Christine Sehnaoui

by Shaun Brady

Back in July, Gene Coleman's Lebanon-meets-Philly Tabadol Project was laid waste by the crushing hand of irony (in the form of Israeli bombs). Thanks to Coleman's persistence ["Jazz During Wartime," Music, July 20, 2006], Tabadol is back on, currently slated for February 2007, but a glimpse of things to come will be available this week. Baltimore's annual experimental bacchanal, the High Zero Festival, has flown Christine Sehnaoui to the States, and the Lebanese-by-way-of-Paris altoist will make the trip up from BWI for a pair of Philly performances. First, she'll kick off Coleman's new season of Soundfield concerts, along with Japanese guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Coleman and Philly cellist Helena Espvall. Then on Wednesday she'll play in various configurations with a batch of locals in a Bowerbird-presented show, featuring a duo with saxist Jack Wright. With a cease-fire in place, the din has finally subsided enough to hear some long-overpowered voices.