Ghazal Maestro Jaswinder Singh mesmerizes Chicago audience

Chicago IL: A musical evening was brought to Chicagoland by Monty Sayed (Vibrant Media Group), Dr. Siraj Ahmed (DCA-Deccan Cultural Academy) and Kaleem Hasan along with national promoter Sikandar Khan who presented “Parwaaz, a Tribute to the Legends of Ghazal” by Ghazal singing sensation Jaswinder Singh on Saturday, December 24th 2016 at Shalimar Banquets, 280 West North Avenue, Addison, IL. The young Ghazal Maestro has been enthralling audiences all over the USA during his 2017 tour.

Vibrant Media Group, a premier entertainment management company owned by Monty Syed is well known for bringing some of the biggest names from the Indian and Pakistani entertainment industry to Chicagoland. DCA (Deccan Cultural Academy), a non-profit organization, started by Dr. Siraj Ahmed is a proud supporter of Masti-Entertainment and Chicago Ki Awaaz. DCA’s to support the dissemination of art and culture of the Indian subcontinent here in the United States. DCA along with Masti-Entertainment have been actively supporting singers and providing a platform for local talent in Chicagoland.

Jaswinder Singh was accompanied by talented musicians such as Vishal Dhumal, one of the fastest keyboard players and Ojas Adhiya, a Limca book of records winner for Tabla. The trio mesmerized the music lovers for about four hours. He sang ghazals and many Punjabi songs which rocked the crowd. The audience was not only pleased with the performance, but was glued to their seats during the melodious rendition of the ghazals. The exuberance of the crowd was palpable with the magic of each word sung, each note hit, each pounding of the tabla, and each keystroke on the keyboard. Even the weather took its cue from the magnificent ghazals, creating warmth from the winter sun in the banquet hall. The event was attended by over 400 people that included dignitaries, community leaders, supporters and fans.

In 2006, Jaswinder Singh performed with Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar for the theatrical production “Kaifi Aur Main". His ghazals, full of romance, love and melody touched the hearts of music lovers at "Ishq-2012". He was inspired by none other than the legendary Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, whose death left a vacuum in the Ghazal world.

In today’s fast paced world, music is something that brings people together from all walks of life. Among all the genres, ghazal is the music of introspection; compelling us to connect with our inner self, thereby bringing utmost joy and peace. Ghazal music usually revolves around a few common themes such as unreciprocated love, unmitigated love nearing madness, mystical reflection and even social commentaries ridiculing and highlighting religious orthodoxy. But the most important theme of ghazals is unrequited love. The traditional ghazals are similar to the Hindustani classical music forms such as ‘Dadra’ and ‘Thumri’. Jaswinder Singh sang beautiful ghazals like “Tum ko dekha toh ye khyal aaya” from the film ‘Arth’, “Woh kagaz ki kashti, woh barish ka pani”, “Dama dum mast kalander”, “Chithi aayi hai”, “Hotho se choo lo tum, mera geet amar kardo” to name a few.

Jaswinder Singh’s inspiration and support was his father Kuldip Singh, a legendary composer who had the good fortune of composing famous tunes for Jagjit Singh; one of them being the famous “Tumko dekha To Ye khyal Aya”. He is trained in classical singing by Dr. Sushila Pohankar and Pt Ajay Pohankar. Jaswinder Singh is the most promising Ghazal Singer of this generation with a soft and silky voice and has proved his mettle as an artist. Ghazal Maestro Jagjit Singh has played a vital role in inspiring Jaswinder’s work. After years of fine tuning his art, he has perfected the nuances of Ghazal singing that differentiates the ordinary from the rare.

Mr Singh has many awards to his credits like Best Singer in ‘Sa-Re-Ga-Ma’ on ZEE TV, ‘The Young Ghazal Maestro’ award by Indian Music Academy which was presented by Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia in the presence of the former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. He was also awarded the Trophy of Outstanding Singer by Eminent Music Maestros like Pandit Vilayatkhan Saheb, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Smt. Girjadevi, Pandit Ramnarayan, Shri Anil Biswas and Ustad Zakir Hussain. He has also sung for various tele serials and films such as "Train to Pakistan and Amritsar".

Jaswinder Singh, striking a humble tone said that “I am nothing before the great Jagjit Singh Ji but I try my best to create love for ghazals in the hearts of all generations, particularly amongst youngsters and teenagers through my singing.” Jaswinder Singh also expressed his love and emotions for Chicagoland and its audience, “Chicago concerts are very close to my heart because of the immense love and blessings I receive from everyone here”. The show was very well organized and the security, under the direction of tour bodyguard Zaim Becovic also did an excellent job. Local promotors (especially Kaleem Hasan) and their teams put a lot of effort into making this concert memorable for years to come. This show will remain one of the best shows in Chicagoland in 2016 and beyond.