morocco, 1969/1970

i lived in morocco a whole year, between 1969 and 1979, mainly in marrakech ... he played every night on djma el fna, as soon as he thought there was enough money, he played, he sang ... no other gnawa ever played or sang like that ... years later i tried to find his wherabouts, learned he'd died, met his son who had promised his father, just before he died, never to play gimbri ... to the old man, playing and begging in the street were the same thing, and he wanted his son not to live as he had lived ... guess he could not prevent destiny from dancing in the street (rare recording, made five or six years after i'd left, around 1975/76)