A member of a musical family that traces its musical lineage back to 500 years, Shafqat Ali Khan is the proud flag bearer of the Shamcharasi Gharana. This remarkable musical family is linked to two prominent court musicians in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, who was a great patron of the arts. Shafqat was a child prodigy and gave his first public performance at the age of 7 at the Lahore Music Festival in 1979. He has, since then gone on to perform widely in Pakistan and internationally, both at concert venues and at venues like the Smithsonian Institute and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He has received many awards and accolades, both at home and abroad. In addition to carrying forward the classical tradition of his family or Gharana, Shafqat also is a master of Ghazal gaiki or singing a much loved genre in the Sub-Continent. His virtuosity also extends to Sufi singing and folk renditions of well-loved Punjabi and Saraiki music. He has recorded with many well-known labels like EMI (India), Nimbus (UK), Folk Heritage (Pakistan), etc.

Commenting on his performance, the New York Times says, “exuberant complications, in which melodic gestures join hand waving and synchronized finger-pointing to form an eloquent symbiosis”.

 Pandit Ramesh Misra - Sarangi

A well known name in Indian Classical music, Pandit Misra masters an ancient and challenging instrument, the Sarangi and is recognized as one of its foremost maestros.
Pandit (Master) Misra, began his musical journey at a young age, and his first teacher was his father. He went on to receive training from some of the most illustrious masters of Benaras Gharana (musical school), namely Pandit Hanuman Prasad Misra and the late Pandit Gopal Misra. Currently he is under the tutelage of Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Pandit Misra has performed both within India and abroad, and has received high merits and awards both at home and overseas. He maintains his high standards of playing both classical and light classical Indian music, and has accompanied many renowned artists.
Presently Pandit Misra lives, performs ans teaches in New York City, adding to rich cultural tapestry of the city.

A native of Bangladesh,  Subir began his training in tabla in his homeland and later, after moving to Montreal, Canada undertook several years of training in North Indian classical music with Dr. Narendra Verma. He regularly accompanies artists from India including Vinay Bhide, Aruna Narayan Kalle and Sumitra Guha and works in a wide array of collaborations such as Jorane, Michel Cusson, Chantal Chamady, Matapat and Musa Dien Kala. Subir Dev has earned himself an international reputation as a composer and producer of new South Asian music and works with Kashif and DJViscious.

Jorane will take her hats off

Shafqat Ali Khan, the vocalist, uses his voice in a most surprising manner that will surprise even Jorane. The instrument called Sarangi has a sound that reminds us of human voice and Pandit Ramesh Misra seems to know its every secret. Subir Dev with the Tabla, who has already collaborated with Jorane, is quite splendid. The gestures of Shafqat Ali Khan were really heavy and made us listen to the music with eyes closed. These are gestures to which we are not at all accustomed. A certain monotony came about nevertheless and we left at the intermission, but just by its uniqueness, this concert was worthwhile attending. A most honorable mention for Kabir Centre for giving explanations in French and also for the welcome address in our own language, even though native French speakers were really a minority at the concert. Hats off and long life!

- Yves Perreault