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Mohamed Hamri (1932 - 2000) was a Moroccan painter and author and one of the few Moroccans to participate in the Tangier and Beat generation.

He was born in 1932 in the northern Moroccan town of Ksar-el-Kebir, at the southern end of the Rif Mountains. His father was a ceramics artist who painted his pieces following an ancient tradition. Hamri's mother was born into the Attar family of Jajouka musicians. His uncle was the leader of the musicians there Master Musicians of Joujouka and the music of the village was a strong influence on Hamri.

Career

After World War II life in the village was very difficult, as there was very little food available. Hamri helped the Master Musicians of Joujouka survive by bringing them to Tangier to play. In 1951, writer Paul Bowles, met the 18-year-old Hamri at Tanger train station, and introduced him to the painter Brion Gysin who tutored him and introduced him to modern European painters. Hamri and Gysin lived for several months in a room at Bowles' home. Gysin and Hamri had a joint exhibition in 1952. After Hamri introduced Gysin to the Jajouka village, Gysin became a life-long promoter of the Sufi trance master musicians who lived there. Together with Gysin, Hamri set up the 1001 Nights Restaurant in Tangier and employed the Master Musicians of Joujouka to play there. The master musicians were led at the time by Hamri's uncle Sherkin.

When Rolling Stones lead guitarist Brian Jones visited Morocco in 1968, Gysin and Hamri took him to the village to record the master musicians in the ground-breaking release Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka, whose original cover featured a painting of Jones and The Master Musicians of Joujouka by Hamri before a 1990s redesign. Hamri had assisted the group during that first production by Jones. In an article in Rolling Stone published in October of 1971 to publicize the new release, journalist Robert Palmer mentioned Hamri's role translating some of the old chief's comments to Palmer during his visit to the village. From 1974–79 Hamri lived and painted in Los Angeles.

In 1975 his book Tales of Joujouka, containing Hamri's tales from his home village including "The Lengend of Boujeloud" which tells the story of Boujelod the half-goat/half-man beast celebrated in the annual ritual of the Master Musicians of Joujouka was published by Capra Press in Santa Barbara.

From 1980 onwards, Hamri divided his time between Tangier and Jajouka. After the death of one of Master Musicians of Joujouka Hadj Abdesalam Attar in 1982, Attar's son Bachir Attar led a group of his father's musicians, eventually recording with them as Master Musicians of Jajouka featuring Bachir Attar. Hamri continued his work with the Master Musicians of Joujouka musicians continuing his efforts to presevre their traditions.

1990s to 2000

In 1992, Hamri participated in The Here to Go Show in Dublin, Ireland. This show, a celebration of William Burroughs, Brion Gysin and the Tangier Beat Scene, was documented in the documentary Destroy all Rational Thought, directed by Joe Ambrose and Frank Rynne. Hamri appeared drunk in this video and indeed, he returned from Dublin on a stretcher. In 1994 a group of master musicians managed by Hamri recorded a CD called Joujouka Black Eyes under the band name Master Musicians of Joujouka, using another less common spelling for the village used both on the famous Brian Jones production and in Hamri's own 1975 book title. The recording was produced by Frank Rynne under the supervision of Hamri.

Hamri had over fifty exhibitions of his paintings in Morocco, Spain, Germany, the United States, and Ireland during his lifetime.

Hamri continued to promote the music of Joujouka until his death in August 2000. He is buried in the center of the village, close to the tomb of the Muslim saint Sidi Ahmed Sheikh. His posthumous reputation as a painter is growing, and a recent retrospective was held at the Laurence-Arnott Gallery in Tangier. A large collection of his 1950s paintings has recently been discovered in the United States.

His youngest daughter Sanaa Hamri is the first Moroccan woman to direct a Hollywood movie.

Further reading

• Ambrose, Joe; Wilson, Terry; and Rynne, Frank (1992). Man from Nowhere: Storming the Citadels of Enlightenment With William Burroughs and Brion Gysin. Autonomedia. ISBN 0-9520217-0-6.
• Clandermond, Andrew and MacCarthy, Dr. Terence (2004). Hamri: The Painter of Morocco / Le Peintre du Maroc. Lawrence Arnott Art Gallery (Tangier). ISBN 0-9523838-6-1.
• Hamri, Mohamed (1975), Tales of Joujouka. Capra Press.
• Palmer, Robert (March 23, 1989). "Into the Mystic". Rolling Stone.
• Palmer, Robert (October 14, 1971). "Jajouka: Up the Mountain". Rolling Stone, p. 39–40.
• Palmer, Robert (June 11, 1992). "Up the Mountain". Rolling Stone, p. 42–43.
• Ranaldo, Lee (August 1996). "Into The Mystic". The Wire
• Strauss, Neil (October 12, 1995). "The Pop Life: To Save Jajouka, How About a Mercedes in the Village?". The New York Times.
• Brion Gysin biography. The Knitting Circle.
• French language article on Hamri from Le Matin du Sahara et du Maghreb, (15/02/2002) retrived 13/4/2007

See also

• Jajouka
• Paul Bowles
• Brion Gysin
• William S. Burroughs
• Timothy Leary
• Master Musicians of Joujouka
• Master Musicians of Jajouka
• Pan (mythology)

External links

• Master Musicians of Joujouka site
• Obituary of Hamri from The Independent (London, 19 Oct 2000) pdf download of original article at bottom of text. Retrieved 06/08/2007
• Joe Ambrose site, includes documents related to Hamri, with whom he sometimes collaborated
• Hawkins, Paul (August 2007).Frank Rynne gives his most detailed interview on life in Joujouka, the history and recording the Master Musicans CDs since 1992 The Brink

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