#maqam

I tried to stuff with actions, with activity, I tried to get out you of the bed with positivity, I tried to run from you with books and overthinking, But what have you to say, young king ? What have you to say, saviour of agitation, Who ´s not attached but with passion ?

Lady Swan calls you resistance, The holy church called you acedia, What if, handsome soldier of the nothingness, I now take the time to listen to your soft weight impeding me to run to my doom ? What if you were the one keeping the keys of the secret of being ? What if you were the only one among emotions to have the secret of action, The secret of passion. Instead of running out of your call, I now take the time to listen to silent music, To you soft joy And to you beautiful secrets.

« Take your time, young king. » what was you, my Lady, whispered to my ears. « Go to sleep, young god. » what was you, beloved holy mother, imposed with authority to my body. Half awake and half asleep, life takes the shape of poetry and thought forms are not reached in the only sleep anymore. Dear Ladies, you love me in my lazyness, Which take the time the unfold the secrets of my brain, the love of my heart, and the strength of arms and legs.

The Mad Arab

Amir ElSaffar was born and raised near Chicago, but his heart and soul are informed as much by Iraq as by Illinois. A multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer, ElSaffar marvelously marries Middle Eastern musical traditions with American jazz.

ElSaffar will make his Penn State debut April 4 in an Eisenhower Auditorium concert featuring his Two Rivers Ensemble and Iraqi vocalist Hamid Al-Saadi.

Amir ElSaffar — trumpeter, santur (hammered dulcimer) player, vocalist, and composer — is a master of diverse sounds. The Chicago-area native has distinguished himself by combining Middle Eastern traditions with jazz and other styles of music. 

ElSaffar, who has a degree in classical trumpet from DePaul University, is fluent in the idiom of jazz, but he has also created techniques to play microtones and ornaments associated with Arabic music that are rarely heard on trumpet.

Two Rivers Ensemble, a sextet, combines the musical languages and instrumentation of Iraqi maqam and contemporary jazz. The ensemble’s music speaks the vernacular of swing, improvisation, and group interaction.

Through his powerful and highly ornamented voice, and in his comprehensive knowledge of the intricate details of the music and poetry of Iraq, generations and layers of the maqam tradition resonate through Hamid al-Saadi.