Naïssam Jalal: Souffles

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 in a duo with oudist Hazem Shaheen on Liqaa (Institut du Monde Arabe, 2018), and the only surprise is that it has taken this long to return to a format she clearly relishes.

All but two of Jalal's collaborators are French, and even Cuban soprano saxophonist Irving Acao has long been based in France. It follows quite naturally that the music—recorded between 2021 and 2025—tends towards European traditions, be they folkloric, neo- classical or improvised. The one obvious exception is Jalal's duo with Archie Shepp, where flute, tenor saxophone and their respective wordless singing interlock. In Schepp's vocals there are echoes of John Lee Hooker, of worksong and spirituals. Not for nothing is this duo performance the most affecting of the bunch.

Jalal's soulful wordless vocals are heard to good effect on "Souffle #3," a klezmer-flavored duo with clarinetist Yom, and on "Souffle #6," a free-spirited exchange with the aforementioned Acao. For the most part, however, her singing is filtered through her flute—a technique perhaps most associated with Rahsaan Roland Kirk (and even more viscerally, Delphine Joussein of French iconoclasts Nout), but which probably dates to prehistoric times, when early humans discovered voice amplification and alteration via hollow objects. Jalal employs this guttural voicing intermittently, as though spicing her otherwise mellifluous and highly lyrical playing.

In such intimate settings, the dynamics are by nature somewhat limited. Unison melodies proliferate. So too, individual voices soloing over repeating, vamp-like motifs. Flashes of harmonic convergence shine through—such as those created by Jalal and trombonist Robinson Khoury on "Souffle #8," or between the leader and soprano saxophonist Emile Parisien in a spiraling exchange on "Souffle #9." Overlapping lines engender free-improvisational sparks between the flautist and Thomas de Pourquery on "Souffle #5," while flute and Louis Sclavis' bass clarinet plot an episodic course that flits between meditative, trance-like forms and freer expression.

Consistently engaging and enchanting, these performances make a strong case for further exploration. A second go-round with other reed players would not go amiss. And if Jalal were to cast her net a little wider? It would be fascinating to hear this talented musician duet with improvising piano, bass, guitar, and percussion. Naïssam Jalal, le monde est à vous.