A fusion album that brings together two musical universes: Gnawi rhythms and Nordic jazz.

The guembri, oud and guitar player, then singer Majid Bekkas shows, once again, his qualities as a great Gnawa artist, within the Magic Spirit Quartet, and this through the album they have made together and where traditional Gnawa music and jazz from the Northern countries (Sweden-Denmark) make an impression. Magic Spirit Quartet, released under the ACT-Music label, further confirms that music has no borders.

Gnawi rhythms and Nordic jazz sounds in a fusion created by the Magic Spirit Quartet, formed by the talented Majid Bekkas and the virtuoso musicians Goran Kajfes (trumpet and percussion), Jesper Nordenstrom (piano and organ) and Stefan Pasborg (drums, gongs and percussion). A sublime crossbreeding worthy of the great jazzmen and the Gnawi master Majid Bekkas, whose umpteenth experience shows his ability to turn Gnawi rhythms into universal music that can be played with all jazz pieces.  Magic in the air is what you feel when you listen to this Album, whose pieces are played with heart and soul and a beautiful harmony between the four musicians. An incredible musical complicity, as if they had known each other for a long time. Of course, music can work miracles. But this is not the first time Majid Bekkas has made Gnawa music interact with other genres. It is the story of a beautiful collaboration that will not fail to seduce the finest connoisseurs, through the profound melodies that everyone transmits with sensitivity and mastery. A fusion that is also distinguished by the richness of a sublime musical crossbreeding. Because it gives the musicians time of freedom to improvise and express their sensations. Majid Bekkas specifies, in this respect, that to have a magnificent fusion, “the two groups must be open and have the will to do something. According to my experience of more than 22 years of fusion at the Jazz au Chellah festival, these encounters with Gnaoua music often produce magnificent musical surprises where there is mutual sharing and a cultural exchange of great value. This has encouraged me to work with many foreign artists. They too find great richness in our traditional music in general, and in particular Gnaoui, Aïssaoua and Hmadcha music, which have a very interesting rhythm, pentatonic and ternary, which reminds them of the rhythm of jazz, which also comes from Africa”.

Talent in the windWith
his multiple fusions of Gnawi
rhythms and other jazz sounds, Majid Bekkas never ceases to surprise and to attract more and more fans to his music, which is mixed in an original mould. Experiences that further enrich his career rich in exploits, notably his long-term work at the Jazz au Chellah festival. This creator of “L’African Gnaoua Blues” is, of course, considered as the ambassador of this new form of musical expression stemming from the spiritual music of Gnaoua trance, mixed with jazz and blues from African sources. With a very brilliant career in the greatest jazz festivals, such as Montreux, Jazz à Vienne and Marciac, in the company of world-renowned virtuoso musicians, he was nominated for the “Django d’Or” in 2004 for his album “Mogador”, then in 2015, he received the Prize of the Charles Cros Academy in Marseille for his album “Al Qantara”. Not forgetting the “German Jazz Award” (2009) for the album “Passport to Morocco” with Klaus Doldinger, or the “Al Farabi” trophy (2010) awarded by the National Music Committee (sponsored by the International Music Council, official partner of UNESCO) for his contribution to the safeguarding of ancient music.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*