Bassam Saba

You’ve heard the virtuoso flute and ney (Arabic wooden flute) of composer, master multi
instrumentalist Bassam Saba in recordings and performances worldwide by Alicia Keys,
Yo Yo Ma, Fairouz, Simon Shaheen, Khaled & Santana, Silk Road Project, Marcel Khalife,
Kadim Al Sahir (Kazem), Quincy Jones, and many other giants of contemporary world music.
Now, at last, this brilliant multi-instrumentalist and composer emerges as leader of his own
ensemble. The Bassam Saba Ensemble is a sextet of musicians carefully selected to traverse
the musical territory of Bassam’s 30-year career:  Arabic and Western classical, jazz, pop,
and experimental music.  Bassam Saba & his Ensemble perform a unique repertoire of
Bassam’s recent compositions.  “Dance to My Father” draws on Russian folk melodies that
he and his father both adore.  “Le Rayon Vert (The Green Ray)” is a dramatic, 25-minute,
impressionist composition, portraying the shift from day to night as a struggle of radiance,
survival, submission, and ultimately the peace of night.  “Windmill of the North Shore” again
draws on Bassam’s childhood in the north of Lebanon with melodies created to evoke silvery
light and salty air.  Bassam plays the long-necked buzuk in the hijazkar scale—“ very Arabic,
and beautifully joyful.”  One of the most original forces in today’s Arabic music finds his own
voice at last.