Trumpet star Ibrahim Maalouf doesn’t put music – or people – in boxes
It’s almost unheard of for a modern-day trumpet player to break out from the niche world of jazz clubs. But Ibrahim Maalouf, who fills arenas in France and attracts sizable audiences worldwide, doesn’t make music that sounds like that of a typical trumpeter.
His custom-made instrument has a fourth valve, rather than the traditional three, so he can play quarter tones – the notes between notes. Mr. Maalouf, who was born in Lebanon and raised in France, credits his dad for inventing the microtonal trumpet.
“For me, quarter
