THE BASSAM SABA ENSEMBLE - Debut Album "Wonderful Land" - CD-RELEASE FALL '09

Saba recorded and performs his original compositions with his sextet, the Bassam Saba Ensemble, consisting of Megan Gould on violin, William Martina on cello, Ben Street on doublebass, and April Centrone and Jamey Haddad on percussion. Saba plays the nay (Arabic end-blown reed flute), flutes (standard, piccolo and alto), 'ud (Middle-Eastern lute), buzuq (Arabic long-necked lute), saz (Turkish long-necked lute), and violin.

"Breathtaking skill meets incredible originality, depth, variety and emotion…music as complex and passionate as its composer. A child of Northern Lebanon, growing up with his father's stories of Turkey inside a house full of music, a stunning backdrop of fields of red and purple flowers and olive trees. A teenager who flees conflict and paradise, becomes a student of Paris and later Moscow, studying Russian and becoming fluent in a language and life brisk and political. A young man returning to Beirut, visiting distant lands with Marcel Khalife, playing before ampitheaters of hundreds of thousands singing against injustice. A young man with Ziad Rahbani, composing songs for his mother to sing as the bombs shook the building around them. A man who came to America … "

Saba’s debut album, ‘”The Wonderful Land,” is a masterpiece, a compilation and caliber of work that could only emerge from one of such breathtaking ability, vast accomplishment, and years and years of rich life and world experience given voice to only now. An electrifying mix of classical Arabic and gypsy Turkish tradition infused with hints of western classical arrangement, each piece of Saba’s music paints a different picture of his life's work, experience and travel. Emotion and nostalgia can be sensed in pieces like Breeze from the South, the feel and scent of the warm summer wind brushing over the fields of grain and flowers of northern Lebanon, and in Waltz to My Father, a time reminiscent of Saba's study in Moscow, living the stories he heard as a child from his father. With joy and energy come pieces such as Nirvana, a classical-contemporary Arabic suite which invites listeners to join an unfolding exploration of what could be an ancient Arabian palace, where mystery and intrigue give way to the discovery of a great celebration of music and dance.

Passionate performer and dedicated educator Bassam Saba is one of the most sought-after Arabic musicians in the United States today. The world-renowned multi-instrumentalist (nay, oud, violin, buzuq, saz and western classical flute) studied at the Lebanon National Conservatory. He has held many Arabic music workshops and lectures around the U.S., and has conducted numerous orchestras and ensembles at educational institutions such as Harvard University and the Arabic Music Retreat held at Mt. Holyoke College, the most prestigious Arabic music camp in North America. AANM's Global Thursday Concert Series, January 2010, celebrated the release of Saba’s debut CD, The Wonderful Land with a magnificent performance.

Click any of the tracks below to hear a sample:

1. Nirvana
2. Orange Dusk
3. Wionderful Land
4. U Vrot Vastoka
5. Breeze from the South
6. Waltz to my Father
7. Afrocola
8. Story of the Dried River