The Sabri Brothers () were two brothers from Pakistan who, performing as a musical duo at the head of their ensemble, were legendary exponents of Sufi qawwali music. Closely connected to the Chishti Order, they are widely considered to be among the greatest Sufi qawwali singers of all time. The ensemble was fronted by Ghulam Farid Sabri and his younger brother Maqbool Ahmed Sabri. Often referred to as the Shahanshah-e-Qawwali (the Emperors of Qawwali), they also became celebrated globally as the "roving ambassadors of Pakistan".
The band was initially founded by Maqbool Ahmed Sabri at the age of 11 years and was known as the Bacha Qawwal Party. His elder brother Ghulam Farid Sabri joined after insistence from their father. He became the leader of the group, and the band soon became known as the Sabri Brothers. They were the first-ever Qawwali artists to perform qawwali in the United States and other Western countries; they were also the first-ever Asian artists to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1975.
Original members Ghulam Farid Sabri (b. 1930 in Kalyana, East Punjab – d. 5 April 1994 in Karachi; lead vocals, harmonium, leader of the ensemble till his death in 1994) Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (b. 12 October 1945 in Kalyana- d. 21 September 2011 in South Africa; leading member of the ensemble, lead vocals, harmonium, music composer, sole leader of the ensemble from Ghulam Farid Sabri's death in 1994 until his own death in 2011.) Kamal Ahmed Khan Sabri (b. 1935 – d. 2002; senior member, vocals, swarmandal, flexatone) Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri (b. 7 April 1949 in Karachi – d. 21 June 2021 in Karachi; senior member, vocals, bongo drums, tambourine; second lead singer/harmonium after Ghulam Farid Sabri's death in 1994; leader of the ensemble after Maqbool Ahmed Sabri's death in 2011) Umar Daraz (clapping / chorus) Abdul Aziz (clapping / chorus) Masihuddin (chorus, tanpura) Abdul Karim (dholak) Bilal Sabri (dholak) Mohammed Anwar (nal, tabla) Amjad Fareed Sabri (clapping / chorus, until the death of his father, Ghulam Farid Sabri), supporting vocalist until 1996, lead vocals, harmonium in his own separate band (assassinated on 22 June 2016) Fazal Islam Sabri (clapping / chorus) Azmat Farid Sabri (clapping/chorus) Sarwat Farid Sabri (clapping / chorus) Naveed Kamal Sabri (clapping / chorus) Zubair Kamal Sabri (clapping / chorus) Shumail Maqbool Sabri (clapping / chorus) Javed Kamal Sabri (clapping / chorus) Ghulam Jilani (clapping / chorus) Abdul Ghani (dholak) Zafar Islam Sabri (clapping / chorus) Muhammad Akram Warsi (clapping / chorus) Nadeem Siddiqui (clapping / chorus) Muhammad Ateeq Sabri (clapping / chorus)
Early life
The Sabri brothers learned music from their father, Inayat Hussain Sabri. He trained his sons in qawwali and Indian classical music. Their family came from a musical background, and claimed direct descent from Mian Tansen, who had played at the court of the 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar. Mehboob Baksh Ranji Ali Rang, their paternal grandfather, was a master musician of his time; Baqar Hussein Khan, their maternal grandfather, was a unique sitarist. Ghulam Farid Sabri, Kamal Ahmed Sabri, Maqbool Ahmed Sabri and Mehmood Ghaznavi Sabri furthered their knowledge of music under Ustad Fatehdin Khan, Ustad Ramzan Khan, and Ustad Latafat Hussein Khan Rampuri. They also furthered their knowledge of poetry under Hazrat Hairat Ali Shah Warsi, who was their mother's spiritual master.
Ghulam Farid Sabri's first public performance was at the annual Urs festival of Mubarak Shah in Kalyana (now in Haryana, India) in 1946. He had joined Ustad Kallan Khan's qawwali party in India. The family moved from Kalyana to Karachi, Pakistan following the Partition of India in 1947. In Pakistan, a wealthy businessman approached him and offered him a partnership in a nightclub, yet Ghulam Farid's reply was that he only wanted to sing qawwali, and he rejected the offer.
Maqbool Ahmed Sabri also showed musical talent from a young age, which was noticed by his school teacher who later asked Maqbool's father to further instruct him and guide him in the field of music. In 1955, when Maqbool was eleven years old, his brother-in-law got him a job singing at a theater in Karachi where he gave his first public performance. Later, with the help of his father, Maqbool formed a qawwali group at the age of eleven and named it Bacha Qawwal Party. The group's first public performance was in 1956 at an Urs ceremony held at the home of Jameel Amrohi, where he sang "Do Alam Ba Kakul Giraftar Daari" in the presence of many qawwals.
Soon afterwards, after insistence by their father, Ghulam Farid Sabri joined him and became the leader of the ensemble, which was initially known as Ghulam Farid Sabri Qawwal Rangeen Raagi & Party. Afterwards, the name of the party was changed to Ghulam Farid Sabri – Maqbool Ahmed Sabri Qawwal & Party. During their 1975 American tour, their promoter Beate Gordon suggested the band name was too long, so they changed it to The Sabri Brothers.
Career Early career The Sabri Brothers initially started their career by performing at Sufi Shrines and private gatherings, Their first recording was officially released in 1958 under the EMI Pakistan label, was the Urdu qawwali titled "Mera Koi Nahi Hai Tera Siwa", which later appeared in the 1965 Pakistani film Ishq-e-Habib.
1970s
1970s witnessed the rise of the Sabri Brothers. They are the only qawwali troupe with "first class" status on the Pakistan Television Corporation.
