Check out the Waverley Hotel on Nov. 2 for sweet, mesmeric music for mind, heart, and feet — you’ll have to work hard to stay seated once they start.
The Zhambai Trio formed in Vancouver in early 2010 following the musical inspiration of accomplished musicians Kurai Mubaiwa, Curtis Andrews and Navaro Franco.
The group plays traditional and original music from Zimbabwe and features ancient instruments such as the mbira (thumb piano), hosho (maracas), and ngoma (hand drums) as well as the more contemporary Zimbabwean marimba.
The haunting yet uplifting sound of the mbira rhythms and interlocking melodies combined with the lilting quality of the vocal harmonies are at once stimulating and relaxing. Zhambai has performed at numerous venues in Vancouver to thrilled and enthusiastic audiences.
Zhambai means scream in the Zimbabwean Shona language.
The group's central instrument, the mbira, is a melodic 25-key Zimbabwean lamellophone that in Shona mythology is believed to connect the living with the spirit world of the ancestors.
It has been used for centuries in Zimbabwe to fulfill spiritual needs and for healing. In the past three decades it has gone worldwide and can be found in numerous new environments ranging from pop bands to movie soundtracks to world music fusion ensembles. The context may change but the effect of the instrument remains.
Kurai Mubaiwa has been an established world musician and music teacher since 1994.
He has toured across Europe, West Africa, Southern Africa and across Canada opening for and/or performing with artists such as Chiwoniso Maraire, Cesaria Evora, Andy Brown and Vusi Mahlasela at internationally recognized concerts and festivals. Playing the mbira since childhood in his native Zimbabwe, he is perhaps the best mbira/marimba player in Canada today.
Curtis Andrews is a percussionist, composer and teacher with remarkable skills in African, jazz, South Indian, rock, and improvisational music.
The recipient of multiple awards for his original music, he performs and records with a wide variety of groups and artists in Canada. Through extensive studies in Ghana, India, and southern Africa, he has developed a deep knowledge of the history and performance of music from those areas.
Navaro Franco is a musician, dancer and teacher inspired by ancient traditions of earth based music and dance. She is interested in the role of traditional knowledge to support consciousness, community, and healing.
Within her 20 years of experience, she has studied and performed Zimbabwean music in Canada and Southern Africa, primarily with Marimba Muzuva, and the Chigamba Family and their band Mhembero.
Zimbamoto plays high-energy modern African music guaranteed to get you moving!
Led by master marimba and mbira player Kurai Mubaiwa, Zimbamoto lays down mesmerizing and energetic grooves for your dancing pleasure. The instrumentation includes traditional African instruments, percussion, electric bass and guitar.
The irresistible live sound instantly puts audiences into motion with a mix of traditional and contemporary African rhythms and vocal chants.
For more about the bands, visit www.zhambai.com and www.zimbamoto.com.
Tickets are available at Bop City, the Waverley Hotel or by phoning 250-336-8322. Doors open at 9:30 p.m.
— Cumberland Village Works