Marmoucha Orchestra and Mehdi Nassouli chosen for prestigious Jazzahead! 2024

Marmoucha Orchestra and Mehdi Nassouli present "Sonic Bridges" at Jazzahead 2024: A new era in Jazz and Gnawa exploration

It is with great enthusiasm and pride that we announce that the Marmoucha Orchestra, in collaboration with renowned Gnawa musician Mehdi Nassouli, has been selected to perform at the prestigious Jazzahead! 2024 showcase. As the largest jazz fair in Europe, Jazzahead! provides a unique stage for artists to showcase their talents. This year, the Netherlands will have the honour of performing as a focus country at Jazzahead! 2024, which makes our selection even more exciting.

The event will take place from 11 to 13 April 2024 in Bremen, Germany.

This selection is a recognition of our efforts to represent and promote the diversity of the Dutch music scene on an international level as well. The Marmoucha Orchestra, known for its dynamic and multifaceted approach to musical languages and styles, together with Mehdi Nassouli, will present a unique project called "Sonic Bridges". This project symbolises an important milestone in the fusion of jazz and Gnawa music, creating an innovative sound deeply rooted in musical traditions.

This collaboration between our orchestra and Mehdi Nassouli is more than a musical partnership; it is a fruitful exchange of knowledge and cultural values that has led to a distinctive and innovative sound. Our musicians, under the artistic direction of Arin Keshishi, will perform alongside Mehdi Nassouli and other talented members of our orchestra.

Visit www.marmoucha.nl and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to find out more about our projects. 

Our line-up for Jazzahead! 2024 includes:

Arin Keshishi: Bass/Artistic Director/Arrangements
Mehdi Nassouli: Vocals/Guembri/Compositions
Maripepa Contreras: Oboe/Artistic Coordinator/ Arrangements
Shayan Fathi: Drums
Timothy Banchet: Piano/Keyboard
Antonio Moreno Glazkov: Trumpet/Artistic Coordinator
Pablo Martinez: Trombone
Mohamed Ahaddaf: Ud/Artistic Coordinator
María Cristina González: Flute
Emad Ghajjou: Darbuka
Ahmed Hammou: Krakeb/backing vocals 
Khalid Ezzahiri: Krakeb/backing vocals

Special thanks to Oene van Geel for his arrangement of Mehdi Nassouli's composition 'Milala' from Marmoucha Orchestra's album 'Sahara Koyo'.