Encounters of African-American and Middle Eastern music have deep historical roots, as the work of anybody from Yusef Lateef and Ahmed Abdul-Malik to Rabih Abou-Khalil and Anouar Brahem attests. Iraqi-American trumpeter-composer-vocalist Amir ElSaffar has made a substantial contribution to the lineage in the past decade by way of ambitious releases from his 17-piece Two Rivers ensemble and this new CD picks up powerfully from previous works. ElSaffar presents a rich orchestral palette and a blend of Arabic, classical and jazz vocabulary that coheres and stimulates by the quality of the writing and playing. The deft sliding of quarter-tones and engrossing maqams (modes) will be familiar to those who have already heard ElSaffar, and his lengthy compositions are a smart patchwork of punchy riffs, longer, intricate themes and dovetailing countermelodies. His own brass playing and singing catch the ear, as do the contributions of a band of stellar soloists on a range of eastern and western instruments. Yet the most striking element of the album is the driving, often explosive character of Nasheet Waits’ drumming, which brings a rugged, dare one say, rock & roll slant to proceedings that offsets the ornate nature of some of the scores. The net result is music that has a distinct immediacy if not urgency at times, and ElSaffar is to be commended for assembling and directing a band which somehow manages to capture the bustling, raucous feel of an AEC or vaguely Ra-ish ensemble all the while creating sophisticated suites that reflect the immense cultural riches that are to be found in the Arab world. Listening to this work on disc is a great pleasure. But that would probably be surpassed by hearing it on a crowded stage.