ElSaffar: The Other Shore / Rivers of Sound Cheap Purchase

“Trumpeter, composer and bandleader Amir ElSaffar has been expressing his Iraqi-American heritage and artistic identity through successful albums that blend the traditional Iraqi maqam and modern jazz. The Other Shore, the highly anticipated follow-up to Not Two (New Amsterdam, 2017), marks the second time on record he’s in the command of the 17-piece Rivers of Sound Orchestra, an extension of the Two Rivers Ensemble. There was one single change in its workforce – John Escreet sits in the piano chair that previously belonged to Craig Taborn. Imbued with passionate lyricism, this music feels both cerebral and freewheeling. Composition and improvisation play an equally important role and there’s plenty of good, hybrid sonorities for one’s listening pleasure.” – Jazz Trail

“The music, in some ways, feels like ’70s experiments in loosening up musical boundaries, in the mode of artists such as Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane, and John McLaughlin. Combining composition and improvisation, the band maneuvers through gentle musical waters, but is more than ready to take it up a notch or two when choppier passages emerge.” – The Arts Fuse