Ibrahim Maalouf never rests. Since we last heard from him in 2012, when he released WIND with Frank Woeste, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, and Clarence Penn, Maalouf has dropped no less than 4 albums, DIA and ILLUSIONS on the same day in 2013, and Au pay d’Alice with symphony orchestra, choral and French rapper/poet Oxmo Puccino, as well as the soundtrack for the Yves Saint-Laurent movie, in 2014. Unfortunately, all those missed our radar. But not to worry, 2015 has two new Maalouf albums in store for us to be released both on September 25th. First off all, Kalthoum will be an homage to the Egyptian singer and actress Oum Kalthoum and will feature powerhouses Mark Turner on piano (yeah, you read that right), Larry Grenadier on bass and Clarence Penn on drums. Expect an acoustic set with tinges of Arabic sounds. To counterbalance this more traditional offering, Maalouf is also releasing, on the same day nonetheless, RED & BLACK LIGHT an opus with a more electro-pop-rock feel featuring French juggernaut Eric Legnini on keys, François Delporte on guitar and Stéphane Galland on drums. Check out “Red & Black Light” the first single from this second album below the jump. Let’s just say it got us really hyped up to hear the whole thing! You can pre-order RED & BLACK LIGHT on iTunes.
Sébastien Hélary co-founded Nextbop in 2009 with the objective of introducing modern jazz music to a younger generation of fans. Aside from music, his other main obsession is food, particularly ramen and other Japanese delicacies.
