Mlimani Park Orchestra, "Rahema"

Tanzania has produced no superstars, but this volume argues persuasively that it is nevertheless an Afropop powerhouse.  These eleven tracks deftly span guitar-band boogie, quasi-Arabic taarab orchestral music, roots percussion and the hypnotic otherworldliness of Wagogo thumb piano music, as well as Tanzanian hip hop of both the cute. melodic and severe, scary varieties.  On the guitar bands, Tanzania’s possess a unique, laid back richness, and tracks here by Ottu Jazz Band, Mlinimani Park Orchestra, Vijana Jazz Band, and the late Ndala Kasheba fronting a big band with his acoustic 12-string guitar, are nothing short of majestic.  Saida Karoli is a rising star on the roots side.  The spare track featured here showcases her candy-sweet alto voice and seductive tug of her village groove, but we sense more to come from this gal.  Tanzania is a leader in African hip hop, and X Plastaz’s “Dumi Dudumizi” with its blend of hard-edged rap and a vocal melody from a Masai circumcision ritual, is among the most effective songs the young genre has yet produced.  Even the lighter, more electronic and R&B-tinged sound of Dar es Salaam feels rich and moody in a female vocal track by Dataz. 

Tradition is not the focus here, but you get a sense of the range that exists within Tanzania’s 120 ethnic groups.  The contrast between haunting Wagogo thumb piano music on the song “Lukunzi” and pumping percussion and vocal textures from Nia Safi & Imani Ngoma Group sums that up nicely.  The 100-year old Ikhwani Safaa Musical Club turns in a lush, sensuous taarab number, utterly different from all else here, and yet quintessentially Tanzanian.  Afropop producers were struck that the selections here so closely track music played on our recent Tanzania programs.  Then we saw that the collection was put together by Werner Greabner, one of the best authorities on East African music, and a man of impeccable taste.  No wonder!  If you can own just one Tanzanian CD, this is it. 

This review is an expanded version of the original, written for the Boston Phoenix.