Last July, globalFEST (gF) hosted a Hangout at the Newark Museum to explore the electric musician portraits of Moroccan photographer Hassan Hajjaj. The guided tour through the exhibit with its curator Dr. Christa Clarke was complemented by a pop-up performance in the gallery by traditional NYC-based gnawa group, Innov Gnawa. Having a chance to see Hajjaj’s work up close and brought to life by the hypnotic sintir, qraqebs and singing that make up gnawa music was a moving experience for all. Following the Hangout Meera Dugal (now the Programming Coordinator at The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center) visited Morocco to see see Hajjaj’s work and gnawa together again. Below Meera reports on her experiences at the Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival.
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Innov Gnawa at the gF Hangout to Hassan Hajjaj’s show at The Newark Museum
By Meera Dugal
Three weeks ago today I was sitting squished in a cozy living room in Essaouira, Morocco surrounded by ten of the most respected, beloved and talented gnawa maalems (masters) living today. The masters were packed in tight on the U-shaped couch, jovial and childlike having been reunited with old friends. After tea was passed around and new arrivals paid their respects to the elder musicians by kissing them on their foreheads, the masters commenced a profoundly moving journey into the tradition’s oldest songs.
The Colors of Gnaoua Maalems. Maalem Mohamed Kouyou
These masters were all gathered in this room as part of Hassan Hajjaj’s Colors of Gnaoua project for the Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival. Now in it’s 19th year, the Essaouira festival aims to celebrate and elevate the status of gnawa musicians in Morocco, showcase emerging gnawa talent, and foster unity and collaboration with other African artists and American jazz artists. Young artists like Mehdi Nassouli, Christian Scott, Blitz the Ambassador and N3rdistran showcased the contemporary side of the festival but at the core of this year’s edition, and central to the festival, is the honoring of the elders. 2015 marked the passing of two Essaouira legends, Maalem Mahmoud Guinia and Senegal’s Doudou N’Diaye Rose and the organizers of the festival chose to open the three-day festivities with a tribute to these great masters from the family members carrying on their legacy.
The Guinia and Rose families together at the opening night concert
Hajjaj’s Colors of Gnaoua, whom he co-produced with gnawa musician Marouane Lbahja, also sought to raise up the custodians of this ancient music in true Hajjaj style with a show of the most vibrant and fresh portraits of these masters displayed in Dar Loubane, the festival’s riad venue dedicated to the more traditional performances. For months Marouane traveled across Morocco in search of the greatest maalems, conducting interviews with the elders to preserve the centuries-old songs, and listen to their vision of the future for the gnawa people and to research the significance of colors in the gnawa tradition. Nine of these Maalems were brought to the festival to perform together in the space (Abdeslam Assal passed away earlier this year) surrounded by their candy-colored portraits.
Photo by Youssef Roudaby of HuffPost Maroc. On the left is Maalem Ahmed Ghani and on the right is Maalem Abdullah Lahrizi
On the side of the half-moon in which the maalems sat, one could see a big Afro bobbing along in time to the music – there was Samir, our young NYC gnawi, sitting and singing amongst the artists he respects most in the world. Hassan Hajjaj has been a great supporter of Samir and Innov Gnawa and his invitation to the young gnawi to join the masters in this show (and in the opening parade of the festival) shows the tradition’s commitment to nurturing young gnawa artists. This music is never taught in a traditional manner, those who wish to learn must just listen and observe and teach themselves. Young pupils of gnawa must have a certain level of humility and tenacity to advance, which surprised me when I saw how many young people were involved in this music.
Innov Gnawa’s Samir Langus at the Colors of Gnaoua lila. Photo credit: Sabir El Mouakil
Young folks playing gnawa music on the ramparts
Observers at the opening day parade
Experiencing Essaouira with the young gnawa community as guides showed me the full span of generations in their musical world. Moshing with teenyboppers at Hamid El Kasri’s headlining show where he played centuries-old spiritual songs with a horn section, watching hipster, Moroccan 20-somethings nonchalantly pull the hair back of their friend who’s in a trance state at a private lila that only started at 3am, catching the local busking youth on Essaouira’s ramparts playing one of my favorite songs, “Hammouda” – this music must be in the kool aid and the prune juice because everyone at every age is oozing with it. They, and eventually you, hum it, walk it, and think you hear it in every boat creak and metallic ding. Seeing how fully this music permeates the city and the people helped me understand the sense of necessity those who love this music feel to make room for it in their lives.
Randy Weston is widely respected in the gnawa community for all he has done to bring it to audiences outside of Africa
Innov Gnawa’s Nawfal Atiq in front of the main stage
To learn more about the gnawa tradition, explore the links below.
Shoutout to gF alumni who have been part of this festival: Vincent Segal, Lenine, Hassan Hakmoun, Daby Toure, Meta and the Cornerstones, and Songhoy Blues!
Videos from the Fest
View PDF of the Colors of Gnaoua Brochure
For French Speakers – More on the Colors of Gnaoua in HuffPost Maroc
Artists featured in Colors of Gnaoua:
- Ahmed Ghani
- Boujemaa Al Ouassif
- Ba Bahout
- Moulay Tahar Almaslouhi
- Abdelkader Aktaoui
- Abdeslam Assal
- Allal Aklaou
- Abdelkader Bonny
- Abdurrahman Nimini
- Abdullah Lahrizi
Other artists to check out: