997, and will be missed immensely by his fans all across the globe.
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