My Gnawa Experience

Chapter 1: My interest is piqued

I first heard the instrument called the guembri in a recording by (brilliant) Oakland-based pianist Omar Sosa, who blended jazz, salsa, spoken word and Gnawa music. I was captivated by its deep, resonant, rhythmic sound, but I didn't know (or think) much about its history or significance. I knew it came from Morocco, and that was about it.

Before I left for Casablanca, I checked out a show in San Francisco that seemed interesting: the Mo Rockin' Project, a fusion betwen Gnawa music and jazz. I spoke with the guembri player in the group - who turned out to be Yassir Chadly - the very same guy who played guembre with Omar Sosa! Quel coincidence.

In Casablanca, I couldn't find any Gnawa music, though I did stumble into a rehearsal of Arab Classical Music, and caught some Egyptian Pop hits at a dive bar in the Medina. But no Gnawa.

When my sister visited, I had to pay a change fee on my ticket to hang out wth her. I figured, why not take ten days, explore Morocco a little, and find out more about this cool, mysterious music?

When I got to Marrakesh, I told the nice guy at the hostel I was looking for Gnawa music. He explained that there were two distinct strains of contemporary Gnawa music: traditional Gnawa, and something called "Gnawa Diffusion" or gnawa-jazz. He also said that I simply had to go out into Place Jema Al Fna to find it. "They're all friends of mine", he said. "They're all Gnawa".