Brooklyn Qawwali Party

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"Some of the smartest and most deeply enjoyable working bands in New York these days are essentially repertory groups, taking the music of a single composer or a single far-afield idiom and feeding it back through a new sensibility. Liking Brooklyn Qawwali Party doesn't depend on if you know what Qawwali is. (It's ancient Sufi devotional music from the Indian subcontinent; each piece is long and heavily rhythmic, working up to climax after climax.) Nor does it depend on how you feel about Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, its most revered practitioner. BQP piles texture into Mr. Khan's melodies, ultimately transforming them; it's joyous music, and this band adds all the extra fun and funk it knows." - Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

"...like somehow Pakistan met Brooklyn in the Nigerian compound of the late Fela Kuti..." - John Schaefer of National Public Radio/WNYC



Paying tribute to one of the world's great vocalists, Brooklyn Qawwali Party formed to honor the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, reworking his thunderous songs for an eclectic, eleven-piece orchestra comprised of groundbreaking jazz musicians. Funky, smart, and loving, BQP captures the joyful spirit of this Pakistani folk music in a unique instrumental blend of jazz and Qawwali. With five horns, guitar, bass, harmonium, and three percussionists, this band's buoyant rhythm will be sure to get you on your feet and clapping. After selling out Joe's this past February, BQP is excited to return to the Pub.



Photo Credit: Jacob Blickenstaff