French-Lebanese Star Trumpeter/Composer Ibrahim Maalouf’s Trumpets of Michel-Ange Out Today 

Watch the Video for “Capitals” (Featuring Trombone Shorty): https://youtu.be/_YCwu7ofAFk

September 20, 2024 - - Trumpeter/composer Ibrahim Maalouf - the French-Lebanese global sensation and prolific artist - has released a new studio album of all original music today entitled Trumpets of Michel-Ange. The album is a celebration of his ancestry and Lebanese roots.  Today he has also released a music video for “Capitals,” which features Trombone Shorty: https://youtu.be/_YCwu7ofAFk   

Trumpets of Michel-Ange is Maalouf’s 18th album of all-original music and was recorded in a series of raw, freewheeling sessions captured live without any edits or overdubs. Trumpets of Michel Ange is more than just an album; it’s also the name of his wide-ranging new initiative aimed at making the quarter tone trumpet accessible to players around the world through a line of instruments, lessons, and recordings. This trumpet is what has given Maalouf such a distinct sound and an appetite for smashing together the sounds of so many cultures.  Special guests on the album include Trombone Shorty as well as Endea Owens, Toumani Diabaté, Sidiki Diabaté, Matthieu Chedid and Golshifteh Farahani.  

Take a listen to Trumpets of Michel Ange and it’s clear that Maalouf’s excitement and curiosity are as vibrant as ever. Built around a mesmerizing sonic storyline, the album captures the journey of two young lovers who come together to create a family, following them from the celebration of their marriage to the birth of their children and the bittersweet farewell that comes with sending their adult kids off into the world.

“On a symbolic level, this album is a celebration of love and family and the things that parents pass on to their children,” Maalouf explains. “On a more literal level, it’s a chance for me to turn my father’s dream of sharing his quarter tone trumpet with the world into a reality.”  The album cover features a photo from 1925, of Ibrahim’s grandfather’s fanfare, taken in the village of Kafarakab, in the Lebanese mountains, where Maalouf was born.  

Maalouf also spoke to NPR’s 1A about his career and the new album, and recently appeared on KEXP to perform several songs including “Fly With Me” and “Au Revoir” from the new album.  Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YplorxBJptw

Previously released single “Fly With Me” serves as a perfect introduction to what has made Maalouf so widely celebrated: touches of jazz and his rich trumpet tone woven into the sounds and rhythms of his Middle Eastern heritage.  The track opens with a hushed, dancing melody from Maalouf’s trumpet over plucked guitar; a horn section springs forth for the chorus and builds to an explosive conclusion.  He has also shared “Love Anthem,” and “The Smile For Rita.”  

Listen to the album here: https://idol-io.ffm.to/trumpetsofmichelange  

Ever-prolific, Maalouf released another album - Paris In Love in July, which was recorded at his sold-out concert last November at the Accor Arena, the biggest in France.  The three-hour concert for 17,000 fans was a celebration of his greatest hits and GRAMMY-nominated album Capacity To Love, and featured a host of special guests including Austin Brown (Michael Jackson's nephew), Sheléa, D Smoke, Matthieu Chedid, Benjamin Epps, Sly Johnson, Dear Silas, Flavia Coelho and French hip hop legends IAM and Oxmo Puccino.  Watch “The Pope,” featuring D Smoke.