Bachir Attar and the Master Musicians of Jajouka

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Bachir Attar and the Master Musicians of Jajouka might be the oldest musical group still in existence. The name for this all-male ensemble comes from the village of Jajouka, a rural enclave perched in the foothills of the Rif Mountains in Northern Morocco. It’s there that each member of the band is born, raised and taught from early childhood musical traditions unique to Jajouka. Their music, a combination of nasal buzzing, up-tempo rhythms, and steady percussion, has the ability to move the listener into a trance-like state. In fact, once the musicians become Masters it is said they attain the power to heal. The instruments, like the music, dates back centuries. Many of the members of the band play the rhaita, a double-reed instrument reminiscent of the oboe, while others play the drums. 

“Discovered” in the 1950s by William Burroughs and Paul Bowles, the Master Musicians have subsequently recorded several of their own albums and have been featured on albums by Ornette Coleman, the Rolling Stones, Randy Weston, Maceo Parker, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant. Today, the Master Musicians are one of the truest examples of a living, breathing folk tradition. Every current and past member of the band was born into it and learned the craft from their father who learned it from his father and so on and so on. A tradition like that, dating back more 4000 years, is one that everyone would be well-served to experience for him or herself.