When the Lebanon-born and French-raised trumpet player Ibrahim Malouf found out that he had ancestors who had settled in Cuba, he thought it was high time to explore his Latin American roots. He does this with the help of Cuban guest musicians on his eleventh album S3NS. S3NS did not become a pure Latin jazz record. Malouf uses different styles in which the Latin American influences are interwoven.
The CD opens with Una Rosa Blanca, pop music with jazz influences. Happy Face sounds like it was written for the tattoo. The title track moves on in a sensual way. This is followed by three jazz funk songs, but each in a different flavor. Gebrayel's dazzling Latin jazz is dedicated to one of his ancestors. And on the impressive Radio Magallanes you can hear Salvator Allende's last speech from 1973. Minutes later he was to be executed by the army. Malouf masters his instrument like no other. He can make his trumpet sound subtle and like a buzzing mosquito, but can also open all registers and extract a robust brass band sound. (AD)more
