Piu Entertainment, an artistic organization company based in London, brought together İbrahim Maalouf’s musical project T.O.M.A. (The Trumpets of Michel-Ange) with jazz music enthusiasts from İzmir for the first time in Turkey. I feel very lucky as a jazz critic to be a guest at this unforgettable night. İbrahim Maalouf has a significant impact on my life. With the İzmir concert, I had the chance to watch the artist on stage for the 4th time. After 17 albums and a prestigious GRAMMY nomination, Maalouf, who took the stage with such a unique group, magnificently combined the nature of jazz music with the nature of different musical roots. 

T.O.M.A, which stands for “Trumpets of Michel Ange”, stands out as a great adventure that takes the audience to a world where folklore and modernity come together in philosophical, historical and musical terms. Maalouf reinterprets his previous works, such as the song ‘Beirut’, according to the style of this group, and presents them to the audience for the first time, I think. The structure of the concert brought together the mystical tones of the East and the magnificent harmony of the West, and especially the group’s unique performance of all the music without causing a single problem fascinated the audience. Ibrahim Maalouf is the most important living jazz legend and virtuoso! The most important detail that made the artist unique in his concert was that he played the four-valve trumpet, which allowed quarter tones to be played, instead of the traditional three-valve trumpet invented by his father Nassim Maalouf more than half a century ago! While it is not possible to add eastern melodies or exclamations to music with the trumpet, Maalouf does not stray from his father’s footsteps and shows this musical instrument to the whole world in a unique way. 

Ibrahim Maalouf, whom I researched in detail while preparing a file on Arabic Jazz years ago, managed to reach a higher level with each album he released. We watched the reflection of his 2024 album release Trumpets of Michel-Ange throughout the concert. With light melodies, the notes that echo in the ears like a ritual now reach the indispensable integrity of a dynamic world music. The most striking point of the concert is Maalouf’s wonderful combination of dance and jazz; the Middle East geography and his passion for modernity in the same frame! With his sound that wanders between jazz, rap, world and Middle East music genres and his unique style that he created in his 2024 album, the artist, who completed his concert with a successful performance as a composer, arranger and manages to determine a style that is unique to him. 

İbrahim Maalouf’s statement that he and his wife are of Turkish origin during the concert created a separate beauty for us jazz enthusiasts. The Proposal, Love Anthem, Fly With Me and Zajal… are the songs that stayed in my mind throughout the concert and that I was even more fascinated by when I listened to them live. In addition, the notes of the Trumpets of Michel-Ange album, which wanders on the shores of Turkish culture, are truly fascinating. In fact, the fact that he included people wearing fezzes on the album cover is a separate beauty for us Turks. I will not forget this concert, which is a unique reflection of Middle Eastern, Turkish and Western Music, for a long time. 

Bravo İbrahim Maalouf, Bravo T.M.O.A.! 

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