At a time when building bridges is more important than ever, flutist Jamie Baum is making musical connections between different cultures too often at odds with each other. Her new album, Bridges, finds the common ground between music she loves from the West with the music she’s discovered from the Middle East and South Asia.
When Baum embarked on an investigation of music from her Jewish heritage, that unlocked her curiosity in learning about other musical traditions — sacred and secular — from Pakistan, Tibet, and the Middle East. Her studies in jazz, first at the New England Conservatory then at the Manhattan School of Music, gave her the critical tools required to furnish her own creative melting pot, whether she’s taking on the melodies from the mystical sufi Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or rexamining the cantorial music she heard growing up in Connecticut.
The Jamie Baum Septet celebrates the new release of Bridges at The Cell Theatre in Manhattan on Saturday, May 26, in between two gigs in Connecticut, on May 25 at Firehouse 12 and May 27 at The Fairfield Theatre.
Watch the Jaime Baum Septet perform an original composition loosely based on a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan melody, called "Joyful Lament."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUtv_4F6tHc
The Jaime Baum Septet:
Jamie Baum, flutes
Amir ElSaffar, trumpet
Sam Sadigursky, alto sax, bass clarinet
Chris Komer, french horn
Brad Shepik, guitar
John Escreet, piano
Zack Lober, bass
Jeff Hirshfield, drums
Audio Mix: Corey Goldberg
Video: Chris Tobin
Producer: Simon Rentner
