Amid this summer's World Cup celebrations in Seattle, Ibrahim Maalouf, the Beirut-born, Paris-based trumpeter and composer, will bring more international flavor.
On June 23 at The Crocodile, Maalouf performs in promotion of his new album, Trumpets of Michel-Ange, Vol. 2. The new record continues the celebration of his father’s invention: a four-valve trumpet that allows the player to access the quarter tones of classical Arabic music.
“This is my heritage from my father. I’m proud to be able to hold an instrument that was invented by him, that allows me to blend all the cultures that I love into one music," Maalouf said in a recent interview with KEXP. "It helps me mix my Arab origins, Lebanese origins with everything that is Western about me."
Maalouf’s trumpet education came directly from his trumpet-playing father and indirectly from the radio. As a teenager, he would take out his trumpet, put on the radio, and try to play along with every style he heard.
"I wanted to feel comfortable everywhere I step," he said.
That habit made him the versatile and broad-reaching musician he is today.
“I can bring a little bit more than just the trumpet sound, [I can] bring a bigger picture of what music can be," Maalouf said.
The first song on the Trumpets of Michel-Ange album is proof of that. “Bring the Light" features New Orleans superstars Trombone Shorty and Jon Batiste heating up a funk banger, as the lyrics call for a better day.
Maalouf matches award-winning Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba with a beautiful melody nodding to Maalouf’s Parisian community on “Oui, Je Le Veux.” More French spice arrives with Richard Gaillano playing accordion on “Chasing the Sun” and “Hold Your Peace.”
Rasika Shekar lends her mastery of Indian bamboo flute to the song “Gulham,” which switches between dance rhythms and a slower section emphasizing a distinctive melodic theme.
“Layla’s Wedding” is flat-out party music, with Maalouf showing off his trumpet’s range in quarter-tone melodic riffs. Sounds of a crowd cheering and clapping add to the atmosphere, sprinkling in a small taste of Maalouf's energizing live concert experience.
Food is another cultural connector, and Maalouf offers the tasty tune “Zaatar & Zeit” to honor these Lebanese dietary staples. Both contain complex flavors in a deceptively simple form.
Bringing the album’s — and the world's — diverse perspectives together is Maalouf’s goal.
“I believe that the way I see the world, and the way I see music can – possibly, hopefully – help people understand each other. It’s like creating a language where everyone feels something, so we all share the same common point, which is emotion,” he said.
With his current tour, Maalouf celebrates his father’s trumpet legacy and his own drive to create spaces for all people to share in the ecstatic power of music.
