Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble 9/25/15 Firehouse 12

Amir ElSaffar's group was showcasing their new release Crisis. The ensemble is a mashup of middle eastern instrumentation and straight ahead jazz blowing. ElSaffar on trumpet, santur (an Iraqi hammered dulcimer), Ole Mathisen on saxes, Carlo Derosa on standup bass, new to the group drummer Dan, and Palestinian-American string players Tareq Abboushi on buzuq and Zafer Tawil on oud. I have seen this group before, but they seemed to have upped the ante on the eastern inflection, with ElSaffar even singing in the arabic microtonal maqam style. The seven part Crisis Suite with sections like "Flyover Iraq", "Tipping Point", and "From the Ashes" were all excellent. The ensemble also seemed tighter, with great sax-trumpet interplay even a few tease-nods to recently departed Ornette Coleman. In bringing the buzuq and oud to the fore, ElSaffar had an exotic backdrop for his modern jazz delivery. In an age when Iraq and the U.S. are unwanted bedfellows, this ensemble bridges the gap with music....the great equalizer.