Alim Qasimov is one of the world's truly gifted singers. A master of the mugham, a modal art music popular among the Caucasus and the Turkish-speaking people of central Asia, Qasimov has been hailed for his vocal dexterity and emotional delivery. The recipient of the international IMC/UNESCO Music Prize in 1999, Qasimov was called "one of the 20th century's greatest singers" by Folk Roots, who praised him for his "pure vocal excitement." Born to a poor family in a town 100 kilometers from the capital city of Baku, Qasimov displayed musical talent from a very early age. His first instrument was a frame drum whose skin came from a goat that his father slaughtered. He later studied at the Mugham School in Baku. Qasimov painstakingly mastered the complexities of the mugham. At the age of 25, he won his first competition. In 1989, he formed a band with the Mansurov brothers -- Malik on tar (lute) and Eshan on kamanche (violin). ~ Craig Harris