Amir ElSaffar has been having a good year. After launching his label, Maqam Records (named after the Middle Eastern musical language that employs a microtonal tuning system), the trumpeter released an album by legendary Iraqi Maqam vocalist Hamid Al-Saadi, and, for the imprint’s second album, ElSaffar teamed up with three other musicians for a stunning new live album that places Maqam in a modern jazz setting.
New Quartet Live at Pierre Boulez Saal features ElSaffar, drummer Tomas Fujiwara, saxophonist Ole Mathisen, and pianist Tania Giannouli, performing as part of a mini-residency of two rehearsal days, a concert, and an all-day recording session at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin. What ended up on the record is not the studio…