Aleph – the first letter of the Arabic, Greek and Hebrew alphabets – offers a meeting of modern jazz (piano, bass, drums) and the sounds of the oud and the violin, close to the traditional music of the Maghreb and the Middle East.

Born in 2018, an award-winner at the “Journées Musicales de Carthage” in Tunisia as well as the “Prix de la presse musicale” in France, the group features five talented musicians of various origins and influences. Akram Ben Romdhane (on the bewitching oud) and Wajdi Riahi (rising star of jazz piano) are both from Tunisia, they studied classical and Arabic music. Théo, Marvin and Maxime come from a jazz, rock and fusion background. The mix is surprising!

Shapes of Silence highlights this union of five musicians. It bears witness to their roots and retraces the years of travel during which the collective (that’s how they think of themselves) has united around this music, without ever imposing boundaries, letting themselves be carried along by their generosity.

This first nine-track album also welcomes two prestigious guests. The band called on Manuel Hermia (Hermia-Ceccaldi-Darifour, Orchestra Nazionale della Luna, Manuel Hermia Trio, …) for the artistic direction while Fabrizio Cassol (Aka Moon) adds sublime sax on two tracks (“Peace” & “Morning Mist”). “Fabrizio entered the music of Aleph quintet the same way he enters that of Scarlatti or Beethoven, that of the Indians or the Balkans. A totally successful alchemy” (JC Vantroyen, Le Soir).

The album comes with a 12-page booklet in which each track is illustrated by the Syrian artist Mohamad Zaza.

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