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About Riffat Sultana and Party
Riffat Sultana is the first woman from her family’s musical
lineage to publicly perform in the west She is the daughter of Ustad Salamat
Ali Khan, who was universally recognized and acclaimed as the finest Pakistani
Classical singer of his time. Riffat’s family represents a 500-year
lineage of musicians hailing from the Sham Chaurasi Gharana (school of
music). The Ali Khan family are direct descendents of two famed court
musicians, Suraj (of the Sun) Khan and Chand (of the Moon) Khan, who performed
Morning and Evening Ragas respectively for the artistically devoted Mughal
Emperor Akbar the Great.
Riffat learned the nuances of her family’s musical tradition from
her father and her brothers, all acclaimed singers in their own right.
Her family background as well the countless other musical influences she
absorbed growing up in Lahore, Pakistan have shaped Riffat into a unique
artist worthy of distinction in the world music genre Riffat currently
performs in a wide variet of musical configurations including her world-trance
band SHABAZ that
Riffat’s vocals have been recorded for numerous labels including
Ark 21/Universal, Triloka/Mercury, Hearts of Space, City of Tribes, 6
Degrees and XDot25. She has worked with producers Narada Michael Walden
and Miles Copeland.
Riffat
frequently performs with her trio, “Riffat Sultana and Party”,
accompanied by Shiraz Ali Khan on 12 string guitar and Ferhan Najeeb Qureshi
on tabla. Shiraz, Riffat’s husband, is also a student of Ustad Salamat
Ali Khan. Ferhan is a disciple of Ustad Tari Khan, one of the finest Tabla
players performing today. The group performs a wide variety of traditional
and modern material thrilling audiences of all types.
More
about Riffat
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Richard
Michos aka Shiraz Ali Khan Riffat's Husband, guitarist Richard Michos,
along with Ferhan Qureshi, is the driving force of Riffat Sultana &
Party. A student of Riffat's father, the incomparable Ustad Salamat Ali
Khan, Richard honors the blessing of his father in law. He has worked
extensivley with the guitar, and in the recording studio to blend music
from Pakistan to the Middle East with Western and International styles.
He also leads Riffat's full seven piece band, Shabaz, which is signed
to Miles Copeland Ark 21 label.
Recently Richard and Riffat have been working with renowned artists such
as Producer Narada Michael Walden, Egyptian singer Hakim, and Riffat extraordinarily
talented brother, Shafqat Ali Khan. They have also performed at major
music festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival and LA's Grand Performances.
Richard is a graduate of UC San Diego with a degree in Music composition
and technology and has Produced many commercially available albums, some
of which are pictured below. Record label's he has produced and recorded
for include MondoMelodia, City of Tribes, Hearts of Space, Six Degrees,
and Xdot25. He has worked as a sound design specialist for Sonic Foundry
software, and toured extensivly as a guitarist. His most exciting current
project is the finalizing of the debut CD from Riffat Sultana and Party.
Salar Nader
"For more info about Salar" www.salarnader.com
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Ferhan Najeeb Qureshi has been a student of tabla and traditional
Pakistani/Indian music for the last 8 years. He is a disciple of the tabla
maestro Ustad Tari Khan who is universally recognized as one of the foremost
tabla players performing today. Ustad Tari Khan learned tabla from Miyan
Shuakat Hussain Khansahib, the most celebrated tabla player in Pakistan's
musical history. Prior to studying with Ustad Tari Khan, Ferhan took his
initial lessons in music theory and practice with Shri Surrinder Mann
Singh (a senior disciple of the late Ustad Allah Rakha).
Ferhan studies the Punjab gharana (school or style) of classical tabla
which both of his teachers represent. Ferhan's focus is primarily on classical/traditional
music, but he has become involved with various other projects recently.
He frequently performs with members of the Bay Area artist collective
Dhamaal, and is also a member of the Pakistani Folk Music Ensemble Riffat
Sultana and Party. He has accompanied numerous distinguished classical
artists on stage, including Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan, Ustad Habib Khan,
Ustad Altaff Hussain, Riffat Sultana, Sukhawat Ali Khan, Shri Mukesh Desai,
Dr. Waheed Siddiqui, and Shri Arnab Chakravarty, among others. He has
also had the honor of accompanying Ustad Ali Akbar Khan during Khansahib's
vocal and instrumental classes at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San
Raphael. Ferhan is the Director of Artist Management at Bol Records and
is diligently working towards the promotion of traditional Pakistani and
Indian music in the Bay Area.
Booking
Info: (415) 860-0066
alikhan1@mindspring.com
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