From May 12 to 15, 2016,
The Gnaoua and World Music Festival of Essaouira returns for a 19th edition which is intended to be a tribute to the elders, to the greats who paved the way,
while looking towards youth and assured succession.
From May 12 to 15, 2016,
The Gnaoua and World Music Festival of Essaouira returns for a 19th edition which is intended to be a tribute to the elders, to the greats who paved the way,
while looking towards youth and assured succession.
As every year, the festival will be punctuated by mergers, residencies, an eclectic program and a human rights forum which is taking root, all open to
all audiences. This year, the Gnaoua Festival and
Musiques du Monde d’Essaouira returns stronger and truer than ever.
From May 12 to 15, 2016, the city festival
of the trade winds will first pay homage to the elders and child prodigies of the
city who left too early, Mahmoud Guinea and Tayeb Saddiki. A tribute will also be paid to the great Doudou N’diaye Rose whose
the sound of drums still resonates in Essaouira 15 years ago
after his first concert on Moroccan soil. “We
have always defended Morocco’s African roots in
through this culture. 20 years ago, no one took us
not really seriously. Gnaoua, Essaouira, Africa, did not resonate. Today, events confirm that all this makes sense. And this is why, with the National Human Rights Council, we are devoting our forum to Africa for the 3rd consecutive year. » declares Neila Tazi, Festival Producer.
The festival will once again offer a great jazz and world music program this year
bill for music lovers and the hundreds of thousands of faithful to this event with its unique atmosphere. From gnaoua to jazz, including
world music
The 19th edition of the Gnaoua Festival
and Musiques d’Essaouira offers you the opportunity to experience precious moments of music through its different stages. From May 12 to 15, 2016, the entire city will be inhabited by Gnaoua music added to all the music of the world. The festivities will begin with a tribute concert to
the unforgettable Mahmoud Guinea and the percussionist
Senegalese Doudou N’diaye Rose nicknamed “the magician of rhythms”. Mokhtar Guinea brother of Mahmoud will be joined by 12 percussionists children of Doudou for a fusion in homage to the elders and to the Africa of talents, sublimated by
the deep voice of the diva of the Sahara: Rachida Talal.
The festival will be an opportunity to
discover or rediscover great names in jazz,
artists who redefined jazz by developing a style
unique, by offering an intelligent vision according to a
culture, an experience, a need. By Randy Weston, at
Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Christian Scott and Jeff Ballard Trio.
Randy and the Gnaoua is quite a story! He was the
pioneer of the gnaoua-jazz fusion with his accomplice of
Tangier Maâlem Abdallah El Gourd. Randy Weston has been composing for almost sixty years now in a style characterized by a synthesis of African music and American jazz. Randy played with the greats like Duke
Ellington, Count Basie or even Thelonious
Monk, in the world of jazz he knew how to make a
real place for Gnaoua.
Jamaaledden Tacuma is a bassist
legendary jazz-funk, he accompanied Carlos Santana,
Ornette Coleman and Jeff Beck. Ornette Coleman said of him “Jamaaladeen is the master of the sequence”. After Marcus Miller and Richard Bona to name but a few, the bass will be
once again one of the flagship instruments of the festival, and
what could be more normal in the world of gembri! Neila Tazi,
producer of the festival, explains “this festival is a
a real laboratory for musical fusions and we want to keep it that way. We protect this
specificity and authenticity which characterize this
event, which give it meaning and credibility.
The stars of the festival are above all the Gnaoua.”
The festival is also that of the avant-garde of jazz and
world music. It will welcome for the first time in Morocco a rising star, the trumpeter Christian Scott. A genius of the trumpet not to be missed under any circumstances…
Almost ten years ago the Gnaoua Festival made you
discover Ibrahim Maalouf, you will see Christian Scott!
Also planned Hoba Spirit which are no longer to be presented and you
discover, in this energetic vein, Blitz the Ambassador. Originally from Ghana, leader of a new musical movement,
mixing African sounds, like Highlife and
Afrobeat, with a heavy and original hip hop sound, Blitz TheAmbassador is not only transforming the musical landscape, it is bringing a new voice to the world. Producer, composer, percussionist, video maker and lyricist, Blitz redefines the notion of a man of words. His music is also on
the immigrants who made America, who shaped it. For him, immigration is the chain that connects the past to the present.
One of the major events of the festival is that of the
Human Rights Forum whose theme this year will be “African Diasporas: roots, mobility, anchors”. A fifth edition of this forum which recalls Morocco’s attachment to its Africanness and which invites you to take part in the
meet a panel of distinguished speakers.
Always on the fringes of the
musical programming the city will live to the rhythms of art and culture. The tribute to the elders will also be highlighted by the work of the talented Hassan Hajjaj through an exhibition
entitled “Colors of gnaoua”. The works are the
fruit of a quest of several years and an encounter
between the “Moroccan Andy Warhol” and Marouane Lbahja, born and raised in the love and respect of Gnaouie art and culture. The exhibition tells the exceptional story of tagnaouite in images. A rich story, with simple words straight from the heart, far from clichés and scholarly theories.
The festival will close on a
tribute concert paid to Tayeb Sadiki, great witness and actor in the birth of groups which revolutionized Moroccan music during the 70s such as Nass ElGhiwane, Lamchaheb or Jil Jilala. This concert will be led by the founder of one of these legendary groups in the person of Mohamed Derham who will be joined by Nabil El Khaldi, Omar Sayed and Maâlem Mustapha Baqbou.
Remember that the Gnaoua are the inventors of Jazz, Africa is universal, Morocco has talent and the Gnaoua and World Music Festival is an event not to be missed! It should also be remembered that the Gnaou Festival is the festival of festivals, par excellence, for its musical component concerning a heritage which was in decline and which was narrowly saved, thanks to Essaouira and its festival.
The Gnaoua festival offers musical performances of great value offering great moments of happiness through its authentic Gnaoua component but also thanks to the fusion between Gnaoua music and World Music which has raised Gnaoua music to the rank of the most popular music in the world, going so far as to fit into the category of world heritage music due to its authenticity and its African historical and geographical value.
Very good continuation of the Gnaoua festival and good luck to the entire team responsible, known for its professional field work.
