The Saami Brothers: An Evening of Qawwali and Khayaal

Experience Qawwali, the soaring Sufi tradition of devotional song, and Khayal, North India's profoundly expressive art of vocal improvisation, in their most authentic form, performed by one of South Asia's most revered musical families. The Saami Brothers present an unforgettable evening of soaring vocals, sacred poetry, and music that has inspired collective spiritual experience for centuries. 

The Saami Brothers, Rauf, Urooj, Ahmed, and Azeem, are the sons and disciples of the critically acclaimed maestro Ustad Naseeruddin Saami. 

Winners of the prestigious Aga Khan Music Awards in 2025, the brothers bring extraordinary vocal precision and spiritual depth to every performance. Their training, passed down through their father and family elders, includes mastery of an exceptionally rare 49-note microtonal scale. Together, they are considered the foremost living custodians of the Qawwal Bacha Delhi Gharana, a musical lineage stretching back 800 years to Amir Khusrau, the 13th-century Sufi poet, musician, and scholar credited with shaping the very foundations of Qawwali.

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Experience the Music 

Where Qawwali moves through collective energy and devotional fervour, Khayaal draws the listener inward, into a space of quiet contemplation and emotional intimacy. Together, they represent two of the most profound expressions of the Sufi musical tradition. 

Qawwali

A Qawwali performance typically opens with meditative chanting and slow, steady rhythms, then builds in intensity through layered vocals, harmonium, and tabla, reaching ecstatic peaks intended to induce wajd: a state of spiritual rapture. The poetry, drawn from great Sufi mystics, speaks of love, longing, and union with the divine.

Its origins are traced to Amir Khusrau, who fused Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and Indian musical elements into a genre designed to move both musician and listener toward spiritual transcendence. 

In its traditional Riwayati form, the style performed by the Saami Brothers, Qawwali is preserved exactly as it has been passed down through generations, unchanged and uncompromised.

Khayaal

Khayaal, meaning "imagination" or "thought" in Urdu and Persian, is one of the most revered forms of Indian classical vocal music. Deeply improvisational and meditative in nature, it unfolds slowly, allowing the performer to explore a single raga with extraordinary depth and nuance. 

Community Partner: Virasat 

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For questions and inquiries about accessibility requests, please email us at boxoffice@smallworldmusic.com or call us at 416-536-5439.

This concert is part of Ishq Festival 2026, produced by Small World Music.

ISHQ Festival is made possible thanks to funding in part by Canada Council of the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, the Province of Ontario, and Toronto Arts Council.