This list of Tajik musicians includes notable Tajik musicians. [1]
The music of Afghanistan comprises many varieties of classical music, folk music, and modern popular music. Afghanistan has a rich musical heritage and features a mix of Persian melodies, Indian compositional principles, and sounds from ethnic groups such as the Pashtuns, Tajiks and Hazaras. Instruments used range from Indian tablas to long-necked lutes. Afghanistan's classical music is closely related to Hindustani classical music while sourcing much of its lyrics directly from classical Persian poetry such as Mawlana Balkhi (Rumi) and the Iranian tradition indigenous to central Asia. Lyrics throughout most of Afghanistan are typically in Dari (Persian) and Pashto. The multi-ethnic city of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is home to traditions more closely related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country.
Tajik music is closely related to other Central Asian forms of music. The classical music is shashmaqam, which is also distinctive in Uzbekistan. Southern Tajikistan has a distinctive form of folk music called falak, which is played at celebrations for weddings, circumcisions and other occasions.
Daler Nazarov is a Tajik singer, composer and actor of Pamiri origin.
Tolib-khon Shakhidi or Tolib Shahidi is a Tajik and Soviet composer who was born in the city of Dushanbe, Tajik SSR. He is a son of the founder of Professional Tajik Academic Music – Ziyodullo Shakhidi.
Ali Zafar is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor, model, producer, screenwriter and painter. He started out on Pakistani television before becoming a popular musician, later also established a career in Bollywood and his success led many Pakistani actors to venture into Hindi films. He has received five Lux Style Awards and a Filmfare Award nomination.
Muboraksho Abdulvahhobovich Mirzoshoyev, better known as Muboraksho (Муборакшо) or Misha (Миша), was a Pamiri singer and composer recognized alongside Daler Nazarov as a pioneer of rock music. Muboraksho was born on August 19, 1961, in Rushon district of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajik SSR. He died on February 8, 2000.
Ziyodullo Shahidi was a Tajik musician and father of Persian Symphonic Music in Tajikistan.
Shoista Mullojonova, born Shushana Rubinovna Mullodzhanova, was a renowned Tajik-born Bukharian Jewish Shashmaqam singer.
Jalil Zaland was a veteran singer and composer of Afghanistan's golden music era. Zaland was one of the biggest music stars of Afghanistan and he earned the honorific Ustad and is therefore best known as Ustad Zaland. As a Persian speaker, his classic melodies were also highly acclaimed in Iran and Tajikistan.
Shahidi is a common surname in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Like the given name Shahid, it is a Muslim theophoric name, from Aš-Šāhid (الشهيد), one of the 99 names of God in the Qur'an. It is derived from šāhid شاهد, the word for "witness" or "martyr".
Karomatullo Qurbonov was a popular pop singer and composer from Tajikistan. On 17 October 1992 Qurbonov and a number of his band members were murdered by gunmen from the Popular Front militia. Qurbonov was one of a number of intellectual and cultural figures murdered during the Tajik Civil War. In 2008 a former member of the Popular Front, Mahmadahdi Nazarov, also known as Makhsum Mahdi, was convicted of Qurbonov's murder.
Ahmad Wali is an Afghan Ghazal singer. He began his career in the 1970s, becoming popular in his native country before he was forced to flee by political upheaval in Afghanistan. He continued his work after resettling in Germany, performing throughout Europe and North America.
Soosan Firooz, sometimes spelled Susan Feroz, is an Afghan actress and rapper. She has been described as Afghanistan's first female rapper. She is a controversial figure, challenging societal norms and the traditional role of Afghan women.
Zafar is a Persian origin name meaning "victory" or "victor".
The 2015 Tajik Cup was the 24th edition of the Tajik Cup. The cup winner qualified for the 2016 AFC Cup.
Masty is the second studio album by Pakistani pop rock singer Ali Zafar. From this album, the music video of the single "Dekha", was named as the most expensive music video of Pakistan at that time, costing more than Rs. 10 million. The video was produced by Lux and was shot in Malaysia featuring Reema Khan, Meera, and Aaminah Haq.
Teefa in Trouble is a 2018 Pakistani romantic action comedy film. The film is the directorial debut of Ahsan Rahim, who was previously known for directing music videos and television commercials, under his Tadpole Films banner. It stars Ali Zafar, Abdullah Solangi and Maya Ali, who also made their Pakistani film debuts. It is also the debut film under Zafar's banner Lightingale Productions.
Farangis Nurulla-Khoja is a Tajik-Canadian composer, who explores timbre within her contemporary compositions of symphonic, chamber, vocal, and electro-acoustic music. Among her many honors is a Guggenheim Fellowship Award in Composition in 2018.
The Popular Front of Tajikistan was a politicized paramilitary movement composed of volunteers that fought for the government during the Tajik Civil War. Up to 8,000 fighters served as part of the front.
Tajik musicians, such as Zafar Nozimov (b. 1940), Odina Hoshimov (1937–94) and Faizali Hasanov (b. 1948), may be included as examples of those involved in 'classicisation'.