Pakistan’s award-winning ensemble Hamza Akram Qawwal & Brothers return to Roulette with their acclaimed and riveting interpretation of qawwali, the ecstatic improvisational Sufi vocal tradition made famous in the West by the late Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The group builds a state of ecstasy through rhythmic handclapping, drumming, and powerful call-and-response vocals with songs ranging from 13th century mystical Persian poems to more recent Punjabi poems that speak of the intoxication of divine love.

The group are grandsons of the revered Munshi Raziuddin and represent the twenty-sixth generation of the seven centuries-old Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana of Delhi founded by Saamat bin Ibrahim, the first qawwal of the subcontinent and principal student of mystic Amir Khusrau. Hamza has studied with maestro Naseeruddin Saami, as well as with his uncle, Fareed Ayaz Qawwal, with whom he and his brothers have toured.

This event is a coproduction with Robert Browning Associates and Lotus Music & Dance.