Ustad Naseeruddin Saami will be collaborating with Grammy-winning producer Ian Brennan.
Irish-American record producer Ian Brennan has worked with musicians all over the world; from Italy to Cambodia. His collaboration with musicians from Rwanda and Mali for an album called Tinariwen won him a Grammy for World Music in 2011.
Now it seems like the producer has his eyes set on Pakistan. He has joined forces with one of the greatest living classical singers, Ustad Naseeruddin Saami.
Brennan wants to showcase Ustad Sammi’s art of khayaal gaayaki. He wants to highlight the special emphasis the Ustad has on the elaboration of shurtiyaan or microtones.
“It is so vital that the depth of Pakistan’s wonderful music tradition be more greatly shared around the globe,” Ian Brennan wrote in an email conversation.
Referring to the political situation of the World and especially America when concerning Islam and Muslims, he added, “Never before has there been a more important time for countries around the world to gain an appreciation of Islam’s positive, loving, and profound spirituality.”
Ustad Sammi, whose disciples include singers Ali Sethi and Zeb Bangash, was also eager to work with Brennan after hearing the producer’s work. “There is honesty in this music,” the maestro remarked, adding that, “it tells the story of the musician and the place to which he belongs.”
Presently, the project’s funding is in the process but the hope is that it will be completed in a few months.
