Lebanese-born French trumpeter and composer Ibrahim Maalouf has collaborated with various music artists over the years, including his Grammy nominated work with Angelique Kidjo. Maalouf blends jazz, classical, and his forte of Arabic traditions. With nineteen albums to his credit, and more to come, there’s no stopping Maalouf from creating music that he loves.

The Paris based musician performed in Mumbai with his internationally-acclaimed 10-piece band, Trumpets of Michel-Ange on Friday 29^th November at the NMACC.

In an email interview, Maalouf tells us of his influences, collaborations, his unique quarter-tone trumpet, his music and an album he composed when he was just 18 years.

Ibrahim, tell us how the tour to India happen?

For many years, I’ve wanted to perform my music in India, but the opportunities were few and far between. I was thrilled to learn recently about the chance to play at the NMACC in Mumbai. I immediately accepted, especially since a dear friend of mine and an artist I deeply admire, Richard Bona, will also be sharing the stage that same evening.

It’s your debut visit to the country, what have you heard about it and what memories do you plan to take back with you?

I’ve listened to a lot of Indian and even Pakistani music, and I’ve even learned a bit about singing in those styles. I know I’m going to meet incredible people, and I hope to collaborate even more with artists from this part of the world in the future. I’ve had the chance to work with Trilok Gurtu, Talvin Singh, and a few other artists from here, but I feel there’s still so much more for me to discover.

As a child, your family left Beirut for Paris because of the Lebanese Civil War. You were in a new land, a new language, how did you pick up the pieces and make a career in music?

I come from a family of artists, poets, and journalists. The influence of these artistic expressions has always been a wonderful source of inspiration, helping me to find a true identity and a language that reflects who I am. I believe one of the most interesting things we can do with music is to blend all our identities into a single, unified expression. It’s clear that my Middle Eastern origins, my Arab culture, and my adopted Western culture intertwine with influences from world music and all the styles I love to listen to. I’m also fortunate to play a very special trumpet invented by my father in the 1960s, which allows me to perform all scales based on quarter tones. This unique instrument gives me the ability to express myself in a deeply personal musical language.

So tell us about the quarter-tone trumpet?

This instrument, invented by my father, is almost a normal trumpet but with an additional valve to play quarter tones. However, the truth is that my father mainly invented a completely unique way of playing the trumpet. No one before him had ever played like that, and that’s what I’ve inherited. Today, I’ve decided to commercialize this instrument and teach everyone how to play it, so that my father’s dream can finally come true. My father is now 85 years old, and he has always told me that one day, trumpet players around the world would embrace his instrument. Unfortunately, only a few of us have truly explored the richness of this new trumpet. But with the academy I’ve just created and the new TOMA trumpet brand we’ve launched, there are now many people around the world who are showing interest and finally beginning to play it.

When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and musical influences?

I started composing music when I was very young. Some of my earliest memories are of composing in my bedroom when I was just five or six years old. I’ve never stopped creating music, telling stories through melodies. One of my greatest passions is arranging and producing. With my studio in Paris, I spend hours and entire days creating, inventing, and building the ideal world where I feel happiest. One of my biggest influences was the legendary producer Quincy Jones, who recently passed away. I believe he influenced the entire world through his music, arrangements, vision, and values.

On that note, can you tell us your first meeting up with the legendary Quincy Jones and how the two of you became partners in music?

As you can imagine, that meeting changed my life. The first time I crossed paths with Quincy Jones was at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. I was performing there in 2017, and Quincy came backstage to listen to the start of the concert. I couldn’t believe my eyes, but there he was. And, more importantly, he stayed until the very end. After the concert, I went to speak with him, and he said incredible things about my performance. He even offered to manage me in the United States and Canada. From that day on, I was managed by him and his team for North America. His passing is a great loss for the music world, but his legacy and spirit will remain with us for a very long time.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album?

I always work in the same way. First, I let my instinct take over. I love to create and improvise. Then, regardless of the initial purpose of what I’ve just invented, if I feel there’s a chance that it might lead to something meaningful, I develop it. I work on it, produce it, add elements, take some out, add others, and so on. When, at some point, the music evokes an emotion in me and tells a story that feels important, I set it aside. I revisit it regularly for weeks, months, or sometimes even years later. If the music still speaks to me after all that time, then, and only then, I decide to do something with it.

In 2023 you were nominated for a Grammy for ‘Queen of Sheba’ album with Angelique Kidjo connecting Africa to the Middle East. Tell us about the collaboration.

Indeed, it was my first Grammy nomination, and I was very proud because it was a collaboration with one of the greatest African artists of our time. Angélique Kidjo. I was also fortunate to be nominated a second time the following year for the album ‘Capacity to Love’. When these nominations come, it’s an incredible reward for all of us and also for the audience that follows me from all over the world.

Musically, what are you working on now?

Right now, I’m working on two film scores, which is one of my favorite things to do in the world of music. I’m also preparing a symphonic album, which is a symphonic work I composed when I was 18, and I’ve always wanted to finally record it. We recorded it with the Nice Symphony Orchestra in France. I also have an album in quintet with the same team I worked with on my albums ‘Kalthoum ‘(2015) and ‘Wind’ (2011). Most excitingly, there’s an electronic music album coming soon, which is really thrilling because playing in clubs all around the world is something truly unique for the musician I am.

In 2024 you released two new albums, ‘Paris in Love’, and also ‘Trumpets of Michel Ange’, an album honoring the memory of your musician father. Tell us about these two different albums of yours.

These two albums are radically different. ‘Paris in Love’ comes from one of the biggest stage performances of my life, at the Accor Arena in Paris. During that concert, several hundred people participated and performed on stage. I truly believe it was one of the craziest concerts of my career. It was the live version of my album ‘Capacity to Love’, which is heavily influenced by urban music, hip-hop, and electronic music. The show featured many collaborations with artists from the rap and pop worlds, as well as musicians from the jazz scene. ‘Trumpets of Michel-Ange’, on the other hand, is a completely different album. First, it’s a studio album, recorded live with the entire group in real-time conditions. There’s absolutely no computer or machine running in the background. It’s truly an album written for organic instruments, reminiscent of brass bands from the early 20th century. The style leans much more towards Middle Eastern music but also incorporates jazz, African, and Latin American influences.

Your music and trumpet playing are inspired by Arabic culture. What other music do you experiment with?

I know it might sound a bit cliché, but I believe that all types of music have something interesting to explore. I listen to all kinds of music, and I really dislike it when people say they hate a particular genre of music. To me, that’s like saying you hate a certain culture or type of human being. For me, music represents cultures, and cultures carry values and stories. I love exploring all stories and values and then weaving them into what I want to express. That’s why I listen to all kinds of music, and I would never say that any style doesn’t belong in my world. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Interviewed by Verus Ferreira