Maqām Records is the new label of American trumpeter, composer, santur player, and vocalist Amir ElSaffar, focusing on the maqam modal tradition of Iraq and the larger Middle East. The first release of the new label features the great Iraqi vocalist Hamid Al-Saadai, accompanied by the Safaafir ensemble playing traditional instruments of the Chalghi Baghdadi, including ElSaffar as the musical director, and playing on santur (hammered dulcimer) and singing, his sister, Dena El Saffar, on violin and joza (spike fiddle), and her husband, Tim Moore, on percussion. The ensemble was recorded at Russian Recording in Bloomington, Indiana, in May 2024.
The Brooklyn-based Al-Saadi (b.1958, Iraq) is the only Iraqi vocalist who has mastered the entire complex and intricate repertoire of the Iraqi Maqams, the long-form compositions of sung poetry that have been passed down orally for generations. Some elements in these maqams are from the Abbassid era (8th-13th centuries AD), Baghdad’s glorious age, while others date back further to ancient Mesopotamia.
The Safaafir ensemble was founded in 2006 and is committed to learning and reviving musical practices found on Iraqi archival recordings abandoned nearly a century ago, and released its debut album, Maqams of Baghdad, in 2006. Al-Saadi taught ElSaffar this repertoire and oversaw his development on the santur. Al-Saadi performed with ElSaffar’s Two Rivers ensemble, which incorporated the maqam system into jazz.
The double album Maqam Al-Iraq, Al-Saadi’s first album since 1999. Each maqam is followed by a pesteh, a lighthearted popular song that includes communal singing. The album consists of two Maqams composed by Al-Saadi, «Al-Iraq» (with the song «Dar al-Fikir wa al Amjad») and «Sa’idi» (with the song «Habibi Rah wa Ma Janeh»), which are the first additions to the repertoire in over a century, «Maqam Qazzaz» (with the song «Was Weilah wa Weil»), which has never been recorded, and «Maqam Al-Mansuri» (with the song «Ya Dada Ya Sha’lan») one of the most sophisticated and developed Maqam compositions. The instrumental parts are composed or arranged by ElSaffar.
This album is an invitation to the spiritual, hypnotic, and soulful musical universe of the Iraqi maqams, sung in both sacred and secular contexts. It highlights the great mastery of Al-Saadi and his profound affinity with the Safaafir ensemble. It is a moving and beautiful testament to Iraq’s ancient history, but also marks the importance of the maqams as a vivid, innovative legacy for future generations.
Eyal Hareuveni
Hamid Al-Saadi (Maqam reciter), Amir ElSaffar (santur, vocal), Dena ElSaffar (violin, joza), Tim Moore (percussion), Mizhir Al-Obaydi (backing vocalist)
