Mohamed Hamri

Mohamed Hamri (August 27, 1932 – August 29, 2000), commonly known as Hamri, was a self-described Painter of Morocco. He was a Moroccan painter and author and one of the few Moroccans to participate in the Tangier Beat scene.

He was born in 1932 in Ksar-el-Kebir in northern Morocco. His father was a ceramics artist who painted his pieces following an ancient tradition. Hamri's mother was born into the Attar family of Zahjouka musicians. His uncle was the leader of the Master Musicians of Joujouka.

Hamir is father to Sanaa Hamri, the first Moroccan woman to direct a Hollywood movie.

Career

Hamri helped the Master Musicians of Joujouka survive by bringing them to Tangier to play. In 1951, writer Paul Bowles met the 18-year-old Hamri at Tanger train station. He later met the painter Brion Gysin—inventor of The Cut-up technique—who tutored him and introduced him to modern European painters. Gysin and Hamri had a joint exhibition in 1952. After Hamri introduced Gysin to the Zahjouka village, Gysin became a lifelong promoter of the Sufi trance master musicians who lived there. Together with Gysin, Hamri set up the "1001 Nights Restaurant" in Tangier with Hamri as cook and where Gysin employed the Master Musicians to play. In 1958 Gysin bought out Hamri's interest in the restaurant for $10,000 but he soon lost the restaurant himself. He soon opened a new 1001 Nights in Asilah—40 km south of Tangier—where he first met Brian Jones and subsequently brought him to Zahjouka.