The One Genre of Music I Wish More People Appreciated

I like to listen to a lot of different kinds of music. I’d like to think I have a pretty varied taste: everything from Brazilian jazz from the ’70s, to blues (which I really love), to classical jazz—by which I mean the greats like Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis.

I love classic Gipsy Kings. I love The Beatles. I really like Indian classical music, and then of course Western classical as well.

But there’s one genre of music that I wish were more exposed and appreciated in today’s world. It’s not exactly dying, but it’s certainly less appreciated than it deserves to be: the ghazal.

What Is a Ghazal?

Ghazals are popular in India and parts of Pakistan, and many of the best ghazal singers come from Pakistan.

For those who don’t know, ghazals are essentially poems sung in a very traditional setting. They’re usually just a few lines of poetry—rooted in Indian or Indo-Pakistani classical forms—but they carry a lot of meaning.

The beauty of a ghazal is how the singer stretches those couplets over time, giving them a lot of vocal love and emotional depth. The audience really feels and appreciates every word.

If you’re interested, you should check out some of the greats: Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, and of course the legendary Jagjit Singh.