• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Spellbinding Music

Genre-bending & spine-tingling

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact

Yazz Ahmed: La Saboteuse

April 22, 2018 By guillaume

Born in Bahrain but based in London since the age of nine, Yazz Ahmed is a young jazz trumpeter, flugelhorn player and composer. Having already collaborated and recorded with a wide array of artists and bands to date – Radiohead, Lee “Scratch” Perry or These New Puritans to name a few – the musician has undertaken over the last few years a journey of self-discovery stimulated by her own dual cultural background. Following on her début Finding My Way Home in 2011 and released on Naim Records on 12 May 2017 last, La Saboteuse sees Yazz Ahmed pursue her quest surrounded by an impressive line-up of musicians.

La Saboteuse Chap. 1 - © Sophie Bass
La Saboteuse Chapter 1 – © Sophie Bass
La Saboteuse Chap. 2 - © Sophie Bass
La Saboteuse Chapter 2 – © Sophie Bass
La Saboteuse Chap. 3 - © Sophie Bass
La Saboteuse Chapter 3 – © Sophie Bass
La Saboteuse Chap. 4 - © Sophie Bass
La Saboteuse Chapter 4 – © Sophie Bass

Expertly produced by Noel Langley and earning flattering comparisons with Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew-era recordings, La Saboteuse is a wonderful fusion of Eastern-inflected compositions, free-flowing improvisation and modern jazz-rock. The eclectic line-up of instrumentalists and collaborators, the stunning cover artwork by Bristol-based illustrator Sophie Bass, the exhaustive liner notes and an impeccable execution all point to a superb record underpinned by a remarkable artistic vision.

The recording is bookended by two flugelhorn and vibraphone improvisations, “Inhale” and “Exhale”. These pieces not only refer to the ancestral tradition of pearl diving in Persian Gulf countries and further explored on “The Lost Pearl”, but both tracks also signal a deep musical and spiritual introspection for the musician.

Originally released in 1992, Lebanese-born oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil’s Blue Camel is “a record that changed my perspective on jazz” notes Yazz Ahmed.

Here were the sounds and flavours of the music which, as a child in Bahrain, had deeply entered my psyche, but now blended with the jazz disciplines I had been studying for so long. Something really clicked and I felt compelled to explore this new world.

Over the last few years, the musician started playing the traditional Arabic maqams and explore its nuances on the violin. She began learning to read and write in Arabic. Emulating French-Lebanese jazz trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf, Yazz Ahmed also switched to a quarter-tone flugelhorn – thus unlocking “the gateway to the Arabic traditions of expressive melodic improvisation.”

Recorded between 2013 and 2016, La Saboteuse features a diverse combo of young jazz musicians met at various recording sessions and collaborative projects – Lewis Wright on vibraphone, Shabaka Hutchings on bass clarinet, Naadia Sheriff on Fender Rhodes, Dave Mannington and Dudley Philips on bass guitar, Corrina Silvester on percussion, Martin France on drums and Samuel Hällkvist on electric guitars.

Interspersed with five ethereal and ambient spontaneous compositions for flugelhorn and vibraphone, La Saboteuse also introduces electronica and loops (“The Space Between the Fish and the Moon”), complex and multi-layered horn, percussion and guitar sections (“Al Emadi”) and even spoken word on the title track (Yazz Ahmed’s Arabic teacher Fartun Tahir).

The ensemble playing truly shines on the energetic “Jamil Jamal” where bass clarinet, Fender Rhodes and flugelhorn trade choruses. Having contributed to the recording sessions for Radiohead’s The King of Limbs (2011) and having toured with These New Puritans following the release of their 2013 album Field of Reeds, Yazz Ahmed revisits “Bloom” and “Organ Eternal” respectively with a contemporary and refreshing jazz-rock perspective.

Extrapolating visually over four drawings the music heard on La Saboteuse, illustrator Sophie Bass captures to perfection the intoxicating tapestry of sounds arising from Yazz Ahmed’s multifaceted arrangements for an inspired collective.

https://www.yazzahmed.com/

You May Also Like:

  • Girma Bèyènè & Akalé Wubé: Mistakes on Purpose
    Girma Bèyènè & Akalé Wubé: Mistakes on Purpose
  • Peter Broderick: Float 2013
    Peter Broderick: Float 2013
  • Petros Klampanis: Chroma
    Petros Klampanis: Chroma
  • The Gloaming: Live at the NCH
    The Gloaming: Live at the NCH
  • Olivier Bogé: When Ghosts Were Young
    Olivier Bogé: When Ghosts Were Young
  • Mathias Eick: Midwest
    Mathias Eick: Midwest

Filed Under: Contemporary, Jazz Tagged With: flugelhorn, fusion, trumpet, Yazz Ahmed

Subscribe to Spellbinding Music

Never miss a post and subscribe to Spellbinding Music via email. Receive weekly and enchanting musical updates straight into your inbox - and it's free!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About

Spellbinding Music is a blog which curates contemporary, modern classical, roots, electronic, jazz and folk music…and everything in between. ... [Continue Reading]

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Most Read this week

Follow via Email

Search

Recent Posts

Paolo Fresu & Daniele Di Bonaventura - Altissima Luce (2019)

Paolo Fresu & Daniele Di Bonaventura: Altissima Luce

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin & Ultan O’Brien - Solas an Lae (2020)

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin & Ultan O’Brien: Solas an Lae

Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger - Force Majeure (2020)

Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger: Force Majeure

Yumi Ito - Stardust Crystals (2020)

Yumi Ito: Stardust Crystals

Lau Nau - Poseidon (2017)

Lau Nau: Poseidon

Stéphane Tsapis - Le Piano Oriental (2019)

Stéphane Tsapis: Le Piano Oriental

From the Archives

Vanessa Wagner: Inland

Nadah El Shazly - Ahwar (2017)

Nadah El Shazly: Ahwar

Brigid Mae Power - Head Above the Water (2020)

Brigid Mae Power: Head Above The Water

Jherek Bischoff - Cistern (2016)

Jherek Bischoff: Cistern

Sly & Robbie meet Nils Petter Molvær - Nordub (2018)

Sly & Robbie meet Nils Petter Molvær: Nordub

Anna Mieke - Idle-Mind (2019)

Anna Mieke: Idle Mind

Slow Moving Clouds - Starfall (2018)

Slow Moving Clouds: Starfall

Footer

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 Spellbinding Music | Website by Pagecrafted

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT