Master Musicians of Jajouka at Neumo's

If the Master Musicians of Jajouka had a Facebook page, the ensemble's friends would include The Rolling Stones, Ornette Coleman, Led Zeppelin and William Burroughs (in spirit at least) — and that's just for starters.

Though the group hails from Jajouka, an ancient village in northern Morocco's rugged Rif Mountains, its ecstatic, swirling sound has served as muse and inspiration for an international array of artists since modernist writers like Burroughs and Paul Bowles stumbled upon the music in the early 1960s.

Led by Bachir Attar, the scion of a musical dynasty that dates back more than 10 centuries, the Master Musicians of Jajouka perform at Neumo's on Tuesday as part of a brief U.S. tour, an endeavor that has become increasingly daunting for Middle Eastern artists since Sept. 11, 2001.

"It is a very, very, very difficult visa for us," says Attar, speaking by phone from Morocco. "We almost gave up, but we're thinking about fans of Jajouka. Two musicians couldn't get visas. The consulate said they needed two months of investigation, so we're coming only as eight."

Attar happened to be in the U.S. on Sept. 11, touring with Seattle saxophonist Skerik's band Critters Buggin. The group had long been influenced by Jajouka's music, and when the opportunity to meet Attar arose through a mutual friend, Skerik and the band quickly set out to collaborate.

"I was just kind of incredulous when he had the chance to meet," Skerik says. "We had studied their music. Our drummer had done several transcriptions, and we have this song in nine based on just one part of a Jajouka piece that we'd been playing since 1993. Everyone needs to go to the show and get their minds blown. They've inspired so many artists, from Williams S. Burroughs and Paul Bowles to Roscoe Mitchell and Ornette [Coleman]."

Driven by percussion, Jajouka's devotional music involves galloping-group improvisation on the ghaita, an oboe-like horn. The effect is stunning, as the music spins, soars, hovers, accelerates and swoops like a synchronized flock of birds.

The band first gained widespread notice in the West when The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones produced the album "The Pipes of Pan at Joujouka" shortly before his death (unfortunately misspelling the village's name). Two decades later, Jajouka collaborated with The Rolling Stones on 1989's "Steel Wheels."

"I like what we did with The Rolling Stones," Attar says. "That was beautiful. In all the Arabic world they love that song. But the greatest things I ever recorded was with Ornette Coleman. Ornette is a great musician and he understands Jajouka very well since he went to the village to record with my father in 1973.

"I remember when he came in with William Burroughs. That was the first jazz I was influenced by, because I didn't know about jazz when I was a kid in 1973."

The story of Jajouka is one of cultural survival and perseverance against threats internal and external. French and Spanish colonial rule of Morocco in the early 20th century severed the patronage and protection afforded Jajouka by Morocco's kings.

More recently, several groups have toured and performed under the Jajouka name, spreading confusion about whom is the rightful heir to the ancient tradition.

There's no doubt that Attar was tapped as a teenager to lead the Master Musicians of Jajouka by his father, El Hadj Abdesalam el Attar, who directed the group until his death in 1981. Under Attar's leadership, the band has flourished creatively, recently launching a record label to make sure it controls its legacy.

"My father choose me to keep and protect this music," Attar says. "I'm guarding the tradition of my family, because I know what this music means."

Andrew Gilbert: jazzscribe@aol.com