The History of AZA

Aza is a musical band that was founded in Santa Cruz, CA by two members: Fattah Abbou and Mohamed Aoualou. Both are from Morocco and currently live in Santa Cruz, CA. They’ve played and studied music for over twenty years before moving to the USA seven years ago. Fattah and Mohamed are Berbers; and the Berbers or Imazighen (preferred term) are the indigenous people of North Africa whose history records date back to 3300 years ago. The band’s activities are not limited to music but also promoting the Amazigh Culture. Fattah and Mohamed’s efforts have always been part of the Amazigh movement and struggle to revive a culture that has been marginalized for centuries. Our goal is to raise awareness about the Amazigh culture, that it may take its place in the network of various cultures of the world. Through its artistic activities AZA has been able to introduce the Amazigh culture to people of varying ages and arouse their curiosity to know more about it.

Venues Played

AHmbiance, Auburn, CA, USA
Ashkenaz, Berkeley, CA, USA
Burbank, CA, USA
BRTV, Paris, France
Cabrillo Music Festival, Santa Cruz, USA
Cal State Pomona Polytechnic University, USA
Cal State University Los Angeles, USA
Cal State University Monterey Bay, USA
Cayuga Vault, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Chicago World Music Festival, Chicago, USA
Community Television of Santa Cruz, County USA
Don Quixote's International Music Hall, Felton, CA
Festival D'Immigre, Imi-N-tanout, Morocco
Festival Ifrane, Morocco
Festival Tafrout, Morocco
Festival Timitar, Agadir, Morocco
High Sierra Music Festival, Quincy, CA USA
Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz, CA USA
Madison World Music Festival, Wisconsin USA
Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz, CA USA
Mohamed V Theatre, Rabat, Morocco
Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA USA
San Francisco State University, CA USA
Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Boonville, CA USA
South by Southwest Festival, Austin, Texas USA
Symphony Space, New York USA
Theatre Corona, Montreal, Canada
University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
UNESCO, Paris, France

Special Thanks

Web developement funded in part by a grant from the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County.