Jack Kerouac center, Peter Orlovsky to his left, Burroughs prone watching, Tanger Beach 1957, Jack had been helping type Naked Lunch notes. Allen Ginsberg
A conversation between William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg has been published by the Allen Ginsberg Project, that includes Burroughs’ account on Brian Jones’ visit to Tangier and his recordings of the Master Musicians of Joujouka.
The interview includes transcripts from a July 1985 conversation that took place at Naropa Institute, between Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, and William Burroughs on the occasion of a William Burroughs Conference that Burroughs attended. Part one of the serialised conversations begins here.
An excerpt of the transcript from the conversation follows:
Q: How many times
have you stayed in Tangier?
WSB: Oh I’ve been
there so many times. I was trying to think. I sort of definitely… The last time
I was there for any length of time would be in the early, in the early ’60s.
Q: Did you spend
any time with Brian Jones in Tangier?
WSB: Yeah, Indeed I
did. He did come back from Joujouka and had made a number of recordings there.
And we all worked at the El Minzah And he played these recordings and those
later became you know, the “Brian Jones Playing With The Pipes of Pan”. [”
Brian Jones Presents The Pipes of Pan At Joujouka“] But that was an awful lot
of editing that went into that. And then Brian Jones died, he died just before
this was finished. And the Joujuka musicians who belonged to the Union had to go
up there and assert their rights to get anything out of it, because there was
nothing of Brian Jones in it except the recording,
AG: Is that a
famous recording?
WSB: Well it’s well-known. It was put out in cassette, and it’s really, it’s quite great.. It was not at the time of year, It wasn’t at the actual time when they have this festival. It was put on more or less for Brian Jones
Yeah
Read the interview in full at the Allen Ginsberg Project website here
An exhibition featuring a collection of paintings by Mohamed Hamri, who was also known as ‘Hamri – The Painter of Morocco’, are on display at the Tangier American Legation in Tangier Medina.
The
exhibition, originally scheduled to run between March and June this year, was
postponed due to the museum’s closure during the Covid-19 pandemic amid lockdown
measures in Morocco.
Following
the museum’s re-opening on 22nd July there is a further opportunity
for visitors to see this collection of the artist’s work for an extended period
until 19th September.
Cover of the new edition of Tales of Joujouka
To
coincide with the exhibition a newly revised edition of Hamri’s book Tales
of Joujouka has been published. The book features Hamri’s stories and folk
tales from his home village of Jajouka.
The book was originally published in 1975 by Capra Press in California. It was translated from Darija by his wife Blanca Hamri.
A statement from the Tangier American Legation Institute
for Moroccan Studies said: “We are happy to announce that the Legation’s Museum
and Research Library will both reopen to the public on Wednesday, 22nd
July. We will adhere to all of the government’s reopening guidelines, including
requirements of all visitors to wear masks, have their temperatures checked at
the door before entering, and other safety and hygiene measures.
“We
are also very happy to inform you that Blanca Hamri has graciously consented that
our ‘Hamri Revisited’ exhibit, which was set for March — June, will be extended
another two months, so we invite you to come see the works and a retrospective
of this major 20th century Moroccan artist. You may also purchase copies of
Hamri’s newly reissued book, Tales of Joujouka.
“Thank you very much for your support.”
Exposition en hommage à l´artiste-peintre Mohamed Hamri / Exhibition in tribute to the artist-painter Mohamed Hamri
News report on Medi1TV in Morocco
The original publication of Hamri’s book from 1975
Mohamed
Hamri (1932-2000) was a Moroccan artist born in the village of Joujouka. As a child
among the first sounds he heard were the pipes and drums performed by the
Master Musicians of Joujouka.
By the late 1940s Hamri was bringing groups of his family’s Musicians to Tangier playing music on the trains.
In
1950 Hamri encountered Paul Bowles and soon met Brion Gysin who would become
his mentor and introduced him to the works of cubist and surrealist artists such
as Picasso, Dali and Braque.