In 1970, the government of Pakistan sent them to Nepal as representatives for a royal wedding.
During the 1970s, the Sabri Brothers released their greatest hit qawwalis which included "Tajdar-e-Haram", "O Sharabi Chord De Peena", "Khwaja Ki Deewani", and "Sar E La Makan Se Talab Hui."
Several qawwalis sung by them were even featured in films, which included "Mohabbat Karne Walo Hum Mohabbat Iss Ko Kehte Hai" in the 1970 film Chand Suraj, "Aaye Hai Tere Dar Pe Toh Kuch Le Ke Jaen Ge" in the 1972 film Ilzam, "Bhar Do Jholi Meri Ya Muhammad" in the 1975 film Bin Badal Barsaat, "Baba Farid Sarkar" in the 1974 film Sasta Khoon Mehnga Pani, "Teri Nazr-e-Karam Ka Sahara Mile" in the 1976 film Sachaii, "Mamoor horha hai" in the 1977 film Dayar-e-Paighambran and "Aftab-e-Risalat" in the 1979 Indian film Sultan-e-Hind.
In 1972, they performed a charity concert for the construction of Pakistani Children School in Abu Dhabi. In the same year, with the co-operation of Oriental Star Agencies, the Sabri Brothers performed in various cities in England such as London, Bradford, Birmingham and Manchester, which was very popular. The proceeds of these programs were donated to an Earthquake Relief Fund in Pakistan.
The Sabri Brothers were the first-ever qawwali artists to perform in United States, Europe, and other Western countries. They were the first exponents of qawwali to the West when they performed at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1975, promoted and sponsored by Beate Gordon of the Asia Society. The Sabri Brothers performed in the United States and Canada under the auspices of the Performing Arts Program of the Asia Society in 1975 and recorded a qawwali program at Brooklyn College Television Center.
In 1975, the Sabri Brothers toured and performed at live concerts in South Africa. Inspired by their live concerts in South Africa, Chevrolet gifted an automatic car to the Sabri Brothers, which they donated for the development of poor children. They also donated the proceeds of their live concerts on that tour towards famine relief in South Africa.
The Sabri Brothers performed at Royal Albert Hall on 20 June 1976 at the World of Islam Festival. In April 1978, the album Qawwali was recorded in the United States, while the Sabri Brothers were on tour. The New York Times''' review described the album as "the aural equivalent of dancing dervishes" and the "music of feeling."
In 1977, the Sabri Brothers toured India; their concerts were attended by many Bollywood celebrities. During that tour they recorded Aftaab E Risalat Madine Mei Hai which was featured in the 1979 Bollywood film Sultan E Hind Khwaja Garib Nawaz. Aftab E Risalat's music video even featured an appearance by the Sabri Brothers and was a blockbuster hit.
In 1977, they recorded the album Pakistan: The Music of the Qawwal for the UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music which was later released in CD form by Auvidis in 1990.
In 1979, they performed a charity concert for the construction of Karachi School of Art which was later released in album Sabri Brothers Live in Concert at Ali Bhai Auditorium.
1980s
In June 1981, the Sabri Brothers performed at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam which was released on the album Tasleem.
In 1982, they appeared in the film Sahaaray with their famous qawwali "Tajdar-e-Haram." The same year they performed at Midway Hotel for the construction of Al Shifa Hospital near Karachi Airport.
In 1983, they recorded the album Nazre Shah Karim to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of His Highness Prince Aga Khan, sponsored by Tajico Group. The proceeds from this album were donated to Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi. On 3 August 1985, a program was held at Sheraton Hotel, Karachi and collected Rs. 141,500/- for the Bangladesh Flood Relief Fund.
In 1985, Maqbool Ahmed Sabri recorded a solo ghazal album in front of a live audience in Karachi; the album was released as Awargi, which was a blockbuster hit. The album had a collection of light playful poetry written by Farhat Shahzad.
In 1988 EMI Pakistan released another solo ghazal album by Maqbool Ahmed Sabri titled Tere Ghungroo Toot Gaye to Kya, which was a hit. The same year, he recorded a qawwali song for music director Anu Malik in the Indian movie Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswati, which was picturised on Mithun Chakraborty.
In 1989, the Sabri Brothers performed at WOMAD festival concerts which were held in UK and France. During their tour of the UK in 1989, the Sabri Brothers recorded an album which was released as the album Ya Habib in 1990 by Peter Gabriel's Real World Records. The album Ya Habib consists of four long songs, each combining powerful, sensitive, often improvised vocals with rhythmic percussion, thudding tabla and mesmeric harmonium drones, which proved to be one of the Sabri Brothers' greatest hits. The same year, they performed at International Flamenco Festival held in France.
In 1989 and 1992, Sabri Brothers performed at various South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation festivals.
1990s
In 1990, the Sabri Brothers performed at various qawwali concerts in England.
In 1991, Ghulam Farid Sabri toured Europe and performed qawwali in the United Kingdom and Germany. He also performed at held in Germany in 1991. The same year, Maqbool Ahmed Sabri toured and performed in various qawwali concerts held in South Africa.
In 1992, the Sabri Brothers, led by Ghulam and Maqbool, toured Australia and performed at the Hope Theater in Melbourne, Australia. Their tour of Australia was sponsored by the Friends of the University of Wollongong. The same year they performed at a fundraiser in Dubai to benefit Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. In 1992 they also performed in various countries for the SAARC festival.
In 1993, the Sabri Brothers once again toured the United States and performed at various qawwali concerts there.