This fruitful “encounter” between Leonard Bernstein and Maurice Ravel juxtaposes Bernstein’s intensity and rhythmic vitality with the melancholy refinement of Ravel’s colours, while also highlighting the composers’ commonalities, such as a shared tonal language and masterful incorporation of jazz idioms. Our purpose, however, is not only to appreciate an artistic cross-exchange but also to build upon it. This is what Trio Zadig and Benjamin Attahir seek in Asfar, a new work that springs from the creative nexus of these 20th-century giants and continues the conversation.