Jaffar Hussain Khan was the greatest Qawwal in India in the last decades. He was an excellent singer, his music was very dense and very touching. He was a representative of an old and very traditional style of Qawwali. Qawwali at its very best. He studied Raga music with his legendary uncle Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan (see here two LPs we have posted in 2012) of the Rampur Gharana. He also learned Sitar from Ustad Wahid Khan. Later he learned Qawwali from Ustad Ghulam Ahmad and Ustad Bande Hussain.
He made several tours to Europe, the first one in 1981. In the 1990s a number of CDs by him were published in Germany (Academy of Indian Music), Japan (King Records), France (Inedit, the same label which has released our LP. The recordings of the CD are from 1992.), Holland (Pan Records). Finally also two cassettes came out on Music Today in India, which were later also released as CDs. All these recordings are wonderful.
Wajahat Hussain Khan, a descendant of Jaffar Hussain Khan and grandson and disciple of the great Nissar Hussain Khan of the same Rampur Gharana (see here an LP we posted in 2014), who is here the second singer, continued the tradition. Unfortunately he passed away in April 2014. In India a set of 3 CDs was published recently. Some of these CDs can be obtained from info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com.
