Amir

Boy am I sleepy today!
Right now I am in my Flash class on a break, and I can barely keep my eyes open. Last night Sami and I along with our friend Aaron and Sami's student Danielle went to Philly to see Amir (that's Amir ElSaffar, our good friend, and Sami's best man at our wedding) perform at a Arts foundation called the Painted Bride. We got back to New York around 1:30am but then went and had Sheesha (my favorite passtime at any hour) in Astoria with one of Danielle's friends.

Amir's show was a mix of Jazz and Iraqi Maqam that the foundation commisioned him to compose. Amir started his music career as a Jazz trumpter and later got deeply immersed in the music of Iraq which has a distinct sound, different from alot of Arabic music from other regions. It was a great show and really exciting to see Amir perform the two genre's together. He's been at our house feverishly (and that's literally as he was sick last week) composing for the show. He did a great job. I also just finished his website: www.amirelsaffar.com so check it out! Amir also performed with us at the last Zikrayat show. He's an amazing musician and such a great friend and inspiration to Sami!