Niyaz with Azam Ali

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In a career that spans over fifteen years and includes twelve collaborative and solo albums as well as two prestigious Canadian JUNO Award nominations, Azam Ali has confirmed her place as one of the most prolific, versatile, and gifted singers and composers on the world stage today. She is the front woman of the internationally renowned group Niyaz.

Niyaz first appeared on the world stage in 2005, with its infectious self-titled debut album appearing as number one on iTunes. Critics declared the album to be one of the most groundbreaking of its time. A worldwide tour followed and quickly established Niyaz as a standout ensemble in a very crowded world-music field. By seamlessly blending medieval Sufi poetry and folk songs from Iran and its surrounding countries in the Persian and Arabian Gulf with rich acoustic instrumentation and modern electronics, Niyaz has created a twenty-first century global trance tradition and proven to be a group with a distinctive voice of its own.

Today, with three best-selling and critically acclaimed albums, Niyaz continues to tour internationally and build on its impressive and loyal fan base. Their music has also been featured in several major film and television scores, including Crossing Over, True Blood, and Nip/Tuck. The music of Niyaz takes the listener on a philosophical quest into the human depths. It is a journey filled with a message of hope against injustice and oppression—a universal tribute to beauty, cultural and spiritual diversity, freedom, and dignity for all.

[Niyaz] is an evolutionary force in contemporary Middle Eastern music.

—Huffington Post

The Iranian-born, Indian-raised vocalist [Azam Ali] makes traditional and newly composed songs smolder with dreamy longing, with the grief of exile in a conflict-riven world, and with a keen edge of hope.

—World Music Central.org