Ensemble Fanaa Bring Their Magical, Mysterious Middle Eastern Grooves to...
It was a pleasantly cool Wednesday night in the late summer of 2016. The evening had gotten off to a disappointing start with an album release event in the dingy basement room at the Rockwood, where a...
View ArticleNeotolia Take Haunting Turkish Sounds to New Places
Neotolia’s 2017 album Neotolian Song – streaming at Spotify – is long overdue for a more comprehensive look. No time like the present to catch up on great albums you might have missed over the years,...
View ArticleHaunting, Stunningly Individualistic, Exotic New Orchestral and Piano Works...
Anájikon, the new album from Konstantia Gourzi – streaming at Spotify – will blow your mind. Gourzi’s often haunting compositions bring to mind sounds from traditions as far-flung as her native Greece,...
View ArticleMatt Darriau Brings One of His Edgy, Slinky Projects to a Bed-Stuy Gig
One New York artist who was ubiquitous before the lockdown, and whose presence was conspicuously absent during the last fifteen months, is eclectically edgy multi-reedman Matt Darriau. The longtime...
View ArticleA Rich, Multi-Layered, Epic New Middle Eastern-Flavored Album From Amir Elsaffar
Amir Elsaffar’s Rivers Of Sound Orchestra play oceanic, tidally shifting soundscapes that blend otherworldly, microtonal Middle Eastern modes, lushly immersive big band jazz improvisation and what...
View ArticleHaunting, Starkly Resonant Middle Eastern-Flavored Sounds From Singer...
Singer/percussionist Christiane Karam has built a unique and darkly captivating body of work that blends Middle Eastern and Balkan music, jazz and European art-song. Like Sarah Serpa, Karam gravitates...
View ArticleA Gorgeous, Lyrical Middle Eastern-Inspired Jazz Album From Lena Bloch
Tenor saxophonist Lena Bloch‘s latest album Rose of Lifta – streaming at Soundcloud – explores the theme of exile, as articulated by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, someone considerably familiar with...
View ArticleGordon Grdina’s Powerful, Haunting Nomad Trio Move Into the East Village Tonight
The best jazz show in New York tonight, June 27 is at Drom at 7:30 PM where guitarist Gordon Grdina plays with his brilliant Nomad Trio, pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Jim Black. If you don’t...
View ArticleA Rare, Auspicious New York Appearance by an Icon of Middle Eastern Jazz
One of the most potentially transcendent shows of 2022 happens tomorrow night, July 22 at half past eleven at Drom when pyrotechnic clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski’s slinky and reliably combustible NY...
View ArticleA Vivid, Richly Textured New Middle Eastern Jazz Album From Todd Marcus
Along with Amir ElSaffar and Ibrahim Maalouf, Todd Marcus is one of this era’s great paradigm-shifters blending jazz with traditional Middle Eastern sounds. Like ElSaffar, Marcus came to his Middle...
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