Reviews
And
Quotes
The lines
between Middle Eastern music and jazz are there to be drawn. Ornette Coleman has
played with the Master Musicians of Joujouka, and Pharoah Sanders recorded an
album with Maleem Mahmoud Ghania, of the Gnawa tribe. Now, Moroccan vocalist
Malika Zarra is arriving at this crossroads from the opposite direction,
infusing the music of her native culture with jazz. Her self-released debut CD,
On The Ebony Road, mixes rhythms from chaâbi, Berber and Gnawa music with jazzy
improvisation and smooth, seductive vocals.
Both jazz
and Middle Eastern music view improvisation, and particularly the ability to let
the song carry you where it wants to go, as crucial.”When I started music, I
decided to study at a jazz school, “ says Zarra, “because I thought, in
terms of Occidental music, this is the one that has also this improvisation
space like in Middle Eastern music.” Her band , composed of French/Swiss
guitarist Francis Jacob, Moroccan multi-instrumentalist Brahim Fribgane,
Senegalese bassist Mamadou Ba and Surinamese drummer Harvey Wirht, has an
intuitive communication that can only come from long-term gigging and jamming.
Zarra’s
soft, birdlike voice is ably supported by rhythmically supple grooves, whether
she’s singing in English, French or Moroccan. “I sing in three languages
because I’m trying to make people understand what I’m saying,” Zarra
explains. “When I write in English, first I think in French then I translate
and I ask my friend to correct my lyrics. In Moroccan dialect, usually I write
directly in this language. “Ultimately, though, the sound of the human voice,
cushioned by sympathetic instrumentalists, needs no translation.
Phil Freeman – GLOBAL RHYTHM
Moroccan
born, and raised in France, Malika Zarra makes her debut with ON
THE EBONY ROAD. Employing all the flavors of her native continent. Zarra and her
ensemble deliver a world music album of soothing and sultry rhythms buoyed by
modal, Eastern grooves. Singing in English, French, and Arabic, her band
traffics in North African rhythms and melodies. Akin to a world music version of
Sade, Zarra will likely find an audience in tune with her talents.
Troy
Collins – CADENCE
Malika
Zarra's debut release, On the Ebony Road, digs deep into jazz idioms, but
the Morrocan-born Zarra still conveys a strong sense of her North African roots
through the vocals and arrangements. The instrumentation is simple: guitar,
bass, drums, and percussion (including dumbek and cajon). Percussionist Brahim
Fribgane also adds oud on some tracks.
All this is support for Zarra's slinky vocals, which weave in and out of the
music, her voice another instrument rather than something bobbing atop them like
a cork on water. After hearing Zarra's strong contribution to Richard Khuzami's
recent album Fused,
it's a delight to hear her immersed in her own musical atmosphere. Fans of
Susheela Raman and Natacha Atlas, or those looking for something like them but
leaning a bit more toward jazz, should be sure to check out this strong debut.
SOUNDROOTS – World
Music
...Malika Zarra’s “On the Ebony Road”. This Moroccan lass honed her craft at home in North Africa, in Paris, and continues to do so in New Jersey, USA, where she currently resides. Zarra’s mixture of native Berber and English tunes, and a sultry, seductive jazz-influenced delivery puts her in a unique category. It’s a very impressive CD and should place her in a good position for further “world-jazz” adventures. Tunes such as ‘Run’, ‘Joky Heart’, ‘Mchina’ also bring out the talents of drummer Harvey Wirht and oud player Brahim Fribgane... John Stevenson - Ejazz
...Zarra is captivating, with a soft voice and a hushed style of scat-singing that makes her sound as if she is casting spells... Sanjoy Roy - The Guardian
... Vocalist Malika Zarra’s rich, sonorous tones and lithe musicality...
Lyndsey Winship - The Stage
Acabo de descubrir a la cantante marroquí Malika
Zarra.
Lo que más me ha impresionado es la fusión de instrumentos como el oud y las
percusiones tradicionales del magreb con la batería y el bajo, a la vez que su
extraordinaria técnica vocal sobrevuela los temas incluidos en su nuevo álbum On
the ebony road.
Además Malika se rodea de excelentes músicos; Mamadou
Ba
(bajo) y Brahim
Fribgane
(oud, darbuka, percusiones y arreglos); Francis
Jacob
(guitarra acústica y eléctrica) ; Harvey
Wirth
(batería)
Canta en francés, inglés y su natal árabe marroquí, a la vez que dibuja su
canto sobre el Bereber y los sonidos y los ritmos de Gnawa que ella oyó de niña
como inmigrante en los suburbios de París.
Malika se revela como una cantante y compositora que puede estar dentro de la élite
de las músicas del mundo y del jazz. Habrá que seguir su carrera muy
atentamente.
Jorge Rodríguez – Crisol de Musicas
Malika Zarra, du Maroc à New York
Sur la planète musicale marocaine émergent
des talents originaux, tels l’auteur-compositeur Malika Zarra, installée à
New York. L’originalité de cette artiste qui vient de sortir son premier
album, On the ebony road (www.cdbaby.com),
est d’être l’une des rares femmes instrumentistes et compositeur. Entre
standards de jazz et compositions personnelles interprétés en français, arabe
et anglais, elle symbolise ce mélange de passion, de fluidité et de chaleur
caractérisant la nouvelle vague du « jazz oriental »…
Sylvie
Clerfeuille – RFI / MFO
Malika Zarra, Moroccan vocalist, was a wonderful ambassador for
her country’s music, and she was joined by Francis Jacob on acoustic and
electric guitar, Brahim Fribgane on oud, cajón, dumbek, kerkabou, and bendir,
and Mamadou Ba on bass. She sang in native Moroccan, French, and English, with a
healthy dose of scat. The music was similar to Afro-Caribbean, Flamenco, and
Greek genres, with exotic percussion, and vocal dynamics that intensified as the
evening grew late.
Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
"Malika Zarra's voice is like a gentle sigh of
Zephyr in a hot Moroccan night. It awakes the deepest feelings of love and
harmony. Even the hidden desires of a burning passion. It reminds the mellow
blending of oriental flavors and western anxiety of a Cole Porter song: It
brings back a night of tropical splendor...
Once you've heard her sweet spell, you're bewitched
forever."
Enzo Capua
