Mahmoud Ghania

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Mahmoud Ghania ( Arabic محمود ﯕينيا, rarely too ﯕنيا or کانية; other common transcriptions of the surname are Guinia , Guinea or Gania ; * 1951 in Essaouira ; † August 2, 2015 ) was a Moroccan Gnawa musician ( vocals , gimbri ), who bore the traditional title of Maleem (master).

Life

Ghania belonged to a family of musicians who played an important role in the development of Moroccan Gnawa music, which was initially the ritual music of Derdeba ; his brother Abdallah Guinéa, who died in 2013, also held the title Maâllem . His grandfather came from Mali and brought this music with him as a slave .

He began to learn the Gimbri when he was twelve. He first performed with members of his family and popularized the genre in Morocco. He later brought the music to crossover contexts and performed at festivals in France, Japan, Italy, Austria and the USA with musicians such as Carlos Santana , Adam Rudolph , Will Calhoun , Aly Keita , Peter Brötzmann and Hamid Drake .

Ghania died after a long illness.

Works

Ghania can be heard on numerous recordings, first on those of the Moroccan label Fikriphone , then by Tichkaphone ; these were sold on the European market by Sonodisc . His phonograms were also released by La Voix El Maarif . In 1994 Bill Laswell recorded it with the American saxophonist Pharoah Sanders ; the resulting album, The Trance of Seven Colors , received critical acclaim and won the Down Beat critical poll . In 2015 she recorded with Karim Ziad , with whom he also appeared in May 2015 at the Essaouira Festival.

Discographic notes

  • Maleem Mahmoud Ghania feat. Pharoah Sanders The Trance of Seven Colors ( Axiom 1994)
  • Peter Brötzmann, Maleem Mahmoud Ghania & Hamid Drake The Wels Concert ( Okka 1997)
  • Mahmoud Gania Gnawa Essaouira (1999)
  • Maalem Mahmoud Guinia / Tata Güines / Django Mango Shaman of the Sahara: Moroccan Trance Singing and Indo-Afro-Cuban Drums (2001, with Ismet Ruchimat Kantele, Agus Supriawan, Dodong)
  • Maalem Mahmoud Guinia / Floating Points / James Holden Marhaba (2015)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Wels Concert at Allmusic (English)
personal data
SURNAME Ghania, Mahmoud
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guinia, Mahmoud
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Moroccan Gnawa musician (vocals, gimbri)
DATE OF BIRTH 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Essaouira
DATE OF DEATH 2nd August 2015