Show notes
“Thy will be done. Thy will be done. I don’t know. Please, I don’t know.” -Jessica Ripper Jessica Ripper is a white American with blonde hair, blue eyes and a home in Northern California. Yet, to many in Pakistan, she’s an Islamic-gospel musician who plays the tabla. In the 700-year-old sufi-singing tradition of Qawwali, she’s a female trailblazer shattering century-old glass ceilings from sufi shrine to sufi shrine. And everywhere else, she’s a statistical anomaly, a bizarre outlier. Did fate direct Ripper to her path as one of the world’s only white female western qawwali players? Or was it chance and opportunity? You be the judge. Show Notes: [00:10] “Villager” by Blue Dot Sessions [02:25] “Villa” by Blue Dot Sessions [04:40] “Allah Hu” by the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Party [06:35] Shahzad Bashir [06:40] “Snowmelt” by Blue Dot Sessions [08:35] Fanna-Fi-Allah Side note: They’re working on a documentary project about qawwali music. See here. [08:40] On Ripper’s conversion to Islam. [09:00] “Allah Hu” by Fanna-Fi-Allah [10:35] “McKrary” by Blue Dot Sessions [11:20] Richard Michos performing with Shabaz [13:00] Rahat Fateh Ali Khan [13:05] “O Re Piya” by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan [13:25] More on Dildar Hussain [13:25] “Tanam Farsuda Jan Para” by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Party [13:55] Nusrat’s collaboration with Michael Brook [13:56] “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel [14:20] Nusrat’s obituary in The New York Times [15:10] “Banjo” by Blue Dot Sessions [16:09] Yassir Chadly [18:20] “Grand Caravan” by Blue Dot Sessions [18:20] A neat infographic of what Islam looks like. [18:25] Additional reading on Sufism and the current state of Islam [19:00] Some online dialogue about music in Islam [19:45] Background on 2010 Lahore Bombing [20:50] Tabla played by Jessica Ripper [21:45] The Urs of Baba Farid [21:50] On Baba Farid [27:15] “3rd Chair” by Blue Dot Sessions [28:03] “Ya Mustafa” by Fanna-Fi-Allah performed at the Urs of Baba Farid [30:05] Riffat Sultana Recommended listening [30:10] Ustad Salamat Ali Khan [31:50] “Bliste” by Blue Dot Sessions [36:00] Abidah Parveen with members of Fanna-Fi-Allah [39:05] “Illway” by Blue Dot Sessions [41:40] “Xandre” by Blue Dot Sessions [43:55] “Holo” by Blue Dot Sessions The project that started this story: Written Video Download Flipboard on your phone, connect to strong WiFi and open flip.it/tabla in the mobile app for a unique story experience.
