Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble

The Two Rivers Ensemble is a sextet of jazz and Middle Eastern musicians that started 8 years ago and features drummer Nasheet Waits, bassist Carlo DeRosa, Tareq Abboushi on buzuq (long-necked lute), multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso Zafer Tawil, and tenor saxophonist Ole Mathisen. The project draws on the maqam modal system to transform the jazz idiom and is deeply rooted in musical forms of Iraq and nearby regions yet the resultant sound is distinct from other contemporary cross-cultural musical fusions. The group has released two critically-acclaimed albums on Pi Recordings, Inana (2011) and Two Rivers (2007). The latest work with Two Rivers, 'Crisis,' was a commissioned piece by Newport Jazz Festival that premiered at the festival in August, 2013, and will be released on CD next year.

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