Amir ElSaffar - New Quartet Live at Pierre Boulez Saal (2025) [Hi-Res]

The album 'New Quartet Live at Pierre Boulez Saal' documents the debut performance of trumpeter Amir ElSaffar's trio (featuring drummer Tomas Fujiwara and tenor saxophonist Ole Mathisen) with Greek pianist Tania Giannouli. The music, guided by ElSaffar's nuanced microtonal trumpet sound that blends classical technique, Arab Maqam, and jazz influences, ranges from nearly silent to ecstatic moments, featuring the beautifully unconventional harmonies of the microtonal piano. The quartet held a mini-residency in Berlin, including rehearsals, a concert before a sold-out audience, and a studio recording session. The live recording, which constitutes the bulk of the album, showcases a spontaneous, spacious, and graceful kind of jazz heavily seeded with Maqam influences, performed on material composed shortly before, and captures a sense of discovery shared by the musicians and the audience. The intentional absence of a bass instrument allows rich harmonies to ring out unencumbered and facilitates polyrhythmic explorations by Fujiwara and Giannouli within the rhythmically open compositions.

Amir ElSaffar, trumpet
Tomas Fujiwara, drums
Tania Giannouli, microtonal piano
Ole Mathisen, tenor saxophone

Tracklist:
1-1 Amir ElSaffar - The Third Time [2:11]
1-2 Amir ElSaffar - Autumn Comes [8:49]
1-3 Amir ElSaffar - Orientations I-V [16:44]
1-4 Amir ElSaffar - Le Marteau de la Maîtresse [6:14]
1-5 Amir ElSaffar - For the Victims of Genocide [4:17]
1-6 Amir ElSaffar - Ghazalu [8:11]
1-7 Amir ElSaffar - Dignity [3:20]
1-8 Amir ElSaffar - 10:23 AM [3:54]
1-9 Amir ElSaffar - Orientations I-V (Alternate Take) [15:19]
1-10 Amir ElSaffar - Le Marteau de la Maîtresse (Alternate Take) [8:05]
1-11 Amir ElSaffar - For the Victims of Genocide (Alternate Take) [3:30]