Master Musicians of Joujouka by Mohamed Hamri, 1992
Hamri
was first exhibited in 1953 at the gallery of the Hotel Rembrandt in Tangier.
To
coincide with the exhibition Gysin wrote an essay, ‘The Innocent Painter’, which
was published in The Tangier Gazette.
Gysin
stated: “He [Hamri] was given the best of materials with which to work, right
from the start, and good materials are dear, but no real painter can work with
poor materials. He began to draw with India ink on good paper, and then was
given the very best brand of pastel with which to colour his drawings. Later he
was shown how to use gouache but told to employ it as he thought best. His
first oils were done on boards with the tricky enamels which few painters but
Picasso have used. Yet nothing intimidated him: he was at once able to destroy
what he thought unsatisfactory, and do it better next time. He made the painter’s
discovery that the paint seems to work itself and become a living thing with which
the painter struggles until he can “bring it off” with the aplomb of a
bare-back rider. Most recently he has begun to work on canvas with great
effect. “Why, it’s just like cooking” he exclaimed delightedly, and he was not
the first painter to find that out.”
Further exhibitions of Hamri’s work followed internationally throughout the 1950s in Grand Canaria, Madrid, New York, Düsseldorf and Berlin.
Mohamed Hamri at the Temple Bar, Dublin in 1992 with Master Musicians of Joujouka – Mohamed Mokhchan, Mohamed El Attar, Abdullah Ziyat and Abdesalam Dahnoun – photo by Ira Cohen
After
meeting Hamri, Gysin was soon introduced to the music of the Master Musicians
of Joujouka, of which he said, “I just want to hear that music for the rest of
my life.”
In
1954 Gysin and Hamri opened the 1,001 Nights restaurant in a wing of the
Menebhi Palace in Tangier where a group of visiting Master Musicians of
Joujouka played every night.
Hamri’s
close association with the Master Musicians of Joujouka continued after the
closure of the restaurant in 1958. In 1962 he founded the Association Serifiya
Folklorique de Joujouka.
Hamri
became friends with Brian Jones, the founder member and lead guitarist of The
Rolling Stones, in the mid-1960s.
In
August 1968 he organised the trip to the village for Jones which resulted in
the LP, Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka, released in
1971 on Rolling Stones Records. The gatefold sleeve artwork for the album featured
Hamri’s painting of Brian Jones the Master Musicians of Joujouka.
Hamri
also organised the 1973 visit of Ornette Coleman to the village. Coleman’s collaboration
with the Master Musicians of Joujouka featured on the album Dancing In Your
Head.
Mohamed and Blanca Hamri pictured in 1973 while working on Tales of Joujouka
Hamri
collaborated with his wife Blanca to tell the stories of the music from Joujouka
in the Tales of Joujouka collection, published by Capra in 1975 and
originally serialised in Le Journal De Tanger.
In
1992, Hamri was invited with the Master Musicians of Joujouka to appear at the
Here To Go Show in Dublin, celebrating the work of Gysin and William S.
Burroughs. The event was organised by Frank Rynne, who is now the manager of
the Master Musicians of Joujouka, having worked closely for many years with Hamri.
Rynne
said: “Two years later I went to Joujouka with Hamri. I didn’t know what to
expect but hoped to get a few tapes of them playing while relaxed. I spent over
one month in Joujouka and got to hear music I couldn’t believe existed.”
The Rynne-produced Joujouka Black Eyes album (1995) includes ‘Brahim Jones Joujouka Very Stoned’ – a song composed by Hamri.
In
1974, William S. Burroughs said of Hamri’s artwork: “The djinoun spirits
of Morocco whisper and ripple and frolic through Hamri’s paintings… scattering
light over fruit trees, sunflowers, walls and fields, pelting the streets of
Tangier with winter rain. You can breathe all the magic of Morocco from these
canvases, the pipes of Pan that make perfume in the air.”
