Jil Jilala

Jil Jilala is a Moroccan musical group which rose to prominence in the 1970s among the movement created by Nass El Ghiwane and Lem Chaheb. Jil Jilala was founded in Marrakech in 1972 by performing arts students Mohamed Derhem, Moulay Tahar Asbahani, Sakina Safadi, Mahmoud Essaadi, Hamid Zoughi and Moulay Abdelaziz Tahiri (who had just left Nass el Ghiwane). In 1974, they released their first record Lyam Tnadi on the Atlassiphone label. It was only a matter of time before Leklam Lemrassaa, Baba Maktoubi, Ha L'ar a Bouya, Jilala, and Chamaa became popular classics.

In 1976 they wrote Laayoune Ayniya about the Green March. The song becomes almost a national anthem that is chanted when Moroccans from all over the country marched as one towards the Moroccan Sahara, then occupied by Spain.

Contrary to Nass El Ghiwane, who were primarily influenced by the Gnawa music, Jil Jilala took their inspiration from other form of traditional Moroccan music like the Malhun, sung in a classical and old form of Moroccan Arabic, or the spiritual music of Jilala, a traditional sufi brotherhood. The goal of these groups was the rejuvenation of traditional Moroccan music.

The Eighties saw the coming of the wonder gnaoui Mustafa Bakbou from the formation Tiq Maya. Bakbou, sometimes written as "Baqbou" is considered to be the number one Gnawa musician of Africa!

Although Jil Jilala have had a lesser influence on the Moroccan music as did Nass el Ghiwane, they have brought much novelty to it. For years it seems that the line-up changed with the seasons. We see the leave and return of Sakina Safadi and also Mustafa Bakbou set out to return again. Even Tahiri will leave the group to return 10 years later. Just a few months before Mohamed Derham, heart of the group, left.

Derham, today, works in a communication agency. Mustafa Bakbou now has his own group GnAwA, including wife and children, continuing the very old tradition to keep the fire burning from father to sons and daughters.Since 2006 Jil Jilala are recording and performing together with Uve Muellrich and Marlon Klein of Germany's Dissidenten.

External links

* [http://www.wikimusique.net/index.php/Jil_Jilala Jil Jilala] on WikiMusique
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8oO0_ZDt3k Jil Jilala and Nass el Ghiwane together in the Bakbou-song Salam 3alaykom]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5fzTzi0kf8&feature=related Traditional Gnawa gathering in Marrakech with Malem Mustafa Bakbou]