Last year trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf (Beirut, 1980) released the album Kalthoum, a project in which he celebrates women whose artistic influence has had a significant impact on society. As his focal point he chose an Egyptian diva to whom he had listened since he was a child: Oum Kalthoum. Together with pianist Frank Woeste he selected one of her greatest songs and translated it into the idiom of jazz. Compared to other projects, this time Maalouf has stayed close to mainstream; he hoped that this mix of jazz and Eastern music could shed light on a new path. The song concerned is Alf Leila Wa Leila or The Thousand And One Nights, and the original is in the form of a suite that is about an hour long. Maalouf has transcribed the series of musical tableaux and, without vocals, there is a lot of room for improvisation.
