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The Master Musicians of Jajouka @ Royce Hall 2-06-09
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Photo by Cherie Nutting
“A 4,000-year-old rock ‘n’ roll band.” - William S. Burroughs
Charging the air of Royce Hall with complex trance-inducing music and magic, The Master Musicians of Jajouka treated Los Angeles to a mesmerizing performance on Friday night. Led by Bachir Attar, the Master Musicians of Jajouka herald from an ancient village located in the Rif Mountains in northern Morocco. The musicians are on tour in the States this month; Friday’s performance was their only Los Angeles stop. The event was presented by UCLA Live.
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The nine musicians, dressed in green traditional robes, sat in a semi circle facing the audience. To the left five of the musicians held various drums while on the right, which included leader Bachir Attar, four of the musicians held ghaitas (a double-reed, oboe-like instrument).
The first song began with high-pitched shrills of the ghaitas followed by polyrthymic waves of drumming, which blossomed into explosive intensity. Some audience members leaned back into their seats, seemingly overpowered by the shockwaves of strange music rippling into their atoms, unknowing of the journey they were embarking. On the following songs, the Master Musicians of Jajouka demonstrated their mastery of different tones, tempos and textures. On slower and modal pieces, some of the musicians doubled on other traditional instruments including the lira (a bamboo flute) and the gimbri (a type of lute). Their multi-layered and droning music is both hypnotic and hallucinatory. Various phrases and sections weave into each other creating an ancient, visceral and intoxicating fabric. During one of the fast-tempo numbers, as Bachir Attar lifted the timbre of the song with his frenzied solo, a drummer stood and danced around on stage. Clapping and cheering, the audience helped to propel the beatific moment. One woman ran down to the corner of the stage and danced with abandon.
The Master Musicians of Jajouka have had a cult following over the years and are the object of adoration and praise from artists, writers and musicians such as William S. Burroughs, Paul Bowles, Brion Gysin, Ornette Coleman, Brian Jones, Bill Laswell and Talvin Singh. Some have sought out the Master Musicians of Jajouka and collaborated with them on recordings. The ancient music of Jajouka is passed down through generations from father to son. Taught at an early age, these skilled musicians later become malims (masters) who possess baraka (the blessing of Allah, which gives them power to heal).
Bachir Attar spoke to the audience and explained how honored they were to be playing in America though they had some troubles with their visas. “But we love America and it’s great to be in Los Angeles, Hollywood with stars and whatever,” said Attar to a laughing audience.
On the last song Attar played a call and response among his brother musicians that grew in complexity and power, building and building as the tremulous shrills of the raitas and the booming drums sent echoes from the Santa Monica Mountains to Morocco’s Rif range. All the musicians stood up and danced on the stage as the audience poured towards the front, clapping and dancing.
Religion anthropologist Mircea Eliade split the human experience of reality into sacred or profane space and time. The Master Musicians of Jajouka provide passage to the sacred.
Special thanks to Robin Rauzi and Grace Murayama.
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