Tawassol

Gabacho Maroc are a Moroccan-French fusion band who merge Moroccan Gnawa styles with funk-jazz. The ensemble consists of Hamid Moumen on vocals and gimbri, a lute that is the signature sound of Gnawa music; Aziz Fayet (vocals, oud and percussion); percussionist Frédéric Faure; saxophonist Illyes Ferfera; Pierre Cherbero on keyboards; Eric Oxandaburu on bass; and Vincent Thomas on drums. The album also features composer Jean-Philippe Rykiel on keyboards, a collaboration that leads to the outstanding track ‘Dara’, wherein funk and Gnawa music reach a boiling point.

The Arab word tawassol refers to the means by which a goal is achieved, including the way a prayer is being accepted, and the titles of several of the tracks here point at religious topics, such as ‘Baraka’ (Blessing). All this is probably related to the spiritual origins of Gnawa. I haven’t experienced the group live in concert, but the album suggests that they must be a solid live act, summarising in an infectious way many now staple ingredients of Gnawan jazz-rock. At the same time, this raises a small caveat, as they sometimes seem to emulate all that has become familiar from these kinds of fusions in a somewhat too calculating way.