It’s been a little over a year since the inaugural release of Maqām Records, musician Amir ElSaffar‘s label focused on old and new music based in various Arabic and adjacent modal traditions. New to the roster is Firas Zreik, a much-acclaimed composer and kanunist who draws on his Palestinian roots in his art. Zreik’s new album Tarabesque is a sparkling example of this work and a brilliant addition to Maqām’s growing repertoire. A cross-genre record flowing from a transnational confluence of instruments and styles, Tarabesque is a kind of platonic ideal of some sector of contemporary jazz: dialogic, complex, and made so with a great sense of purpose.
As the album’s name implies, Tarabesque as a project centers around the idea of tarab,…

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