Two Rivers Ensemble – Past Concerts

The Two Rivers Ensemble is a sextet of jazz and Middle Eastern musicians that has made innovative strides in in using the maqam modal system with the American jazz idiom. Deeply rooted in musical forms of Iraq and nearby regions, the music still speaks the language of swing, improvisation and group interaction, and the resultant sound is distinct from other contemporary cross-cultural musical fusions. After 14 years of extensive performing and touring and the release of three critically-acclaimed albums on Pi Recordings, Inana (2011) Two Rivers (2007), and Crisis (2015), the Two Rivers Ensemble has developed an instinctive ease with ElSaffar's highly complex music, enabling the band to play with a creativity that transcends pure technical challenge in a style that is rooted in tradition, while creating an entirely new aesthetic. Amir ElSaffar's work "Crisis," was commissioned by the Newport Jazz Festival, where it premiered in August 2013, which Downbeat Magazine called "certainly the first Middle Eastern-imbued jazz combo at Newport to win a standing ovation for its first song." Crisis was released on Pi Recordings in July 2015.