'Usaore Moyo'

The worldwide mbira community--those tuned into the lore of the sacred, Shona hand piano--have been buzzing for years about this prodigal musician. But it took a visit to Tanzania with his nephew to actually get Garikayi Tirikoti on record for the general public. Garikayi has a full ensemble in Harare, which we will someday hear from. In the meantime, this session he made for Limitless Sky in Tanzania is a tantalizing introduction.

Garikayi is a phenomenon, in part because he uses a range of mbiras in different tunings to expand the instrument's sonic range, and in part because he plays with amazing speed and precision. Not that this is chops music. Rather, the magic comes from a hypnotic alchemy of interaction among musicians. On these seven tracks, Tirikoti and his nephew create a virtual village using overdubbing to build a complex mesh of mbira lines and rich choral passages of call-and-response with independent voices cutting across the harmonies.

On "Usaore Moyo (Don't Lose Heart)" the effect is joyous and bubbly; on "Chinembiri Chii (What is Popular?)," a pulsing downbeat and achingly mournful vocals. "Kugara Hunzwara (Stay Together in Understanding)" features an unusual, broken rhythm on the hosho (shaker percussion). "Maidei," a love song, has a sweet hook and may be the catchiest track here. The layering technique results in occasional rhythmic looseness, but for the most part, the sound is surprisingly natural, and crisply recorded to do justice to details. Another plus is the lyrics, well translated in the notes, which provide genuine insight into Shona culture.

[Expanded from a review published in the Boston Phoenix.]

Contributed by: Banning Eyre