Summary: Music can be a unifying force that has the ability to transcend the boundaries of nationality, religion and language. It can also bring together a seemingly random assemblage of people mdash; all in celebration of and appreciation for a beautiful arrangement of sounds. Salaam, a band based in Bloomington, Indiana, focuses on music of the Arab world and aims to introduce it to an audience that reaches far beyond the Arabian Peninsula. NPR writes that Salaam ldquo;subtly transposes a genre of music few Americans are even aware of into a sonic realm that feels enchanting and exotic, while still strangely familiar.rdquo; Salaam consists of husband and wife duo Dena El Saffar and Tim Moore, and a rotating cast of musicians. While the music they play hails from the Middle East, that wasnrsquo;t El Saffarrsquo;s original focus when she began studying music. Shersquo;s a classically trained violist. Beethoven In Baghdad El Saffar grew up hearing the music of the Middle East in her home mdash; her father was a Muslim from Iraq mdash; but it would take a trip to the region when she was 17 for her to begin really paying attention to it. She would play the Bach and Beethoven she was learning on her viola for her family in Baghdad. After listening patiently they would put tapes of Middle Eastern music in the stereo and ask her to try to play that. ldquo;The response was really enthusiastic,rdquo; El Saffar says. ldquo;And I just started really paying attention to the music, and it just got under my skin. I loved it so much that ever since then. Irsquo;ve been learning to play ithellip; I would just listen to all the recordings I could get my hands on, and try to play along -- just like I did in Baghdad.rdquo; From Baghdad To Bloomington Moore is a native of the Midwest and originally played drums throughout the region in jazz and blues bands. It wasnrsquo;t until their paths crossed in 1993 that he was introduced to Middle Eastern music. Since then hersquo;s been dedicated to the practice and performance of this art form as well as understanding the place the music comes from. ldquo;The thing about music is there are no real boundaries or bordersrdquo;, Moore says. ldquo;Itrsquo;s all influenced by its neighbors. Even the Iraqi music that wersquo;ve spent so much time studying -- we hear the Persian influence, the Turkish influence, the Kurdish influence, the Gulf influence, and you can almost tell which part of Iraq the music comes from by what influence of the neighbors that yoursquo;re hearing in it.rdquo; El Saffar says Salaamrsquo;s shows usually draw a pretty mixed crowd. Audiences range from Muslims and Jews to Christians mdash; Arabs and Americans mdash; anyone that respects this traditional style. Itrsquo;s one of the things El Saffar says she loves most about playing in the band. ldquo;Music is a great equalizer, and it transcends language. It can bring people together even if they donrsquo;t speak the same language -- and the same with religion,rdquo; El Saffar says. ldquo;There might be Muslims, and Jews, and Christians, and especially if theyrsquo;re all from that part of the world, they all get up and sing along, and clap along. And it just, it brings people together. We get to represent the beautiful part of the culture from the Middle East. And we get to just make people feel good.rdquo;
