Raed Yassin
Raed Yassin

"A" TRIO
Folk

Raed Yassin

Info

Folk(s) Music10:51
Rugged Land10:03
Cold Blood06:38
Song From The Valley06:20
A Tower With No Imam05:37

Musicians

"A" Trio
Mazen Kerbaj: Trumpet 
Sharif Sehnaoui: Acoustic Guitar 
Raed Yassin: Double Bass

All music improvised by Kerbaj/Sehnaoui/Yassin.
No cuts, no overdubbing, no use of electronics.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Rainer Robben at Audio Cue Studio, Berlin, on March 20th, 2018.

Band photograph by Uwe Faltermeier.
Artwork & design by Mazen Kerbaj.

Produced by Al Maslakh in 2022
MSLKH 025

Description

"A" Trio is the oldest free improvisation group to come out of Lebanon. It was formed in 2002 by Mazen Kerbaj (trumpet), Sharif Sehnaoui (acoustic guitar), and Raed Yassin (double bass), initially to perform a single concert for the second edition of experimental music festival Irtijal in Beirut, Lebanon. Following the concert, the three musicians went on to record the first free jazz album to be produced in the Arab world (A – La CDthèque Productions, 2003). As time went on, the music they created moved away from its jazz roots towards a more textural approach, relying strongly on prepared and extended techniques in an effort to heavily divert their respective instruments. After working together in trio and various other contexts for many years, Kerbaj, Sehnaoui and Yassin reached a characteristic sound that has been fondly described as “textural swing.” Creative yet simple, acoustic yet powerful, their live performances are playful and rely on a strong visual component.

"A" Trio celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022, embarking for the occasion on a tour that saw them perform in various parts of Europe and North America in Spring 2022. The trio is releasing two new albums in Fall 2022: a live recording entitled 'The Binding Third' for German label Unrock, and this current set of brand new compositions entitled FOLK for Lebanese experimental label Al Maslakh.

Clocking in just below 40 minutes, this new release preserves many of the elements developed by Kerbaj, Sehnaoui and Yassin over the years, both as a trio and in their respective solo practices. Yet Folk also draws from their multiple collaborations with musical collaborators as diverse as celebrated Australian jazz trio The Necks, American folk outlier Alan Bishop (of Sun City girl fame), and more recently British free improv pioneers AMM.

Press

"Folk presents the ‘A’ Trio in its most inventive form but also in its most playful side. Kerbaj, Sehnaoui and Yassin never surrender to familiar routes and conventions but know how to develop arresting and often ironic textures with great emotional intensity and wild imagination."
Eyal Hareuveni, freejazzblog, 2022

Biography

Raed Yassin

Photo by Hans Van Den Hinten

“A” Trio is a Lebanese improvisation group founded by Mazen Kerbaj, Sharif Sehnaoui, and Raed Yassin. Formed in 2002 in Beirut during the second Irtijal Festival of Experimental Music, the three musicians went on to record their first free jazz album entitled “ A ”. Their music later moved away from its jazz roots towards a more textural approach, relying strongly on prepared and extended techniques for a heavy diversion of their respective instruments. After working together in trio and various other contexts for many years, Kerbaj, Sehnaoui and Yassin reached a characteristic sound that has been fondly described as “textural swing.” Creative yet simple, acoustic yet powerful, their live performances are playful and rely on a strong visual component.

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