Pi Recordings: Pi59 
http://www.pirecordings.com/album/pi59

* Amir ElSaffar: trumpet, vocal, santur
* Carlo DeRosa: bass
* Nasheet Waits: drums
* Ole Mathisen: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
* Tareq Abboushi: buzuq
* Zafer Tawil: oud, percussion
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santur 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouzouki
 
http://www.amirelsaffar.com/ 
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_DeRosa 
http://www.nasheetwaits.com/ 
http://www.olemathisen.com/ 
http://www.shusmo.com/ 
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/zafer-tawil-mn0000985875

Recorded on January 11-12, 2015 at Avatar Studios, New York, NY.
Engineered, mixed and mastered by Katsuhiko Naito.


Reviews
~~~~~~~

By Tim Niland

Trumpeter and vocalist Amir ElSaffar’s album Crisis by his Two Rivers Ensemble
chronicles his continuing exploration of the juncture between jazz and music of
the Middle East. The ensemble consists of Nasheet Waits on drums, Carlo DeRosa
on bass, Tareq Abboushi on buzuq (a long-necked lute), Zafer Tawil on oud and
percussion and Ole Mathisen on saxophone. “Introduction - From the Ashes” leads
off the album with heavy drums as the group comes blasting out sounding vital
and immediate with the strings and brash horns accompanied by emotional
singing. Strings and percussion usher in “The Great Dictator” allowing an
exotic underpinning for the horns to rise and punch through in a fast and
intricate fashion. Strings and hand percussion swirl joyfully with the horns
that roar back in and lead the band to hard charging conclusion. There is a
thick bass and drum opening on “El-Sha'ab (The People)” allowing the horns to
build upon the nimble music develop below them which even folds in notions of
funk, a ray of sunshine amidst a very serious set of music. “Flyover Iraq” is
one of the highlights of the album with the increasingly thickening sound of
bass, strings and percussion. The horns develop a riffing sound and build with
ElSaffar’s rippling and punchy trumpet leading the way, over a beautiful and
complex rhythm. On “Tipping Point” the subtle strings and drums allow the horns
space to layer upon one another until they build to a powerful cry of pain and
frustration. The music develops a freer more open section allowing for
alternating fast/slow dynamics to whip the group through to a powerful
conclusion. The final tracks, “Aneen (Weeping) Continued” and “Love Poem
(Complete)” are ballads, which are alternately lush and mournful, leaving the
album with a sense of unresolved sadness, much like the region of the world
that inspired it. This album is his reflection ElSaffar’s view of the culture
he grew up with, one is that is being irrevocably changed and in a struggle for
survival. It is a powerful album that demands to be heard, not only as an
excellent jazz LP, but also as a clarion call to artists of all disciplines to
band together to make substantive changes to the injustices they see around
them.

--

By Stef 
http://www.freejazzblog.org/2015/07/amir-elsaffars-two-rivers-crisis-pi-2015.html

By Karl Ackermann 
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/crisis-amir-elsaffar-pi-recordings-review-by-karl-ackermann.php

By Hrayr Attarian 
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/crisis-amir-elsaffar-pi-recordings-review-by-hrayr-attarian.php

By Richard B. Kamins

By Jan Granlie (no) 
http://salt-peanuts.eu/record/amir-el-saffar/

Por Sergio Piccirilli (es) 
http://elintruso.com/2015/08/12/amir-elsaffar-two-rivers-ensemble-crisis/