Thursday 30 October 2008

Kwaku Baah & Ganoua - Trance (1977)

Rebop Kwaku Baah was a Ghanaian percussionist most famous for his work with Traffic (1971-74) and Can (1977-79). This weird album was recorded in Morocco in November 1976 with gnawa musicians Abdellcada Zef Zef (guembri), Mohamed Ben Hamou Saidi (guembri), Abdella el Hilalli (percussion), and the Ganoua Ensemble on backing vocals. Rebop's great conga playing works well with the gnawa music, and highlights the fact that this Moroccan trance music is not a fixed, static tradition, but a constantly evolving hybrid form. Though I don't like this as much as the Mahmoud Guenya album that I posted last month, it's still well worth a listen.

Side One:

Trance

Side Two:

Hamouda
Ma Haba
Rif Zef Zef
Dervish Jowi

Get the zip over here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great album...well worth the listen. My favorite alt-gnawa is Hassan Hakmoun's Gift of the Gnawa with Don Cherry. Cool stuff.

Max said...

Very cool post--any chance you have Baah's solo album on Phillips?

Sildenafil said...

many people recommend me this band, and the true that the sound of the same is fantastic, the combination of the different sounds make a incredible percussion.