Jazz at Chellah is adorned with its spring colors for its 26th edition which got off to a flying start on Friday, May 10, with performances mixing jazz, rock and oriental sounds.
The Rbatis public enjoyed themselves inside the ramparts of Chellah during this 26th edition which saw the interpretation of magnificent artists, Moroccan and European, in a fabulous musical fusion.
“Like every year, the Chellah Jazz Festival promotes European jazz in its diversity and Moroccan music in its plurality. We choose Moroccan musicians who meet European musicians to highlight Moroccan music and to create a new language here”declared to Hespress FR, Majid Bekkas, artistic director of the festival.
Indeed, this colorful musical evening was marked by performances by the French group Sarab and the talented qanoun player, Hiba Mekkaoui, as well as the singer and multi-instrumentalist Aziz Sahmaoui.
During the first part, the public discovered the French group Sarab accompanied by Hiba Mekkaoui who enchanted the public with his qanoun. Together, they took the spectators on a journey mixing jazz, rock, oriental and gnaoua sounds.
A first for the duo, as Hiba Mekkaoui explains on Hespress FR. “This is the first time that we are playing and merging with the qanun, which is an Arabic instrument, with jazz music. It went very well. I really enjoyed this moment and so did the group.”
Same story with Climène Zarkan, singer of the group Sarab, who also expressed her joy at sharing the stage with the talented qanoun player. “It was a very nice meeting. We come from two different worlds and still, jazz and oriental music are similar on one point, which is that there is improvisation, there are solo moments, things like that. And it went really well. I loved playing with her. We were very happy. She played a piece with us and we played pieces from her repertoire“, she declared at the microphone of Hespress FR, judging the jazz scene in Morocco as “excellent”.
The evening continued in the same musical atmosphere with a performance that froze time, that of the German trumpeter, Markus Stockhausen, accompanied by the Moroccan musician and poet Aziz Sahmaoui. A duo which has imbued itself with the rich and captivating tones of Moroccan music.
For this 26th edition, the organizers promise exceptional musical moments with Moroccan and European artists on the bill who will perform every evening from 8 p.m. for concerts which will delight the public on the grounds of the historic Chellah site.
In addition to musical performances, the festival program includes masterclasses for musicians and singers, led by Climène Zarkan, singer of the group Sarab, Aziz Sahmaoui, Gnaoua singer and multi-instrumentalist and Adrien Lambinet, trombonist and composer.
The public will also have an appointment with a traveling ambulatory concert in the streets of Rabat, offered by the group Salt, with its jazz melodies fusing swing, Latin, ska and Cajun, imbued with joie de vivre.
Jazz au Chellah is an initiative of the European Union, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, the Wilaya of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Rabat Historic Heritage Region. It aims to be inclusive, open to everyone, through eclectic programming offered at affordable prices.
