Hassan Hakmoun is a powerful,soulful and charismatic "master" musician who has been performing since childhood on the streets of Marrakech, Morocco. Hassan started performing in his homeland as an entertainer for Gnawa ceremonies. He soon became the "Lead Musician" of his group, learning all the music and instruments by heart. Not before long,Hassan became a Master of the Sintir (a three-string, long necked lute). Trance is a brilliant fusion of traditional Moroccan healing music, funk, rock, jazz and reggae. Hassan first made his debut in 1987 at Lincoln Center, New York. Since then, Hassan and his music have been selected by Rolling Stone as one of the "Hot Picks of 94," topped the world music charts with his albums The Fire Within, Gift of the Gnawa, and Trance. He won "The Album of the Year" in 2003 from the AFIM Indie Awards for the album, The Gift. He has performed and recorded with Peter Gabriel, Randy Weston, Don Cherry, Richard Horowitz, Adam Rudolph, Paula Cole, Bo