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ElSaffar’s nuanced and vibrant trumpet sound, rooted in Chicago school classical technique, combining subtle ornamentation and microtones of Arab Maqam with Jazz influences ranging from Miles to Woody Shaw, resonates throughout the session, guiding the new ensemble into unexplored musical territories. The music ranges from intensely quiet and nearly silent to ecstatic and declamatory, with the microtonal piano ringing ear-opening and beautifully unconventional harmonies throughout.
ElSaffar is known for his Two Rivers sextet and 17-piece Rivers of Sound Orchestra, both of which blend Middle Eastern and jazz instrumentation. At the outset, this album’s ensemble looks like a traditional jazz setting, except for one anomaly - the absence of a bass instrument. This is by design: with the unique resonances of the microtonal piano, and ElSaffar and Mathisen’s well-honed blend of two instruments into one sound, rich and nuanced timbres and harmonies are able to ring out, unencumbered with pitch information in the low registers. The bass-less context also allows Fujiwara and Giannouli to find interesting polyrhythms and grooves, further encouraged by ElSaffar’s written material that leaves the rhythmic aspects open.
Maqām is the modal and melodic musical language found in music of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, that has had a profound influence on the history of music throughout the centuries. Maqam also refers to a repertoire in Iraq, representing its rich history and multifaceted society through melodies and poetry, with elements that date back to Baghdad’s glorious ages (8th-13th centuries C.E.) and ancient Mesopotamian civilizations.
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