Free Iraqi-American Jazz This Weekend at Freer and Sackler was originally published on Black Plastic Bag on Feb. 03, 2009, at 12:17 pm
Amir ElSaffar is an Iraqi-American jazz trumpeter, santoor player, and singer, and lately the author of a long-form composition entitled Two Rivers — a play on the Tigris and Euphrates as well as the two courses of his own cultural and musical heritage (i.e., American jazz and Iraqi classical music).
It’s a unique and timely piece, and you can hear it in performance on Saturday night, Feb. 7, at 7:30 at the Freer and Sackler Galleries’ Meyer Auditorium (1050 Independence Avenue SW). Appropriately enough, ElSaffar will be joined on Two Rivers by his Two Rivers ensemble: saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, drummer Nasheet Waits, bassist Carlo DeRosa, and oud/violin/dumbec player Zaafir Tawil.
Admission is free. Tickets will be distributed at the venue’s door beginning one hour before showtime.
