Product Description
Product Description
Among the Gnawa people, descendants of West African slaves who were removed to Morocco, the derdeba, or trance rituals, are performed to communicate with the spirit world. In recent years, Gnawa music has found its way around the globe and meshed with various other musical genres. Now Gnawa music meets skronky downtown New York jazz on Sudani, which features avant-garde alto saxophonist Patrick Brennan leading a jazz group composed of traditional Gnawa instruments. Gnawa master M'allim Najib Sudani delivers deep, hypnotic rhythms on the bass-like gimbri, while members of his troupe play crashing quarqabeb (cymbals). The result is a soulful blend of jazz, blues and North African musical traditions. --Robert Seiden