MAÂLEM ABDELOUAHED STITOU

Abdelouahed Stitou is one of the greatest Gnaoua names in Tangier. He is the guardian of the Chamaliya tradition and a keeper of memory, renowned for his vast knowledge of repertoires and for his ability to dialogue with different styles, from North to South. His practice is rigorous, open, and lively, enhanced through encounters and alliances. In the 1990s, he collaborated with Afro-American jazz legend Randy Weston in a series of concerts that are vividly remembered on both sides of the Mediterranean. Since then, he has participated in many editions of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, where he has been able to transmit the spirit of Tangerine Gnaoua, with humility and exactitude. Maâlem Stitou is truly a living encyclopaedia, and has raised awareness about his art well beyond borders. His son Réda carries the tradition forward in Brussells with his own group, proving that the breath of the guembri continues—from one generation to the next—to echo far from its land of origin.