Club d’Elf: Legendary Boston Based Moroccan Trance Groove Collective
Photo: Joan Hathaway
Club d’Elf is a collective of musicians fiercely dedicated to “the groove”, consisting of some of the most sought-after players from the jazz, world music, rock, and DJ scenes of Boston, New York City & beyond. The band's music draws from a startlingly wide spectrum of styles, including jazz, hip hop, electronica, avant garde, prog-rock and dub. Under the tutelage of member Brahim Fribgane (who hails from Casablanca) the band has absorbed Moroccan trance music, which is now an essential part of the mix. Diverse audiences are drawn to Fribgane’s mesmerizing oud stylings, and leader/bassist Mike Rivard’s commanding playing of the Moroccan sintir. Trance forms the central core of the Club d’Elf aesthetic, weaving together the band’s various influences. The band's new album, You Never Know, offers gnawa refracted through a prism of contemporary psychedelia—Morocco turned technicolor. For this special SAMA performance Rivard and Fribgane are joined by guitarist David Fiuczynski and percussionist/vocalist Fabio Pirozzolo.
"You Never Know, is a wide ranging romp, full of serenity, chaos, longing, improvisation and peerless musicianship inspired by music from India and Morocco as well as the maverick jazz of Miles Davis and Frank Zappa." - Banning Eyre, Afropop Worldwide
Mike Rivard. Photo By Eric Antoniou
The roots of the band's pull towards Morocco go back to 1999, when Rivard and Fribgane met at a gig in New York City, and immediately connected. Rivard had formed Club d'Elf in Boston the year prior, establishing a residency at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. When Fribgane relocated to Boston, Rivard invited him to join the band, and thus began a long and fruitful relationship.
Brahim Fribagne. Photo By Mark Wilson
Fribgane's association with the band brought a deeper focus on North African styles, as he introduced the band to Amazigh music from the Atlas Mountains. Rivard's dream of having his own sintir was realized when a friend of Fribgane brought one back from a trip to Fez. Fribgane gave Rivard his first instruction on the sintir, and taught the other band members to play the complex chaabi rhythm. The chaabi groove has become an integral part of the Club d'Elf sound, with drummer Dean Johnston displaying his deep grasp of the style. This prowess garners ecstatic clapping approval from Moroccan audiences. Rivard has continued to deepen his connection to gnawa music: In 2009, he traveled to Essaouira and struck up a friendship with Maalem Mahmoud Gania. Friendship and musical collaboration with Hassan Hakmoun continue to connect the band to a Moroccan lineage.
Fabio Pirozzolo. Photo By Eric Antoniou
These Moroccan influences are now in the musical DNA of Club d’Elf, as evidenced on their new album, You Never Know. A trance-heavy meditation on finding light amidst the shadows, the music was inspired by Rivard's personal journey into darkness following a near death experience in the remote jungle of the Peruvian Amazon. Songs by jazz and rock legends Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul and Frank Zappa are given a decidedly North African flavor and chaabi infusion. The band pays tribute to Nass el-Ghiwane with a cover of their classic song "Allah Ya Moulana", here given a New Orleans, Second Line feel. The band honors Mahmoud Gania with their version of “Zeed Al Maal”, which he taught to Rivard during their visit in Essaouira.
David Fiuczynski. Photo By JD Cohen
The music on You Never Know both honors and pays respect to the musicians who inspire the band, while offering a fully-realized interpretation of these influences into something that can best be called "Club d'Elf music".
Club d'Elf:
Brahim Fribgane (oud, vocal)
David Fiuczynski (fretless and fretted guitars)
Mike Rivard (sintir, double bass, vocal)
Fabio Pirozzolo (percussion, vocal)
