A perfect Friday night with Yazz Ahmed’s new album: multi-melodic, layered, somewhere between jazz mastery and ambient mysticism.
The brilliant British-Bahraini musician presents her latest work, “A Paradise in the Hold,” at DE/SEMBLE.

The album’s roots go back to 2014, when a journey to her former home in Bahrain led her to rediscover the musical traditions of her childhood — from wedding songs and women’s drum circles to the mystical chants of the pearl divers (Fijiri).
“I was able to dive deeper into the music I grew up with,” Ahmed says, “music I never really appreciated as a child.”

Born in Bahrain and raised in the UK from the age of nine, Ahmed initially felt compelled to hide her background due to the stereotyping of Arab identity in the West. It was only through her path as a musician that she reconnected with the beauty of her heritage — and now channels it into music that’s both deeply personal and universally resonant.

Yazz Ahmed (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Ralph Wyld (vibraphone)
Dave Manington (bass)
Rod Youngs (drums)