Label: Pi Recordings Catalog ID: PI 32 Squidco Product Code: 12714
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2010 Country: USA Packaging: Digipack Recorded October 8, 2009 at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA by Gary Mankin. Mixed October 2009 by Liberty Ellman at 4D, Brooklyn.
11. Doves Over Zion (Dream of the Beloved) / Duet Interlude 5:19
12. Uganda / Trio Interlude 4:39
13. Bird of Prey 3:43
14. Awj / Ancestral Memory 5:08
15. 7 Quintuplets / Triptych / Bass Solo 5:23
16. All Said and Done / Sirens / Reverance 4:32
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descriptions, reviews, &c.
"Radif Suite is an important new recording in the continuing advancement of jazz from the trumpeter Amir ElSaffar and tenor saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh. The release marks the first exploration of the Iraqi maqam and the Persian dastgah in a jazz context. Both ElSaffar and Modirzadeh are of mixed heritage (Iraqi American and Iranian American, respectively) whose musical careers are dedicated to expressing their ancestral traditions within a highly personalized and creative jazz language. ElSaffar has spent years traveling abroad seeking out masters who could impart to him the Iraqi maqam tradition, and composed the highly acclaimed Two Rivers Suite, the first work joining maqam with jazz. Modirzadeh had spent years under the guidance of Iranian master musician Mahmoud Zoufounoun and has developed his own "chromodal" approach, which brings together Persian modes with jazz into one cohesive system. They are joined by world-renowned bassist Mark Dresser and master drummer, Alex Cline.
Both ElSaffar and Modirzadeh have invented new techniques for their respective instrument in order to play Arabic microtones and ornaments. By using alternate fingerings and masterful control of embouchure, they are able to break free of the boundaries of Western equal temperament into a new world of tonal orientation. This is innovative jazz in the best sense, using Middle Eastern music in a way to transform the idiom while still utilizing swing, driving improvisations, and a blues sensibility. In the process, ElSaffar and Modirzadeh are breaking down barriers and taking jazz to a whole new place."-Pi Recordings