Reviews

Ahmed Warshanna splashes onto the scene like a thunderbolt with his debut album Ishta. To call it fascinating is to ignore the warmth of its depth; to call it emotional is to say too little of its intellectual prowess. It is a remarkable work which combines western Jazz and elements of Egyptian rhythms and motifs…The blending of the styles is extraordinary…Ahmed plays with such a clean and precise sound, the melody takes centerstage in such beautiful ways. With only five tracks on the album, the music is wondrously expounded and explored over the course of 43 splendid minutes…Out of the depths of his grief, Ahmed Warshanna a work of beauty and wonder. The album deserves rapt attention and the artist bears close watching.

— Travis Rogers Jr., The Sentinel

Ahmed Warshanna has assembled one heck of a septet to deliver Ishta…Each one takes a turn in the spotlight to make a spectacular impression and to preserve that slow burn that’s stoked by the creative young man on the guitar…Warshanna is focused on the whole, basking in the creative process and producing gems such as this. Highly recommended.

— Marc Phillips, Part Time Audiophile

A multi culti guitarist influenced as much by post bop as his native Egyptian music has ridden his version of the fusion of the two to award winning glories…A wild trip for open eared listeners.

— CHRIS SPECTOR, MIDWEST RECORD


THe! Warshanna Septet

 

Based out of Baltimore, The! Warshanna Septet produces hard bop that is boundary pushing and a hark to the past.

Ahmed has a unique compositional voice fueled by his passion for combining the East and West in his music. This delicate alchemy is a result of the musical environment he was raised in, an Egyptian-American household, where he was exposed to artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Umm Kulthum. Ahmed stumbled into jazz when he joined his high school big band in 2012 and unexpectedly fell in love with the genre. His love blossomed at UMBC where he studied with Tom Lagana and Matt Belzer, ultimately graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Studies and a Music Achievement award in 2020. While Ahmed incorporates Eastern and Western influences in his sound, he also appreciates the established jazz idiom, as seen in his single, "Boo Bear".

In his debut album, “Ishta”, Ahmed combines the music of his favorite Egyptian artists with the style of hard bop. The result is a refreshing, new sound that is unique to The! Warshanna Septet.

Guitar / Ahmed Warshanna
French Horn / Abram Wolfe Mamet
Tenor Saxophone / Brendan Schnabel
Tenor + Alto Saxophone / Dominic Ellis
Keyboard / Joshua Miller
Bass / Thomas Owens
Drums / Charlie Seda

 

Photos

 

Contact AHmed