Alouane

Majid Bekkas, as well as being central to the revival of Moroccan Gnawa music, is restless in his exploration of musical fusions. Here he is recorded live with Waaju, a London-based trance-jazz outfit with African and Latin leanings. The arrangements of traditional songs are mostly well recorded with Bekkas’ gimbri and voice featuring strongly. On most tracks the band sets up propulsive rhythms over which floats the saxophone of Sam Rapley, with more abrasive riffs from Tal Janes’ guitar. Not all the tracks are completely successful: on ‘Bala Moussa’, for example, Ben Brown’s overpowered drums don’t quite click into the groove. On the other hand, Bekkas’ solo performance on ‘Lando’ has a shimmering beauty. There’s around an hour’s worth of music here and it’s mostly good ensemble playing from a band who would be great to see live.