Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ibrahim Maalouf: Diasporas

161

Ibrahim Maalouf: Diasporas

By

Sign in to view read count
Ibrahim Maalouf: Diasporas
Paris-based trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf's moody mix of jazz, groove and Lebanese traditional music comes across rather like a cut-up novel by William Burroughs or a collection of short stories by Paul Bowles, or at least a shot in that direction. Partly it's the source material, in which Maalouf's east Mediterranean musical heritage replaces those authors' fascination with Morocco; partly it's the structure of the album, in which a series of relatively brief, cross-referential tracks, most lasting between two and less than five minutes, are assembled in an episodic collage. Though carefully put together over three years, the music has an attractively rough-edged feel: hot, sun baked and m'hashish, as Moroccans would say (and as the title of the fourth track confirms).

Diasporas was Maalouf's debut album, and was originally released on his own Mi'ster Productions label in 2007. It's been followed by Diachronism (Mi'ster, 2009), which inhabits similar territory but spread over two discs. Diasporas, pithier and more rigorous, is the more enjoyable of the two albums and its release into the wider European marketplace is a welcome development.

Maalouf's ace up the sleeve is his use of an unusual four-valve trumpet invented by his father, Nassim Maalouf, in the 1960s. The extra valve allows the accurate production of quarter-tones, on which Arabic makams (modes) are built. Accompanied by Francois Lalonde's insistent drum and percussion rhythms, which pare the complexities of classical Arabic meters down to their ritual music origins, and complemented by guest musicians playing oud (lute), ney (end-blown flute), kanoun (zither) and buzuk (bouzouki), the effect is tradition-based but unmistakably modern.

On four tracks, Maalouf uses a string section which evokes the style of "Egyptian" film music. But most of the music is made by himself and Lalonde. Electronicist Alex McMahon, who completes the core trio, adds sparingly applied loops and layers, the last especially effective on "Missin' Ya (Night In Tunisia)."

Occasionally, the geography evoked on Diasporas isn't so much Arabic as Mexican-shot spaghetti western. It must be all that sun, sand and austere trumpet. The Ennio Morricone resonance is particularly marked on "Last Wishes," which ends, perhaps with more of a nod to Federico Fellini, with a faded-in minute or so of "Que Sera Sera" played on a fairground organ. It's one of several unexpected twists and turns during 46-minutes of ultimately uncategorizable but compelling music.

Track Listing

Intro; Diaspora; Kanoun Improvisation; Hashish; Missin' Ya (Night In Tunisia); Oud Improvisation; Shadows; Verdict; Last Wishes; Trumpet Improvisation; 1925.

Personnel

Ibrahim Maalouf: trumpet; Alex McMahon: electronics; Francois Lalonde: drums, percussion; Elie Achkar: kanoun (3, 4) ; Elie Maalouf: buzuq (2, 9, 11); Kamel Labbaci: oud (6, 7); Vincent Segal: electric cello (11); Joshua Levitt: ney (4, 11); Michel Khairallah: violin (4, 7, 10, 11); Anis El-Hawi: violin (4, 7, 10, 11); Antoine Khalife: violin (4, 7, 10, 11); Angela Hounanian: cello (4, 7, 10, 11).

Album information

Title: Diasporas | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Discograph

Comments

Tags

Concerts

Apr 17 Wed
Apr 26 Fri
Ibrahim Maalouf
MTELUS
Montreal, Canada

For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.