Word: mapfumo
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...Thomas Mapfumo was invited to play at the House of Blues as the pinnacle of their celebration of Black History Month last week. This is high praise from a venue that has it’s ceiling covered with bas-reliefs of black blues greats of the last century. But Mapfumo is great, one of the few non-Western musicians these days truly deserving of the title legend, with all the history that such praise suggests. It is not solely because of his long dreadlocks that Mapfumo invites repeated comparisons to Bob Marley. He embodies a certain a type...
...faces a similar threat from the current government: at least two of his songs have been banned from Zimbabwean radio for their political content (which unmistakeably critices the regime) and Mapfumo has relocated to the US. The oppressor may have changed, but in the minds of Zimbabweans and others, Mapfumo remains the quintessential musician of the people, articulating and narrating their struggle...
...audience, a slightly odd mix of determined partyers including many Africans and local world music fans, were noisy and vigorous in their appreciation, dancing, whistling and shouting from the moment that Mapfumo took the stage. Mapfumo responded by breaking into understated, foot-stamping dance, which became progressively more energetic. As the night continued, he let his long dreads loose, earning rapturous applause. In Zimbabwe, Mapfumo is famous for playing “pungwes”—shows that last until the sun comes up. Cambridge regulations prohibit this, but the audience, who unequivocally demanded an encore, would have...
...this contributed to Mapfumo’s performance at Sanders, which, organized by Boston’s own World Music, was a very poignant affair. Forced out of the country after his last album cut too close to the bone in its criticism of the current government, Mapfumo and his band are now permanently based in the U.S., although only three members of the band were able to perform with him. Stripped of his rich accompaniment, Mapfumo’s rich, expressive voice came across almost plaintively, particularly when he sang, “Makuona here kuti mukomana akatorwa...
Koité could not have provided a bigger contrast. Despite referring to Mapfumo as, “My elder brother,” Koité—a relative newcomer in West African music compared to superstars such as Baba Maal or Salif Keita—comes from a new generation of African musicians. The sound of Koité’s band escalated as each member arrived on stage and added their instruments to the burgeoning sound before Koité himself arrived and added his high-octane acoustic guitar playing and stunningly pure, flexible voice...