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Passings: Hukwe Zawose and Ngoni Makombe (2004)
At the close of 2003 and the opening of 2004, we lost two great musicians of what are commonly and misleadingly known as African "thumb pianos." Hukwe Zawose of Tanzania was much more than a master of the deeply beautiful ilimba. He was a multi-instrumentalist, an innovator in the realm of traditional music, and a recording artist extraordinaire with a catalog of recordings sure to survive long beyond his own 65 years. We have two offerings in memory of this great artist:
Hukwe Zawose obituary
Hukwe Zawose biography
Ngoni Makombe is a less known by name, but his artistry on the Zimbabwean mbira dza vadzimu can be heard on most any recording by Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited since the early 1990s, when the band incorporated mbiras as a permanent fixture of the band lineup.
Ngoni was born in Seke, south of Harare, sometime around 1970. His father died when he was young. His mother struggled to care for a large family in their rural home where they grow maize and keep animals. Ngoni and his brother Bezil played mbira ceremonies in and around Seke, and this is how they came to the attention of Thomas Mapfumo, who began incorporating mbiras into the Blacks Unlimited starting in about 1988. Bezil was the first to join the band, and Ngoni soon followed. Both brothers made an enormous difference, both enriching the sound of the band and providing raw material for songs that became Blacks Unlimited classics.
Whether this predated the Blacks Unlimited years or grew out of them, Ngoni became quite a composer. In Zimbabwe in 1998, he asked me to record a set of his songs for him, and they revealed a poignant melodic sense. I realized then more clearly than ever what an asset he was to Mapfumo's band. Mostly, I remember Ngoni's humor. He was one of the sweetest, most light-hearted people I've ever known. He loved word play, and physical humor. Every encounter with Ngoni involved laughter.
This made it particularly painful when he had to leave the Blacks Unlimited in the new home in Eugene, Oregon, a few years back to tend to his young, dying daughter back home. Not long after that, word came that his wife had died. And now, he too is gone, far too soon. The tape of songs he recorded in 1998 includes one called "A Defense of Mbira," where he speaks over the mbira part. The anti-cultural sentiments he responds to come mostly from within the Zimbabwean context, but they reveal a hidden side of the mbira player's struggle in life, and this may provide the best existing summation of a life that was insufficiently documented, hampered by countless difficulties--cultural, political, economic, and otherwise--and far too short. May Ngoni Makombe rest in peace with his ancestors. And may he be remembered for the greatness he did achieve.
A defense of of mbira
I would like to reply to those who say that mbira is a useless and uninteresting instrument. I say they are wrong. They need to be educated to come to an understanding of the mbira. I know myself that people are confused about our culture because they have been given wrong information by people who do not understand the value of music. These people deny our culture by attacking mbira. But they need to consider the matter more deeply. I think some people might be surprised that I like to play mbira, but that is my living, which I am proud of.
When I was young, I was not well educated. A lot of things were happening and I was unable to participate in the swift ways of the world. My parents were poor and they had no money to secure my education. As it was, they had trouble providing food for the entire family of eight. So in my growing time, I used to have mbira lessons with my uncle. Then with the knowledge I had, I began to give lessons to my young brother, Bezil. We were even able to play in pungwes, or mbira ceremonies. From this point on, I began to experience the prejudice many people hold against mbira. I did not like being forced to argue for my music and culture, but unfortunately I must. The mbira connects us with our past. It is part of our identity and we should look on it with pride, not with contempt.
Ngoni Makombe
Contributed by: Banning Eyre
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