Amir ElSaffar

Iraqi-American trumpeter, santour player, vocalist, and composer Amir ElSaffar grew up in River Forest, IL, a suburb west of Chicago; he was first exposed to jazz recordings by his father, and his mother taught him to sing and play American folk songs on ukulele and guitar when he was nine. He eventually found his calling with the trumpet
After moving to New York in 2000, he became more involved with studying the Arab and specifically Iraqi maqam. In 2002, ElSaffar immersed himself in the music of his father's ancestral past, the Iraqi maqam. He traveled to Iraq, throughout the Middle East and to Europe pursuing masters who could impart to him this centuries-old oral tradition. He learned to play the santour (Iraqi hammered dulcimer) and to sing, and now leads Safaafir, the only ensemble in the US performing Iraqi Maqam in its traditional format. He has also uses techniques for the trumpet that enable microtones and ornaments that are characteristic to Arabic music but are not typically heard on a trumpet.

The record Two Rivers is ElSaffar's clearest mixing of jazz and Arabic music.

Amir ElSaffar: trumpet, voice, santoor Rudresh Mahanthappa: alto sax Zafer Tawil: violin, oud, dumbek Tareq Abboushi: buzuq, frame drums Carlo Rosa: bass Nasheet Waits: drums.

Rabih Abou-Khalil

Lebanese oud player, one of the first to work extensively with jazz musicians. A prolific composer, Abou-Khalil is known for his rhythmically intricate compositions that (unlike traditional Arabic music) frequently change meter in a free-flowing way, often several times within a phrase or section. He does not use any of the microtonal maqamat (modes, sing. maqam in his music. He generally performs with Western musicians, most of whom have jazz backgrounds. He occasionally works with Eastern musicians, such as on Roots & Sprouts and Tarab.

Selected discography:


Bukra (1988): with Sonny Fortune (alto sax), Glen Moore (bass), Glen Velez & Ramesh Shotham (percussion)



Roots & Sprouts (1990): Fairly traditional middle-eastern instrumentation:
Selim Kusur (nay), Yassin El-Achek (violin), Glen Moore (bass), Glen Velez (frame drums), Mohammad Al-Sous (darabukka)



Tarab (1992):
Selim Kusur (nay), Glen Moore (bass), Nabil Khaiat & Ramesh Shotham (percussion)



Blue Camel (1992): One of Abou-Khalil's jazziest records.
Charlie Mariano (alto sax), Kenny Wheeler (flugelhorn), Steve Swallow (bass)
Milton Cardona, Nabil Khaiat & Ramesh Shotham (percussion)

Ahmed Abdul Malik

Jazz Sahara (1958) Ahmed Abdul-Malik (oud, bass); Jack Ghanaim (qanun); Naim Karacand (violin); Johnny Griffin (tenor saxophone); Al Harewood (drums), Mike Hamway, percussion

East Meets West (1958) Ahmed Abdul-Malik (bass, oud); Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Benny Golson and Johnny Griffin (tenor saxophones); Ahmed Yetman (qanun); Naim Karacand (violin); Bilal Abdurrahman, Mike Hamway (Darabeka, daf).

The earliest attempt at jazz fusion with middle eastern music. Basically they play some dawalib (sing., doulab: short instrumental piece often used as an introduction) and improvise. Abdul Malik was a well-known jazz bass player of Sudanese descent, best known for his work with Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. Both albums feature his Monk bandmate Johnny Griffin on saxophone along with various middle-eastern nightclub musicians and jazz musicians such as Benny Golson, and Lee Morgan.
Jazz Sahara is a strong album, while East Meets West is a little uneven (though with some excellent performances). In the liner notes to Jazz Sahara, Abdul-Malik pointedly avoids referring to the music as "Arabic", and suggest "Mid-Eastern" is more accurate because of the varied traditions involved. The oud playing is somewhat rudimentary, but the overall effect is compelling.