Najma Akhtar
Najma Akhtar (Akhtar pronounced eighth) (also short Najma) (* 18th September 1962 in Chelmsford , Essex ) is a British world music - and fusion - singer .
Life
Akhtar's parents are of Indian origin. Akhtar studied chemical engineering at Aston University in Birmingham . She began singing in 1984. After winning the Asian Song Contest , the first recording of a jazz album with Indian folkloric elements ( bhajans ) took place in 1986 in India. Akhtar's international debut took place in 1987 with the album Qareeb produced in England, which presents a selection of Indian Ghazals , which were set to music using a mixture of old oriental and modern Western melodies (with the participation of saxophonist Ray Carless).
The songs on this album became known to a wider public on international fashion shows and in the film Sammy and Rosie Get Laid . After the following live appearances, the album Atish ("Fire") was released in 1989 , followed by Pukar in 1991 . With Forbidden Kiss , she finally tried an adaptation of the Bollywood film scores by Indian composer Sachin Dev Burman .
Akhtar is also on albums by Jah Wobble ( Take Me to God ), Andy Summers ( The Golden Wire ), Steve Coleman ( Black Science ), Jimmy Page / Robert Plant ( No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded ), and Jethro Tull ( J-Tull Dot Com ).
Discographic notes
- Atish (1989, with Ray Carless, Clem Clempson , John Deemer, Talvin Singh )
- Pukar (Calling You) (1991)
- Vivid (2002)
- Najma Akhtar & Gary Lucas Rishte (2009)
Web links
- Literature by and about Najma Akhtar in the catalog of the German National Library
- Review of the Fariyaad album
- Biography
- Najma Akhtar at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Najma Akhtar in US debut. New York Times, November 7, 2018, accessed October 31, 2018
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Akhtar, Najma |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British jazz singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 18, 1962 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chelmsford , Essex , England , UK |