Tags:
Saudi Arabia
Medina
main street
Categories:
Places
Cities
Motifs
Blurb:
"Medina" by Bobby Hutcherson fuses jazz vibraphone with Middle Eastern musical elements, showcasing his innovative approach and virtuosic technique. The composition, named after the holy city in Saudi Arabia, blends melodic invention, harmonic sophistication, and possible modal structures or rhythmic patterns reminiscent of Arabic music.
Discogs
Archie Shepp's "Main Street Medina" (1990) offers a jazz interpretation of the vibrant atmosphere of Medina, one of Islam's holiest cities. The title juxtaposes the Western concept of "Main Street" with the ancient Saudi Arabian city, suggesting a fusion of cultures. Shepp, known for his avant-garde approach and exploration of African American musical traditions, incorporates elements of Middle Eastern scales and rhythms into his characteristic free jazz style. The composition may evoke the bustling energy of Medina's streets, possibly referencing the city's significance as the site of Muhammad's first Muslim community. Shepp's saxophone might imitate the calls of muezzins or the rhythmic patterns of traditional Arabic music, blended with his distinctive jazz improvisations. This piece reflects the ongoing dialogue between jazz and Middle Eastern music, as well as the broader interest in Islamic culture among African American musicians. "Main Street Medina" can be seen as a musical bridge between Western jazz traditions and the rich cultural heritage of the Islamic world, offering listeners a unique perspective on this holy city through the lens of avant-garde jazz.
“Main Street Medina” is a long, trance‑like piece that Archie Shepp recorded with the Dar Gnawa of Tangier on the album Kindred Spirits, Vol. 1. The track blends Shepp’s jazz saxophone and quartet with the Gnawa musicians’ traditional North African grooves, call‑and‑response vocals, and metal castanets, so it feels more like a ritual or procession than a regular jazz tune. On releases of Kindred Spirits, “Main Street Medina” is credited to Archie Shepp (often in a group credit like “Archie Shepp Quartet & Dar Gnawa”) rather than to an outside songwriter, so it’s treated as his composition shaped around the Gnawa ensemble’s sound.
The title points to the idea of walking through the medina—the old walled quarter—in a North African city, not specifically to the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. Shepp recorded this music in collaboration with a Gnawa group from Tangier, Morocco, and reviewers describe the album as a meeting of African‑American jazz with Moroccan street and ritual music; “Main Street Medina” suggests the feel of a main street in such a medina, full of rhythm, chanting, and overlapping sounds. There is no evidence that the piece is about Saudi Arabia’s Medina or tells a specific story from Islamic history; instead, the “Medina” in the title is best understood as the old city district of North African towns, and the music matches that image with its dense percussion, voices, and Shepp’s raw, searching sax lines weaving through the Gnawa groove.
