Crisis
(Music CD)

Title from disc label.

All compositions by Amir ElSaffar.

Translation of Al-Akhras poem by Mohammed Alwan; translation of Ibn Arabi poem by Michael Sells, Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society 55 (2014), p. 68.

Crisis was commissioned by the Newport Jazz Festival with the support of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Compact disc.

Progam notes, and translation of Al-Akhras poem by Mohammed Alwan, and translation of Ibn Arabi poem by Michael Sells (Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society 55 (2014), p. 68) on container.

Produced by Amir ElSaffar.

Amir ElSaffar, trumpet, vocal, santur ; Two Rivers Ensemble (Carlo DeRosa, bass ; Nasheet Waits, drums ; Ole Mathisen, tenor and soprano saxophone ; Tareq Abboushi, buzuq ; Zafer Tawil, oud, percussion).

Recorded,2015 January 11-12,at Avatar Studios, New York, NY.

Crisis chronicles the continuing development of trumpeter Amir ElSaffar's critically acclaimed Two Rivers Ensemble, a band purpose-built to explore the juncture between jazz and music of the Middle East, in particular the Iraqi maqam. The new work is his reflection on a region in turmoil and strife: revolution, civil war, sectarian violence; a culture's struggle for survival. It sets aside some of the more exploratory work that he has done in recent years to focus on music that is passionate and visceral, a cry from the heart. Crisis was commissioned by the Newport Jazz Festival, where at its 2013 premiere, it made a clear emotional connection to the audience, receiving a rousing standing ovation after just the first piece. Driving and to the point, ElSaffar's music is beyond categorization: not jazz, world music or any facile fusion thereof, but a world unto its own. The new album is comprised largely of the Crisis Suite, which was composed in 2013, after he spent a year living in Egypt, where he witnessed the Arab Spring protests first-hand, and Lebanon, where he worked with Syrian musicians who were living through that country's harrowing civil war. The suite follows a narrative arc: a commentary on the recent history of Iraq and the Middle East. Often based on the melodic modes of the maqam and folkloric rhythms, the music eschews some of the abstract quality of some of ElSaffar's prior work and focuses instead on the passionate and ecstatic. His virtuoso trumpet playing is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition, yet at the same time he's capable of playing a taqsim (melodic improvisation) in an authentic Arab style, with a sound that is reminiscent of the nay (reed flute) along with the melisma and ornamentation of maqam singing. He has a unique approach to playing microtonally: Using a standard, three-valve trumpet, ElSaffar has created new techniques that enable intonation that are characteristic to Arabic music. His sound is rich with overtones and burred texture: in one moment, bright and pushing to the sonic edge of the instrument and at another, a hushed whisper. His idiomatic maqam vocals sound at once prayer-like and an appeal for understanding and compassion, and his santour is full of tremolos and a long echo that is evocative of an ancient past.

Vocal selections sung in Arabic.