The Sabri Brothers

The Sabri Brothers, Haji Ghulam Farid (or Fareed) Sabri (1930-1994) and Haji Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (also born in Kalyana in East Punjab, on October 12, 1945), they were taught music by their father, Ustad Haji Inayat Sen Sabri. The family claims descent from Mian Tansen, one of the greatest and most legendary Hindustani musicians of all time. The musically gifted Tansen was a musician in the court of Akbar and is credited with miraculous powers of musicianship. Maqbool Ahmed Sabri formed his first party of qawwals at the age of 11; soon afterwards in 1956 his elder brother (who had been singing with Kallan Khan's qawwal and party) joined him and the Sabri Brothers proper came about. Their career was marked by brotherly squabbles followed by periods of each doing solo work. The duo created a body of recorded work, consistent in quality, but rather more traditional than Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's recorded work. Ghulam Farid Sabri's funeral in Karachi was attended by an estimated 40,000 mourners. Haji Maqbool Ahmed Sabri continues to carry the torch.