Abdulah Ibrahim

New album from Ibrahim Maalouf. Guest appearances include De la Soul and Gergory Porter. "I'm a nomad," says international trumpet superstar Ibrahim Maalouf. "I've never believed in borders or boundaries because at the end of the day, the most exciting thing to me is the way our differences can come together to create new art, new stories, new generations. When we collaborate, we can change the world." That notion lies at the heart of Maalouf's extraordinary new album, Capacity To Love, which finds the Lebanese-born, French-raised instrumental mastermind teaming up with a host of hip-hop and R&B artists (including Flatbush Zombies' Erick The Architect, De La Soul, and D Smoke) for his most bold and innovative collection yet.

The 10 studio albums of Ibrahim Maalouf 2007-2020 grouped together in a collector's box in Limited and Numbered Edition. « Diasporas » (2007), « Diachronism » (2009), « Diagnostic » (2011), « Wind » (2012), « Illusions » (2013), « Kalthoum » (2015), « Red & Black Light » (2015), « Levantine Symphony n°1 » (2018), « S3NS » (2019), « 40 Melodies » (2020).

"FIRST NOEL" is a Christmas album including 25 of the greatest classics as well as three exclusive new tracks Ibrahim composed especially for the very first Christmas of his son, and in honor of his grandma Odette's last one, past year. The Christmas memories he has are full of wonderful moments, so he insisted on recording this album staying true to the magic of these instants.

One Man and His Cow (original title: La Vache - The Cow) is a 2016 French comedy film directed by Mohamed Hamidi.
The Lebanese, Paris based trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf is a versatile musician who creates with charm and musical power wonderful solo albums like ‘Ullusions‘, ‘Wind‘ (music for the silent film ‘La Proie du Vent‘ 1926 by René Clair) and his three CD box ‘Dia‘. The use of electronics, solid jazz and trumpet section with four trumpets on ‘Illusions‘ makes him a pioneer who put the trumpet in a broader perspective.

Abdullah Ibrahim's followers likely have preferences for his big-band, large-ensemble, trio, or solo works, but any of his fans will agree that all of his projects display a unique melodic touch that is immediately recognizable and pleasant. Well into his golden years, Ibrahim still proves he has the Midas touch on this collection of 22 solo acoustic piano pieces. It's a mix of familiar songs and new material, all referencing the elements of life, nature, hearth, and homeland that have always been central themes in what he calls storytelling, not mere music-making. On this triptych through memorable experiences, the pianist weaves his way through many short snippets of phrases that have served him well, and a few extended discourses that define his career and its struggles to come out triumphant…

In 2005, even before the release of his first album, Ibrahim began work that seemed obvious to him. With his first album, Ibrahim had made an artistic proposal, but was far from having finished everything he had to say. And this second album was the logical continuation of the first. An evolution in the form of a question. "Do I necessarily have to evolve in a clear artistic direction: Eastern or Western? Am I forced by my origins to take refuge in the ease of exoticism? Ibrahim asks this question through an astonishing process. 2 CDs in the same album. One is "Disoriental" and the other "Paradoxidental", and both deal with the same question from two very different angles. The first is the oriental's view of the mixing with the West. The other is the Westerner's view of mixing with the East. According to Ibrahim, this album is a work of research. Far from being a result, it is part of an artistic and intimate therapeutic process.

After his remarkably successful acoustic album Wind, Maalouf comes back with a more electric sound on Illusions. It is an album born out of, and designed for, performance on stage. It not only features the members of his regular band, Frank Woeste on the keyboard, François Delporte on the guitar, Xavier Roge on the drums et Laurent David on the bass, but also adds three more quarter-tone trumpeters (Youenn Le Cam, Yann Martin and Martin Saccardy) to bring a even higher level of dynamism to the sound. Maalouf says, "I wanted this album to be festive and full of positive energy… it starts with the most tragic view of the world: cynicism. It then gradually evolves towards light and hope."