Jazz Articles about Naïssam Jalal

About Naïssam Jalal

Album Review

Naïssam Jalal: Landscapes of Eternity

Read "Landscapes of Eternity" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
April 27, 2026

It is impossible to spend any significant amount of time travelling in India without being affected by both its beauty and its poverty. The contrasts between the choking, sprawling metropolises and the river-crossed countryside--with its emerald rice fields and stepped tea plantations--are striking. So too is the chasm between deeply embedded spirituality and the cruel caste system. Then there is the food, the heady festivals and the beguiling music. The senses are bombarded 24/7. As Indian writer Arundhati Roy put ...

Album Review

Naïssam Jalal: Souffles

Read "Souffles" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
July 3, 2025

Not one to stand still for long, flautist/vocalist Naïssam Jalal moves between at least eight different bands, four of which she leads. Born in France to Syrian parents, Jalal's music draws on a wide range of roots and traditions--from ritual trance to rap; from African and Middle Eastern rhythms to North Indian classical, jazz and free improvisation. Souffles is an album of duo collaborations that pairs Jalal with eight virtuosos of the saxophone, trombone and clarinet. Jalal has previously recorded ...

Live Review

Naissam Jalal - The Quest of the Invisible at Savoy Theater in Helsinki

by Anthony Shaw
February 26, 2022

Naissam Jalal -The Quest of the Invisible Savoy Theater Helsinki, Finland February 22, 2022 Naissam Jalal was everything this audience needed on a very snowy February evening in downtown Helsinki. Not only had the concert already been postponed for two years, but it happened to coincide with the second major snowstorm in as many weeks, dumping 15 inches of snow across the city, bringing this normally very snow-savvy city near to gridlock.

Album Review

Naïssam Jalal: Un autre monde

Read "Un autre monde" reviewed by Henning Bolte

by Henning Bolte
March 17, 2021

Some may see the flute as an odd one out in jazz. For France that certainly does not apply. France has Michel Edelin from the older generation and, for example, Magic Malik, Eve Risser, Sylvaine Hélary and Naïssam Jalal from the younger. A flautist needs good sonic allies to embed flute sounds in and/or a strong groove to fly on. Naïssam Jalal, the Franco-Syrian flautist, has both to a high degree as part of her greater talents as ...