Dena El Saffar and Tim Moore

On this Cultural Manifesto host Kyle Long talks with two of his favorite Indiana musicians: multi-instrumentalist and composer Dena El Saffar and percussionist Tim Moore. 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of their band Salaam, a fantastic Middle Eastern music ensemble Dena founded as a student at Indiana University. In addition to their work in Salaam, Dena and Tim are also members of Rivers of Sound, an extraordinary 17 piece orchestra that fuses elements of traditional Iraqi maqam with contemporary Western jazz. Rivers of Sound have performed at festivals and concert halls around the world, including Newport Jazz Festival, and the London Jazz Festival. The Chicago Tribune just ranked Rivers of Sound's February performance at Orchestra Hall as one of the best jazz concerts of 2018.