Blanca Hamri previewing the Hamri Revisited exhibition at the Tangier American Legation ahead of their reopening in July. Photo credit El Boukhari Youssef
Blanca
Hamri said: “Once upon a time, when the world was young, a small boy sold sweet
cakes in the mountain villages. He rose at dawn, picked up the trays of fresh
baked pastries from the widow he worked for and mixed vegetable colors into the
frosting, swirling them into patterns. He learned that bright and clear colors
were the most attractive and enjoyed mixing lovely shades of pink, blue, green
and yellow. He then got on his donkey with straw panniers full, and rode from
village to village hawking his wares.
“Did
he dream that one day he would be a famous painter and have books written about
him? I do know that it wouldn’t have surprised him in the least. After all, it
is all written, and all one can do is embrace it with an open heart and hand.
“Here
is a door to the story of an artist, music master, great chief and storyteller
whose life and work were full of blessing, much laughter and tears, and a total
conviction that it is an honor to be alive and live in Morocco.”
John Davison, Director at the Tangier American
Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies, said: “We’re grateful that Blanca
Hamri allowed us to extend the exhibit through late September. The museum
is open Mondays-Fridays from 10am to 5pm and Saturdays from 10am to 3pm. It is
closed Sundays and Moroccan holidays. Entrance fee 20 dirhams; guided tours 50
dirhams per person.”
For
more information visit the Tangier American Legation website
For
anyone unable to travel to Tangier a virtual tour of the museum, including the
Hamri Revisited exhibition, can be viewed here
The
2020 edition of the Master Musicians of Joujouka annual festival in the village
has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The group have been unable to
work since March. During this period all proceeds from digital download sales
of the Into The Ahl Srif album will be donated to the Master Musicians
of Joujouka.
‘The 4000 Year Old Rock and Roll Band’ – Melody Maker ad for Brian Jones Presents The Pipes of Pan at Joujouka LP
Last year’s festival
in Joujouka was held in memory of The Rolling Stones founder and lead guitarist
Brian Jones on
the 50th anniversary of his death on 3rd July 1969.
Brian Jones visited Joujouka in 1968 and recorded the LP Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka (released on Rolling Stones Records, 1971).
In his liner notes for the LP Jones said: “I don’t know if I have the stamina to endure the incredible strain of the festival.
“What exists here is a specially chosen representation of the type of music which is played and chanted during the festival.”
A Requiem for Brian Jones was held in Joujouka, Morocco from 5th to 7th July 2019.
The village square and mosque in Joujouka
On the opening afternoon of the festival the Master Musicians of Joujouka performed a set of lira and tebel music
Shiekh Ahmed Talha dancing to the Master Musicians of Joujouka
Brian Jones is said to have sat on this rock to listen to the Master Musicians during his visit to Joujouka
The Master Musicians of Joujouka in full flow on the opening evening of the festival
Master Musicians of Joujouka evening performance
The cave of Boujeloud in the distance and Mohamed El Hatmi surveying the scene over the jibil from inside
Breakfast served to guests at the festival. Sunset in Joujouka looking over the Ahl Srif mountains
Boujeloud dances in front of a bonfire
Marlon Richards, son of The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg, followed in his parent’s footsteps by visiting Joujouka for last year’s festival. Pictured here with Master Musicians of Joujouka manager Frank Rynne
Master Musicians of Joujouka group leader Ahmed El Attar at the tomb of Sidi Ahmed Shiekh in Joujouka explaining the healing powers of their sacred Sufi Trance music the mystic brought to the village
The finale of music on the third night of the festival
To experience
the sounds of the Master Musicians of Joujouka live at the Festival in their
village – check out the Into The Ahl Srif
album – recently released for the first time in digital format.
The 2020 edition of the Master Musicians of Joujouka festival has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the group have been unable to work since March. Proceeds from download sales of the album will be donated to the Master Musicians of Joujouka.
More information about the Into The Ahl Srif album here
For latest news on the 2020 festival and
updates on rescheduled dates when available visit here
