Source:Rediff News Network

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan makes the purist pop of all

by Jon Garelick ![“NusratAfro-pop enthusiasts boogie to Salif Keita, Kanda Bongo Man, Youssou N’Dour, and Angélique Kidjo. Proud Celts have Clannad, Altan, and the Chieftains. Brazilian pop fanatics worship Milton Nascimento. But in Alternative Nation, the world-music man of the moment is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The one-sheet from his publicist is an alterna-rock wet dream. Peter Gabriel, Trent Reznor, and Eddie Vedder have all worked with him. Joan Osborne wants to study with him. Jeff Buckley has interviewed him for Interview, and techno brats are vying for the remix rights. And the Nusrat bonanza continues, with several new albums and an appearance this Sunday, April 28, on VH-1 (9 p.m.) as part of the VH-1 Honors tribute to the Witness human-rights organization.

The term " first contact" is often used when a new life-form is discovered in Alien Movies. This Concert performance of NFAK was nothing less than " The First Contact" of the french audience present in the crowd with Music of “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan”. When coming out of the concert, most of them felt deeply moved or even transported to different reality (as they themselves reported), the last two hours were imprinted on their lives forever….

Before I post the audio and video links to this performance, lets first talk about this concert in particular and why I feel that it’s best ever. First, NFAK was in his best improvisation mood that day, placed in front of a almost french crowd, who he knew wouldn’t understand a word he utters, sargams and fireworks were the best he could do, and it lead to some of the best improvisations ever.

JIM WASHBURN | THE TIMES

Unlike many popular singers who have wildly animated styles, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan performs seated, as implacably planted on the stage floor as a bean-bag chair. But though he may be rooted to the spot physically, the Pakistani singer’s voice launches into incredible, propulsive flights of melismatic abandon as he strains to embody the content of his songs, and his hands and arms often gesticulate and fly with the emotion of his singing.

Passion’s Player - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from an American Magazine Cover in 1993