(b Salawatawa, near Sanandaj [Sina], Iran, 1882; d 1937). Kurdish singer. He was born into a family of sayyids (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad) and was sent to a mosque school in Sanandaj to study the Qur'an and Islamic teachings. Already known for his voice as a child, his recitations of the Qur'an, mewlûdname (verses about the Prophet's birth) and munacat (prayers) attracted attention. His secular songs also gained increasing popularity. Through the patronage of an aristocratic family of Sanandaj, he travelled to Tehran, where he was received enthusiastically by the music community. In 1929 he recorded 17 Kurdish pieces for Polyphon. His 14 surviving performances include goranî (popular songs) and pieces identified as Persian dastgāhs such as Segāh and Dashtī. He was frequently invited to perform for thousands of listeners in many Kurdish towns, and his recorded songs also attracted crowds to tea-houses. His recordings were a permanent feature in the music programming of the Kurdish section of Radio Baghdad from the 1940s and in the Kurdish radio stations of Iran during the 1950s. His music has inspired Kurdish singers such as Aziz Shahrokh and the Kamkar ensemble. An account of his work is given in M.H. Baqî: Seyyid ‘Elî Esxerî Kurdistanî (1998). The first CD of his music, Sayed Ali Asgar Kurdistani (1882–1936), Album No.1, was released in London in 1999.
AMIR HASSANPOUR, STEPHEN BLUM