Ali Brothers Deliver Well-Blended Vocals

It’s unlikely that either of the Ali Brothers will ever be described--as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan once was--as the “Pavarotti of Pakistan.”

Although, in their concert Saturday at UCLA’s Royce Hall, Mehr Ali and Sher Ali fully justified their status as major qawwali singers, their approach to the Sufi devotional music was noticeably different from that of the late and far better known Nusrat Khan.

Ten years ago, when qawwali was largely unknown to Western audiences, the differences might have seemed indistinct. But Southland listeners now have had regular opportunities to hear the music, often as performed by Khan relatives. And the vocal interaction Saturday, with its dramatic emphasis upon the poetry of devotional texts rather than the music, revealed clear contrasts with the more individually charismatic styles of Khan and his successors.

For the most part, the Ali Brothers’ 10-man ensemble of soloists, harmonium players, tabla drummer and vocal chorus performed as a collective, with lead singer Sher Ali’s dark-textured voice contrasted dramatically with his brother’s higher, more pointed sound.