This album by french-lebanese composer and trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf is extraordinary. It is irresistibly modern and manages to be steeped in Arab and jazz traditions. It could never have been produced at any other time than what it was (2015). Maalouf's fusion of those traditions is not strictly conceptual either, but is enabled by a type of trumpet, designed by his father, that has a fourth valve, enabling quarter tones. The album is extrapolations and interpretations of the album Alf leila wa leila (link below; title translates to One thousand and one nights) by the inimitable Oum Kalthoum, but it is its own creation. Umm Kulthum (there are many ways to spell it. I think this one is the English version and the previous is the French) herself is a towering and fascinating figure. She is perhaps the most well known Arabic-language singer ,and her importance in Arab and Egyptian cultures cannot be overstated. The energy between her and the crowd in her hour long or more live performances is simply a joy to watch, and the virtuosity and control she displays is not like anything I've ever experienced. She was at times criticized for being too closely linked to people in power, like the royal family and then later President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and broadcasts of her performances were often used by the state in various ways to buttress its power. Throughout her life she moved carefully between artistic, political, literary and religious spaces. Her work is a testament to the range and depth of emotion the human voice can express, as well as its power and virtuosity.
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