"I've never come up with a name for the kind of music that I do," says Peter Apfelbaum, a composer and multi-instrumentalist known for his unique fusion of world music influences and the aesthetic of the jazz avant-garde. Latin rhythms, Middle Eastern modalities, Indian raga drones, reggae beats, free jazz energy, funk, and polyrhythms are but a small sample of the elements to be found in Peter's intricately structured pieces, full of time changes, harmonic and dynamic shifts, and constantly varying soloists.

Tonight Peter and featured vocalist, the soulful Malian singer Abdoulaye Diabate, along with Peter's 11-piece ensemble, the New York Hieroglyphics, spotlight pieces from their new CD, It Is Written (ACT). A combination of West Coast and New York stalwarts, the Hieroglyphics' current lineup features Josh Roseman (trombone), Peck Allmond (trumpet, reeds), Tony Jones (tenor sax), Jessica Jones (alto and tenor sax), Norbert Stachel (baritone and bass sax, flute), Charles Burnham (violin), David Phelps and Viva De Concini (guitar), Patrice Blanchard (bass), and Josh Jones (drums). Longtime Hieroglyphics fans will be excited to note that Peck, Tony, Jessica, Norbert and Josh are all original members from the 1970s!

Although he currently resides in New York, Peter is well known on the West Coast jazz scene. He's an alum of the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, and founded the Hieroglyphics' first incarnation while he was a senior at the school in 1977. He gained wide exposure as a member of Don Cherry's Multikulti group, as well as for his work with the Hieroglyphics. In addition to his own projects, Peter has played with a dizzying list of luminaries, including Kamikaze Ground Crew, Joe Bowie's Defunkt Big Band, O.J. Ekemode and the Nigerian All-Stars, the Groove Collective, the Trey Anastasio Band, and many more.

One of Mali's foremost singers, Abdoulaye Diabate was born into a family of griots, or traditional praise singers. Over years performing with various popular West African groups including Super Mande and Les Go de Koteba, as well as his more recent solo efforts and duos with jazz musicians, he has become famous for fusing Malian traditions with popular and contemporary music.