The Master Musicians of Jajouka - Biography
By Nick Castro
Master Musicians of Jajouka are an ancient family of musicians from northern Morocco. Their tradition has been passed down orally for anywhere from 1,300 to 4,000 years. They are believed to have originally descended from migratory Phoenician settlers who made their homes in the Rif mountains of Morocco. They share their home with the sancutary of Saint Sidi Ahmed Sheikh, who is the patron saint of Morocco. Their music has caught the ear and piqued the interest of many figures on the counter culture throughout the years, including Brion Gysin, William Burroughs, Paul Bowles and Brian Jones. Today their music is famous around the world and is led by Bachir Attar of the keepers of the Jajouka secrets, the Attar family. Attar is also an Arabic word which means "perfume maker" but older translations define it as "chemist" or even "druggist".
MMoJ keep alive a tradition which is losing its place in society in modern times: the oral tradition. The Attar family is ancient and has kept the music of their tribe, Ahl Sherif, in perpetuity by passing it down from father to son, generation after generation. Their unique music, a deeply spiritual and religious one, which is tied to the Sufi traditions of Islam, is unlike any other in the world and is comprised of extremely complex rhythms and melodies. The musicians who play it must begin an intensive training early in their lives and spend many years studying before they can become a Malim, or musical master. They are able to go into a trance-like state where they can endure long periods of playing, often in a frenzied manner, which is said to be able to heal through the power of their music. Often, they will play for days on end and musicians will take turns dropping out and coming back in, to keep the music going with no pauses. The MMoJ also served as a kind of royal court musicians for the kings on Morocco up until the time of the French and Spanish turned the country into a protectorate. To this day they are a unique caste of the village, which are exempt from doing farm work. Instead they spend their days in intense practice of their art. Up until the early 20th century the MMoJ were allowed to take a fee from the farmers in the area once a year to support themselves. This fee is given in exchange for the gifts of the musicians' baraka, or powers of healing.
Some of the instruments the MMoJ use are the Lira, which is a transverse flute unique to the area and one of the oldest instruments of Jajouka, the rhaita, which is a free reed horn similar to the Arabic zerna and somewhat related to the western oboe, and the drums, the Tarija and the Tebel.The two drums, played with wooden sticks, are made of goatskin and are of varying sizes. The Tebel drum is used for keeping and establishing a rhythmic base and the Tajira is used for soloing and ornamentation.
Legend has it, and Rolling Stone's guitarist Brian Jones agrees, that there is some kind of connection to Pan, as esoteric as it may be. The story held by the Attar family is that one of their ancestors was playing music in a cave when a goat-like figure, named Bou Jeloud, revealed himself and danced to the music. This story is recreated annually by the MMoJ in their village to honor the goat god.
In the 1950's, writers Brion Gysin and Paul Bowles came upon the MMoJ and were enthralled. Gyson so fell in love with the area that he opened a restaurant, 1001 Nights, in Tangier, within the palace of Menehbi. The MMoJ were hired to play in the restaurant. Around this time William Burroughs, who was introduced to Gysin by Bowles, was spending time around Tangier and in the restaurant. This is the place and time which inspired the writings in his most famous novel, Naked Lunch. Burroughs too visited the village where MMoJ lived.
In the 60's Gysin brought his friend, Jones, of the Rolling Stones, to the village to witness the MMoJ himself. Jones fell in love with the music and brought in recording equipment to capture the sound for his own label, Rolling Stones Records. Recorded in 1968, the album would not release until after Jones' death. Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka (1971 - Rolling Stones Records), was recorded with two microphones and then mixed in a studio in London. Jones added a liberal amount of effects, including echo, phasing and splicing to condense the marathon performances to manageable lengths, which could be pressed to LP format. Many world purists have criticized Jones' efforts as anachronistic, blasphemous or superfluous. Others have lauded the album as the first world music album, though that charge is tenuous. This album, and Jones' experiences in the Rif mountains, seemed to have influence on the rest of the members of the Rolling Stones. Drummer Charlie Watts can be seen playing a drum from Jajouka in the film Sympathy for the Devil. In 1995, composer Philip Glass served as executive producer on the reissue of the album, which received a lot of negative publicity for its alterations to the original and more importantly for the exclusion of the original group from royalties. Bachir Attar, son of MMoJ bandleader during the Jones sessions, now heads the band and he too received much negative attention for changing the name on the reissue from Master Musicians of Joujouka to Master Musicians of Jajouka featuring Bachir Attar. Both groups have played and made recording independent of one another and Bachir Attar has made appearances as a solo artist, both on his own records and those of others, such as Bill Laswell and Talvin Singh.
MMoJ have recorded several albums since their 1971 debut including Joujouka Black Eyes (1995 - Sub Rosa), Moroccan Trance Music, Vol. 2:Sufi (1996 - Sub Rosa) and Boujeloud (2006 - Sub Rosa).
