Amir ElSaffar: Jazz Musician in New York

About Amir ElSaffar

Amir ElSaffar is a trumpeter, vocalist, and composer whose work moves between experimental and free jazz and the modal discipline of Arabic maqam. At New York City’s National Sawdust, he has appeared as an artist-in-residence and in projects such as Inner Spaces with electronic composer Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch, where microtonal detail and studio electronics sit side by side. He also brings large-scale forms to the stage, including the concert version of his Arabic-language Maqam opera *Ruins أطلال*. His performances favor close listening over display.