Naseeruddin Saami
Naseeruddin Saami | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nasiruddin Mahmoud 1/1/1946 Delhi, India |
| Known for | Known for: Khayal singing, Microtonal mastery |
| Notable work | God is not a terrorist, Ustad Saami (Glitterbeat Records, January 2019); Pakistan is for the peaceful, Ustad Saami (Glitterbeat, October 2020); East Pakistan Sky, Ustad Saami (Glitterbeat Records, October 2021) |
| Style | Qawwal Bacha Gharana [Delhi Gharana, Tanrus Khan Sahab] |
| Spouse | Mah Laqa Shahana Begum |
| Children | Rauf Saami, Urooj Saami, Azeem Saami, Ahmed Ghani Saami |
| Awards | Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2013; Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) Award by the Government of Pakistan in 2007; Lifetime Achievement Award, All Pakistan Music Conference; Lifetime Achievement Award, Lahore Literary Festival; Songlines Music Award 2022 - Asia & Pacific |
Ustaad Naseeruddin Saami (born 1946) is a classical singer from Pakistan.
He is called ustad for his mastery of subcontinental classical music. Ustad Saami is one of the world’s most revered living masters of Khayal, the oldest form of classical South Asian singing, rooted in the Delhi Gharana musical tradition founded by his ancestors. His lineage traces back to Miyan Samath, a disciple of Hazrat Ameer Khusro, and his family’s musical heritage has been closely tied to the spiritual court of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya for centuries.
He is best known for his Khyal style of singing and is the only living practitioner of the complex 49-microtonal Surti scale. Through oral tradition, he has transmitted this rare knowledge to his four sons—Muhammad Rauf, Muhammad Urooj Khan, Ahmed Ghani, and Muhammad Azeem Jawwad—of whom the elder two, Rauf and Urooj, have now attained mastery. He is additionally known especially for his steadiness of note and pitch which differentiates him from other musicians. His sons continue his legacy with their under their family group, the Saami Brothers.