Africa music reviews

I like their other CD "Faso Denou" even better, but for entirely different reasons. Like the other reviewer, I don't appreciate the John Hassle CD that uses Farafina as background. The only way I can stomach the "Flash of Spirit" CD is by listening to "Bolomakote" immediately preceding. Then it's kind of interesting.

I highly recommend this album and any other by Oliver Mtukudzi.

If, on the other hand, your ears are steeped in music of the Western tradition, then you'll probably find this a little dry and odd. What your ears will need is just a little education. Of music that is in print and readily available, I would recommend Thomas Mapfumo's "Live at El Rey," recorded when his band was fronted by two mbira players. The rest of the band is really an African rock 'n roll lineup, so it's a very different style than classical mbira (and some of the most danceable music ever created!), but it's a nice introduction to the style of the mbira.

Once you're hooked, try to track down one or two of Dumi's marimba ensemble albums. They are criminally ALL out of print, and very rare, but worth any amount of effort to find. The most instantly-accessible album is "Dumi - The Maraire Marimba Ensemble" which was actually recorded in Seattle, with the ensemble composed mostly of Americans! I dare you to try standing still while it is playing.

From there, the next step up is "African Story-Songs," published in 1969 by the University of Washington Press. It is composed of 8 story-songs, told in English by Dumi as he plays.

Next is "Shona Spirit" - a Dumi CD that IS still in print. He plays duets with Ephat Mujuru -- another mbira master.

Finally, there is this never-to-be-repeated album (Dumi sadly died on Thanksgiving, 1999), which by then you will be able to appreciate for the shining gem that it is.

No sign of a dud anywhere, or even just a pleasant one that'll let you get your breath back -- all six tracks are incandescent. Your only hope for getting a rest is "Nyama Yekugocha," but you might just find your feet doubling the beat for you.

If you're already familiar with Thomas "The Lion of Zimbabwe" Mapfumo's work, it should be sufficient to know that this is, out and out, his best album. If you're not very familiar with his music, then you've come to the right place, have you ever.

In Western music circles, "Fusion" has rightly become a dirty word. Buy this album and listen to FUSION at work. You might soon be shouting: "Gimme an F! Gimme a U! ..." The fusion going on is between the mbira (central to the quiet, delicate, classical music of Zimbabwe), and an out-and-out Southern African rock band, complete with a female chorus that seamlessly switches between call-and-response and complementary backup. Oh yes, and a horn section thrown in for good measure.

And it works perfectly. The guitars sound like mbira, Mapfumo's voice is a mbira singer's on a caffeine rush, the chorus sounds like Bob Marley's, and the rhythm section just out and out rocks.
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P.S.: I've never had much interest in finding out what the Shona-language lyrics are actually saying. On the two occasions I've looked them up, I found the titles meant "The Bream-Fish" and "I Already Have a Husband." However, when I did a search for this album name just now, I also hit on a book titled: "The Rise of Settler Power in Southern Rhodesia", by a James Chamunorwa -- bears some research.