‘Alī ‘Imādu d-Dīn Nasīmī (Azerbaijani: Seyid Əli İmadəddin Nəsimi عمادالدین نسیمی, Arabic: عمادالدین نسیمی‎), often known as Nesimi, (1369 Unknown) –1417 skinned alive in Aleppo) was a 14th-century Azerbaijani^{[citation needed]} or TurkmenḤurūfī poet. Known mostly by his pen name (or takhallus) of Nesîmî, he composed one divan in Azerbaijani, one in Persian, and a number of poems in Arabic. He is considered one of the greatest Turkic mystical poets of the late 14th and early 15th centuries and one of the most prominent early divan masters in Turkic literary history.

Very little is known for certain about Nesîmî's life, including his real name. Most sources indicate that his name was İmâdüddîn, but it is also claimed that his name may have been Alî or Ömer. It is also possible that he was descended from Muhammad, since he has sometimes been accorded the title of sayyid that is reserved for people claimed to be in Muhammad's line of descent.

Nesîmî's birthplace, like his real name, is wrapped in mystery: some claim that he was born in a province called Nesîm — hence the pen name — located either near Aleppo in modern-day Syria, or near Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, but no such province has been found to exist. There are also claims that he was born in Shamakhi-which is mostly likely because his brother is buried in Shamakhi, Azerbaijan.

Mohammad-Reza Shajarian (Persian: محمدرضا شجريان‎) (born September 23, 1940 in Mashhad, Iran) is an internationally and critically acclaimed Persian traditional singer, composer and ostad (master) of Persian music. He has been called "Iran's greatest living master of traditional Persian music." Shajarian is also known for his skills in Persian calligraphy, and humanitarian activities.

Shajarian started singing at the age of five, under the supervision of his father, and at the age of twelve, he began studying the traditional classical repertoire known as the Radif. Shajarian started his singing career in 1959 at Radio Khorasan, rising to prominence in the 1960s with his distinct style of singing. His main teachers were Ahmad Ebadi, Esmaeil Mehrtash, Abdollah Davami. He also learned the vocal styles of singers from previous generations, including Reza Gholi Mirza Zelli, Fariborz Manouchehri, Ghamar Molouk Vaziri, Eghbal Azar, and Taj Isfahani. When giving a lecture at California State University, Sacramento on March 2, 2012, he was asked what teacher was most influential to his development, and he cited legendary Iranian tar musician Jalil Shahnaz, indicating that Shahnaz' playing style was what he most tried to mimic with his own singing style.