Amir Elsaffar

Alchemy is the latest chapter in trumpeter Amir ElSaffar’s continuing investigation into the tonal systems of Middle Eastern cultures within a jazz context. A recent recipient of the prestigious Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, ElSaffar has been residing mostly in Egypt for the last year, further absorbing the musical language of that region. However, unlike his three prior releases on Pi Recordings – Two Rivers (2007) and Inana (2011), which relied heavily on the Iraqi maqam for their structural form and instrumentation; and Radif Suite (2009) with saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh, which utilized a musical system devised specifically for that group – Alchemy finds ElSaffar writing for a standard jazz quintet with a sound distilled through his highly personal harmonic vocabulary, one that draws on microtonality and the maqam.
 

Amir ElSaffar - trumpet
John Escreet - tenor saxophone
Ole Mathisen - piano
Francois Moutin - bass
Dan Weiss - drums
 

Tracklist:
1. Ishtarum play
2. Nid Qablitum
3. Embubum - Ishtarum - Pitum
4. 12 Cycles
5. Quartal play
6. Balad
7. Five Phases
8. Athar Kurd
9. Miniature #1
10. Ending Piece