Begum Akhtar is one of my favorite ghazal singer. A friend of mine , some 15 years ago, intorduced me to her style of singing. I remember the gahzal- " door hai manjil raahe muskil" , it was so beautifuly done. She can bring so much variation in her voice, I rarely see this in current generation singers. Other ghazal singers I like are Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh and of course who can forget Mehdi Hassan! Anup Jalota tried his hands at Ghazals, but somehow, I still think he is a bhajan singer.
I have heard most of these artists live. Ghulam Ali was in California sometime year 2002-2003, Anup Jalota also came in 2003 (he performed at Sunnyvale hindu temple). Jagjit Singh came in 2006 on his North America tour. Watching them perform live is an altogether different experience!! I have been looking out for any live show from great Mehdi Hassan, may not happen, as I believe he is not keeping good health.