Ibrahim Maalouf: Wind

Beirut-born Parisian trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf uses a four-valve instrument invented by his father to spice his jazz with the melodic intricacies of Arabic music and his 2011 release, Diagnostic , was a headlong odyssey through many different genres that sounded like a musician coming to terms with his own eclectic heritage. Wind is a more subdued affair, originally commissioned as an accompaniment to René Clair's 1927 silent film, La Proie du Vent, and Maalouf's cool, laid-back compositions pay overt homage to Miles Davis's score for Louis Malle's 1958 classic, L'Ascenseur pour l'Echafaud. Without the visuals, however, this collection of featherlight grooves is almost too subtle, and doesn't overly tax the A-list New Yorkers he got to play it, including saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Clarence Penn.