Search - Amir Elsaffar :: Two Rivers

Two Rivers
Amir Elsaffar
Two Rivers
Genres: International Music, Jazz, Pop
 
  •  Track Listings (10) - Disc #1

"A virtuoso on the horn ... expanding the vocabulary of the trumpet and the modern jazz ensemble." -- All About Jazz "When he picked up the trumpet ... he was playing in the quarter-tone scales of traditional maqam. But ...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Amir Elsaffar
Title: Two Rivers
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Pi Recordings
Original Release Date: 1/1/2007
Re-Release Date: 9/18/2007
Genres: International Music, Jazz, Pop
Style: Jazz Fusion
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 808713002423

Synopsis

Album Description
"A virtuoso on the horn ... expanding the vocabulary of the trumpet and the modern jazz ensemble." -- All About Jazz "When he picked up the trumpet ... he was playing in the quarter-tone scales of traditional maqam. But that seemed to be a small point--itwasn't for effect or show, it was simply that he'd adapted his instrument to the needs of the music ... beautiful." -- Dave Douglas "Harrowing to absorb, but full of as much beauty as pain." -- BBC World Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar put his New York jazz career on hold six years ago to immerse himself in the Iraqi maqam, the music of his ancestors. Already an accomplished jazz and classical trumpeter--having performed with Cecil Taylor, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, and Daniel Barenboim--ElSaffar pursued masters who could impart the centuries-old oral tradition. He quickly became versed in the art and leads Safaafir, the only ensemble in the US performing Iraqi maqam. Now, ElSaffar has turned his attention back to jazz, approaching it with an Iraqi/Arabic bent. Two Rivers is an emotionally charged work that invokes ancient Iraqi musical traditions and frames them in a modern jazz setting. The compositions are based on Iraqi maqam melodies, each of which is believed to have a unique spiritual essence. These rich melodies are set to heavy grooves, free-jazz ensemble playing, and multi-layered sound textures. ElSaffar's compositions are some of the first in jazz to make use of Arabic modality and its non-western tunings. To this end, both he and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa have developed techniques for playing these pitches on the trumpet and saxophone, instruments that are typically only capable of playing Western tunings. The result is a cross-pollination of sound in which the languages of ancient and modern, East and West, blend together seamlessly.
 

CD Reviews

Avante Garde Middle Eastern Jazz
Scott Williams | Oakland, CA United States | 10/26/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Overview:

The songs on this album are based on ruhiyya from the maqam music of Iraq. In layman's terms, the ruhiyya are traditional melodies which are typically played with improvisation. Amir ElSaffar has crafted an album where he takes some traditional melodies, teamed up with a stellar group of young jazz musicians and improvised over the top to create a fascinating album. The end result is a middle eastern jazz album with a touch of the avante garde or atonal/chromotic influence. Amir is joined by Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto sax, Zafer Tawil on violin, oud, dumbek, Tareq Abboushi buzuq, frame drums, Carlo Rosa bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. The album is good from start to finish and has both great muscianship & jazz context and authentic middle eastern feel.



Song Highlights:



Shatt al-Arab (Maqam Hadidi) - This track opens with a haunting bass line and drums. Quickly the bass line is doubled up with the oud and Amir's trumpet enters. There is great oud playing throughout, along with a wonderful middle eastern mood.



Awj Intro - A beautiful trumpet mood piece. Very noirish, nightime mood.



Hemayoun - A very catchy melody... sort of a swinging avantage 60s sound with great trumpet and oud, and some blistering solos by saxman, Rudresh Mahnthappa.



A wonderful debut by a great trumpet player. I heard him play recently. He seems to have embraced an even more avante garde style. It will be interesting to hear what comes next. Anyone who is a fan of both middle eastern music and jazz, should rush out and pick this one up.





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