Iraqi-American trumpeter, santur player, vocalist, and composer Amir ElSaffar is a visionary and a pioneer of cross-culturalmusical exploration. His six-piece Two Rivers Ensemble, formed in 2006, was among the first projects to combine jazz withIraqi Māqams. In 2015, ElSaffar expanded the group to form the 17 member Rivers of Sound. The orchestra’s 2017release Not Two (New Amsterdam) was described by the New York Times as ‘an arresting debut album... full ofmomentum, but not in the way of a single moving thing. Instead, it seems to flow and spill across bounds’ and PitchforkMagazine called it ‘... a towering statement of purpose—wise to many traditions, even while it remains accessible toanyone.’ With The Other Shore, Rivers of Sound’s second release, ElSaffar expands the group’s musical palette, exploringnew territories, with complex rhythmic cells and microtonal melodies melding together in lush improvised textures createdby the unique timbres of instruments and chemistry between the all-star musicians that make up this orchestra.

• 1 Dhuha 12:50
• 2 Transformations 9:55
• 3 Reaching Upward 16:29
• 4 Ashaa 15:25
• 5 Concentric 5:12
• 6 Lightning Flash 8:54
• 7 March 6:00
• 8 Medmi (Epilogue) 4:15