Rabat welcomes Chellah’s Jazz festival after 2 years hiatus

Chellah’s Jazz festival returns to Rabat with a 25-edition connection between Morocco and Europe.

Inside the medieval fortified necropolis, the Jazz festival will be held in Chellah from September 23 to October 2 to celebrate Moroccan and European Jazz.

Over the course of four days, international and national artists will share Chellah’s stage with two concerts a day.

The lineup consists of over 50 musicians representing 15 countries including the host country, Morocco.

This edition celebrates femininity which is why Soukaina Fahsi will open the festival.

She will share the stage with Aziz Ouzous, specialist of Amazigh Ribab.

The fusion between these two will set the tone for the festival, with Soukaina’s strong vocals and Aziz’s Amazigh background; the duo will make a great opening.

Soukaina has been very present in the Moroccan Music scene with unique live performances at many festivals and occasions.

Thursday’s lineup starts with these two and Arifa, a group of four musicians combining their Bulgarian, Hungarian, Turkish, Nordic and German heritage to play music to connect people.

On Friday, Italian and Polish musicians O-jana and Lovage will open only to be followed by a fusion of European jazz with a twist of Moroccan melodies presented by the Souissi brothers.

Mâäk Quintet the multitalented collective and Leila Amezian will take over for the rest of the night before leaving the audience to converse with Mustapha Antari.

Saturday will start with Dock in the absolute from Luxembourg and Belgium followed by a meeting with Axel Camil Hachadi.

Ernesto Montenegro Quintet coming from Spain Denmark and the Netherlands will serenade the audience and finally, Hind Ennaira Trio will take over the event.

On the very last day, the Spanish trio Nono Gracia will open up, followed by yet another trio of Zakaria Dorhmi and fellow musicians.

Later on, Chellah’s audience will attend a concert by Les Tsapis Volants with tunes from France, Greece, and Turkey.

Adil Charfi will wrap up the four days long festivities.

In addition to the live music playing, two European artists on the program will offer master classes on Friday and Saturday 1 at the Cafe la Scene of The Renaissance Cinema.

The Jazz Festival first started in 1996 and has been held every year ever since minus the past two years.

The lineup makes it a key cultural event of the European Union in Morocco, with concerts, master classes, and debates; it creates a soulful atmosphere for Jazz music lovers.

This 25 edition of the festival is also part of the ongoing celebrations of Rabat, the African Capital of Culture.