Titi Robin & Mehdi Nassouli, Taziri

From the traditional blues inflected Gnawa music and other strains of traditional Morocco we encounter the fine vocal and guembri bass-toned stringed lute personified in the artistry of Mehdi Nassouli. He joins guitarist Titi Robin in a program of music that extends the music into contemporary world folk avenues without losing the soulful bluesiness of the roots. All this can be heard to great effect on the album Taziri (World Village).

The songs are hybrid collaborations that add traditional Moroccan percussion, European accordion, other instruments and pan-Mediterranean elements for a mesmerizing musical infectiousness. There is plenty of musical content and striking blends of noteful inventiveness.

Sometimes it sounds like a kind of folk-ethnic fusion in its elaborateness. Other times it digs deeply into the centuries of intercultural creative commerce that has marked Eastern Africa and Europe so strikingly over the history of the area.

Our musical heritage on this planet has been sparked and enriched by the love, the coveting if you will, of the music of the other and its respectful incorporation into the musical folkways of the self. This music is an accretion of the endless development of musical culture, an active and positive force ever since humanity first sounded notes and set out rhythms.

Titi and Mehdi give us a set of beautiful music that we need only listen to on this CD to incorporate into our musical beings. It is striking, beautiful, contemporary music that reminds us of our roots in universal humanity.

Striking! Very recommended.