The concert Jajouka Meets New York will take place Saturday, March 30, 2019 at Roulette in New York City. This concert is part of the A World in Trance series.
Inspired by the captivating sounds of the legendary Master Musicians of Jakouka, this ensemble of musicians from both sides of the Atlantic – Morocco and the US – explore the potential for sound to trigger a state of ecstasy.
Bachir Attar is a multi-instrumentalist well-known for his mastery of the ghaita, a double reed oboe-like instrument that is essential to the sound of the Master Musicians of Jajouka, the group that he leads. His brother, Mustapha Attar, also a member of the group, plays drums as well as ghaita.
Saxophonist and clarinetist Ned Rothenberg, acclaimed throughout the world for his solo concerts and collaborations with diverse musicians, is particularly noted for his virtuosity of multiphonics and circular breathing.
Arrington de Dionysio, a saxophonist, vocalist and visual artist who has collaborated recently with Attar and Mustapha, draws on a variety of traditions, including Tuvan throat singing and Indonesian trance music, for inspiration. Innovative percussionist Ben Bennett has developed a commanding synthesis of extended and traditional techniques on the drums, and worked with cutting-edge improvisers around the world.
The Master Musicians of Jajouka, from the Rif mountains of Morocco, are noted for their trance-inducing ceremony that predates Islam and is thought to evoke the ancient rites of Pan, the goat-legged fertility god of ancient Greece. Embraced in the 1950s by artist Brion Gysin and writer Paul Bowles, the village of Jajouka became a popular spot in the 1960s and ‘70s for celebrities such as the Rolling Stones, Ornette Coleman, and Timothy Leary.
Recordings available include Brian Jones Plays With The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka (1971), The Primal Energy That Is The Music And Ritual Of Jajouka, Morocco ( 1974), Tribe Ahl Serif: Master Musicians Of Jajouka (1975), Apocalypse Across The Sky (1992),
Jajouka Between The Mountains (1995), Master Musicians Of Jajouka (2000), Boujeloud’s Cave – 1974 (2002), Live Volume 1 (2009), The Source (2010), The Road to Jajouka ( 2013) and Apocalypse Live (2017).
Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue at 3rd Avenue, Downtown Brooklyn
Box office: 917-267-0363
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central