PUTNEY, Vt. – Next Stage Arts presents Moroccan-dosed psychedelic dub jazz collective from Boston Club d’Elf on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill in Putney.
Club d’Elf has been helping audiences lose track of time for 25 years with its mesmerizing synthesis of Moroccan traditional music and electronic, dubbed-out funk. Circling about bassist/composer Mike Rivard and drummer Dean Johnston, each Club d’Elf performance features a different lineup, drawn from a constellation of some of the most creative improvisers from the jazz, DJ, rock, and world music scenes of Boston, NYC, and beyond. The band’s music draws from a startlingly wide spectrum of styles, including jazz, hip hop, electronica, avant garde, prog-rock, and dub. Under the tutelage of member Brahim Fribgane, who hails from Casablanca, the band has absorbed Moroccan trance music, which is now an essential part of the mix. Diverse audiences are drawn to Fribgane’s mesmerizing oud stylings, and Rivard’s commanding playing of the Moroccan sintir. Trance forms the central core of the Club d’Elf aesthetic, weaving together the band’s various influences.
“Masters of their craft, Club d’Elf transports listeners to exotic lands, while infusing it with electronics, virtuosity, and surprises,” says Keith Marks, executive director of Next Stage Arts. “The Boston-based ensemble has been well-known in New England for years. Their sound is for the curious and adventurous listener. We love taking people on a journey through music.”
In April 2022 the band released its latest album, “You Never Know,” which rose to #2 on the Relix chart. The record unfurls upon kaleidoscopic clouds of spiced smoke, shifting from chopped dub-jazz through trance epics that reimagine Boston as a city of bazaars. Club d’Elf pays tribute to the music and musicians who have been primary influences, with half the album being covers of gnawa, Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul, Moroccan band Nass el-Ghiwane, and Frank Zappa. The other half consists of original music inspired by Rivard’s personal journey into darkness following a near-death experience in the remote jungle of the Peruvian Amazon.
Next Stage is located at 15 Kimball Hill in downtown Putney, Vt. Concert tickets can be purchased in advance at www.nextstagearts.org; there is also a livestream option. For information, call 802-387-0102. Next Stage will provide a beer, wine, and cocktail cash bar.