Pakistani musician Founder member of the Sabri Brothers, Maqbool Sabri was a master of qawwali. Rooted in the mystical expression of Sufism, Sabri Brothers took qawwali, the devotional music, to the west. Qawwali is particularly popular in south Asia. Considered a master of improvisational wordplay Maqbool often made references in Urdu, Punjabi, Persian and Arabic to historical events or traditional poetry. The best performances often culminated in peaks of musical and vocal ecstasy. Along with his brother, Maqbool formed the group in 1957, recording 'Mera Koi Nahin Hai Tere Siwa' for EMI Pakistan in 1958, followed by 'Tajdaar-E-Haram' (1975) and 'Balaghal Ula Be Kamalehi' (1977). The Sabri Brothers' fame peaked in mid-1970s with a performance in New York and in a series of appearances in the UK in 1980s. Born in Kalyana, a village in the district of Rohtak, in eastern Punjab, Maqbool Sabri was initially educated in the north Indian classical tradition by his father. His family belongs to the Sabriyya order of Sufism, hence the surname Sabri.