A reissue specialist label called Rarità Tradizionali have published a fine collection of music from Lebanon and Iraq from 1972, and it sounds brilliant. This album was apparently never released, and it’s surprising considering the quality of the musicianship of these instrumentalists from Iraq and Lebanon (including buzuk player Matar Continue Reading
Maqam
Amir ElSaffar – Inana
Inana is the fourth album by Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar which came out in 2011. The trumpeter starts the album with eight tracks dedicated to Inanna, the Mesopotamian goddess of sex, beauty, war and political power. ElSaffar mixes microtonal jazz with Arabic scales such as maqam, which seems to be Continue Reading