Wikipedia

Draft:Club d'Elf

club_delf_draft_READY_TO_PASTE.txt

Page 1 / 1 100%

Club d'Elf
OriginBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
GenresJazz fusion, Gnawa, funk, dub, electronica, experimental
Years active1998–present
LabelsGrapeshot, Accurate, Kufala, Face Pelt, Royal Potato Family
MembersMike Rivard
Past membersBrahim Fribgane
Websiteclubdelf.com

Club d'Elf is an American instrumental musical collective based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1998 by bassist and composer Mike Rivard.[1] The group is known for blending Moroccan Gnawa music with jazz, funk, dub, hip-hop and electronica, and for a long-running residency at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it has performed with a rotating cast of musicians including keyboardist John Medeski.[1][2]

History

edit

Rivard, a graduate of Berklee College of Music who had previously performed with the Story, Morphine and the Either/Orchestra, formed Club d'Elf in Boston in 1998.[1][2] The same year, Boston magazine named the group "Best Band, Cutting-Edge" in its Best of Boston awards, describing its "deeply hypnotic trance-grooves" combining jazz, world music and electronica.[3]

The band's direction solidified around 1999, when Brahim Fribgane, a Casablanca-born oud player and percussionist who had worked with Peter Gabriel, Zakir Hussain and Medeski Martin & Wood, joined the core lineup and deepened the group's engagement with Moroccan trance traditions.[1][4]

Club d'Elf released its debut, the live double album As Above: Live at the Lizard Lounge, in 2000, followed by the studio album Now I Understand (2006) and a series of live recordings on the Kufala label.[2][5] In 2011 the group released the double album Electric Moroccoland/So Below, which received reviews in JazzTimes, The Boston Globe and All About Jazz.[6][7][8] The band marked its 15th anniversary in 2013 with a concert at the Lizard Lounge, which The Boston Globe described as the group's headquarters throughout its history.[1]

The live album Night Sparkles, recorded at the Lizard Lounge, followed in 2019.[9] In 2022 the group released the double album You Never Know, featuring Medeski and guitarist David Fiuczynski; the album was reviewed in DownBeat, Glide Magazine and The Arts Fuse.[10][11][12]

Fribgane, whom the band called "the soul of Club d'Elf", died in March 2024.[4] The group's subsequent album, Loon & Thrush, released in April 2026 on Royal Potato Family, was recorded following his death and includes a Gnawa-influenced arrangement of the Grateful Dead's "Bird Song".[13][14][15][16][17]

Musical style

edit

Club d'Elf's music combines Moroccan Gnawa and other North African trance traditions with jazz improvisation, funk, dub, hip-hop and electronica.[2][10] Rivard leads the group on electric and acoustic bass and the sintir, a three-stringed Moroccan bass lute.[1] Writing in DownBeat, Martin Longley identified the group's Gnawa element, supplied by Rivard and Fribgane, as its "most distinctive" feature.[10] The band performs with a lineup that changes from show to show, drawing on improvisers from the Boston and New York jazz, rock, DJ and world-music scenes.[1][3]

Members

edit

The group's rotating cast has centered on Rivard, with longtime contributors including Fribgane, drummers Erik Kerr and Dean Johnston, percussionist Jerry Leake, turntablist Mister Rourke, and guitarists Duke Levine, Kevin Barry and David Fiuczynski.[1][10][3] Guest performers have included John Medeski, Marc Ribot, Reeves Gabrels, Skerik, Marco Benevento, Dana Colley, Mat Maneri, Joe Maneri and Mark Sandman.[1][3]

Discography

edit
  • As Above: Live at the Lizard Lounge (Grapeshot, 2000)[2]
  • Now I Understand (Accurate, 2006)[5]
  • Perhapsody: Live 10.12.06 (Kufala, 2007)[2]
  • Electric Moroccoland/So Below (Face Pelt, 2011)[6]
  • Live at Club Helsinki (Face Pelt, 2017)[2]
  • Night Sparkles (Live at the Lizard Lounge) (Face Pelt, 2019)[9]
  • You Never Know (Face Pelt, 2022)[10]
  • Loon & Thrush (Royal Potato Family, 2026)[13]

References

edit
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Goodwin, Jeremy D. (February 14, 2013). "Club d'Elf celebrates 15 years in the groove". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Club d'Elf Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Best Band, Cutting-Edge: Club d'Elf". Boston. 1998. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Club d'Elf Collaborator Brahim Fribgane Has Died". JamBase. March 5, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Club d'Elf: Now I Understand". PopMatters. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Club d'Elf: Electric Moroccoland/So Below". JazzTimes. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Review of "Electric Moroccoland/So Below" by Club d'Elf". The Boston Globe. August 5, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  8. ↑ Slawecki, Chris M. "Club d'Elf: Electric Moroccoland / So Below". All About Jazz. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Club d'Elf Announces New Live Album 'Night Sparkles' & Adds Dates". JamBase. 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Longley, Martin (June 2022). "Club d'Elf: You Never Know". DownBeat. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Club d'Elf Masterfully Weave Abstract Material Into Infectious Concept Via 'You Never Know'". Glide Magazine. 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Album Review: Club d'Elf's "You Never Know" — Spontaneous Magic". The Arts Fuse. 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Club d'Elf Reimagines Grateful Dead's 'Bird Song,' Announces 'Loon & Thrush' Album". JamBase. 2026. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  14. ↑ "'Taking it to the next level': Club d'Elf recovers from loss, soars on stellar new album". Rutland Herald. 2026. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Jazz Album Review: Club d'Elf Blends Gnawa and Jam-Band Energy on "Loon & Thrush"". The Arts Fuse. 2026. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Club d'Elf: Loon & Thrush". All About Jazz. 2026. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  17. ↑ ""Loon & Thrush" by Club d'Elf". Music Connection. 2026. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Club_d%27Elf&oldid=1363974469"