Last year the presence of
Ibrahim Maalouf at the North Sea Jazz Festival made for high expectations that he completely lived up to in a Hudson hall filled to the brim. He whipped up the audience with his lyrical playing. This summer the French-Lebanese trumpeter returns to Rotterdam, but to a larger stage. Maalouf is seen as one of the great innovators both in jazz and on the trumpet; his instrument has a special fourth valve that allows him to play the Arab musical scale. Maalouf impresses with his astounding technique and original compositions in which Arab influences are subtly hidden. As a musician who cannot be put in a single genre, he continues to re-invent himself. For his last album
Wind, he was inspired by Miles Davis’ soundtrack for
Ascenseur Pour l'Échafaud. On his latest album
Illusions he explores the roads of funk and rock.
