Gloria Gaynor to open Casablanca jazz festival (AFP)

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AFP) - Grammy award-winning American singer Gloria Gaynor, whose hit single "I will survive" topped music charts in 1979, will open the third Casablanca jazz festival on Tuesday.

Other artists taking part in the festival are Franco-Moroccan rhythm and blues singer Vigon and Greek-Guinean jazz musician Elisabeth Kontomanou.

Gaynor rose to fame in the 1970s, releasing her first album "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1973 and then "I will Survive" five years later.

She has often worked simultaneously with the European and American music scenes, namely with the likes of Leon Parker, Michel Legrand, Mike Stern and Alain Jean-Marie.

The festival, which wraps up on April 11, will also feature American soul legend Bettye Lavette and blues guitarist Bernard Allison.