Nasheet Waits

Two Rivers is jazz master Amir ElSaffar's debut album as a leader; he is a well-seasoned musician in both the jazz world and the classical one. He has performed as a member of pianist Vijay Iyer's celebrated group, and with Cecil Taylor's, he has also played on the front line with the brilliant -- if less widely known -- alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's group (who returns the favor here).

“He is sonic, he is time, he is gesture,” writes contrabassist Mark Helias about Tony Malaby in his liner notes for “Tamarindo.” Helias knows his stuff. Malaby’s reputation as a complete tenor and soprano saxophonist continues to grow and his modesty and absolute dedication to his music have become legend.

Since bursting onto the international creative music scene in 2004 with Interface (Clean Feed 22) and Artificial Light (Fresh Sound 186), Steve Lehman has quickly established a reputation for creating cutting-edge music, both as a fiercely imaginative saxophonist and as a young visionary composer.