Day 7: Friday, February 24th, 2017 Story
…ording DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra at the Nafasi Art Space This is our last day and we saved it for Henry Mkanyia. Because he is so central to the history of Tanzanian music, we asked Henry to assemble members of his original group DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra. We assembled at Nafasi Art Space, which is very similar to the Go Down Art Center in Nairobi, hosting artists of all kinds from musicians to painters to dancers. Henry brought two members: Has…
Day 6: Thursday, February 23rd, 2017 Story
…An amazing day of Magic Moments with Umoja Wa Kusini….
Day 5: Wednesday, February 22nd, 2017 Story
…We meet Lipiko and then drive to Dar es Salaam for Leo’s concert……
Day 4: Tuesday, February 21st, 2017 Story
…and wanted to record a fuller album. Three members were the same as yesterday: the brother/sister combo of Ndekwa and Ndahani and Ndahani’s daughter Grace. We then added Tabu and Estelle, two other sisters of Ndahani and Ndekwa. This was an album of two halves: we first recorded 5 songs just with them and then added musicians from last night’s session for a further five. Here’s the full group including Henry, Rajab, Tomato and Leo: Here’s Tabu: H…
Day 3: Monday, 2017 February 20th Story
…s on the Zeze (stringed instruments made from gourds) and Ilimba (a lamellophone, or modified thumb piano). We will spend a lot of time with Chibite over the next two days and meet many different family members. For this first recording in Boma, the line-up was Ndahani Bwani, the older brother, his sister Ndekwa and two daughters Grace and Leah. Here’s the group: The group is a family group, with all members related to Msafiri Zawose, a very famou…
Day 2: Sunday, 2017 February 19th Story
…This was a wonderful day of recording for three reasons: We had the whole day so were able to record a large number of songs and do an “Influences” session. This gave the village children time to get to know us and understand our mission. By the end they were singing along to all the songs. In addition to being a professional musician, Leo also teaches music to school children so he is a natural with kids. On all the songs that he did, he had the…
Day 1: Saturday, 2017 February 18th Story
…n fact, ‘clown’ acts are quite central to Tanzanian dance as are acrobatic acts. We spoke to Leo about this. “Yes, we love to bring comedy to our music. If you look at most circus troupes that are touring in the world today, a huge number of the acrobats and clowns are Tanzanian.” https://youtu.be/C-4PdHne3Jc We’ll leave you here. We checked in to our hotel, the Mediterraneo Hotel, Dar es Salaam. Tomorrow we head off for Bagamoyo….
Day 0: Retracing the Lost Drums of Mzee Morris Story
…Over the next week we will be “Retracing the Lost Drums of Mzee Morris,”, the theme of our newest “Field Visit.” We will be travelling from Dar Es Salaam to Bagamoya, from the Snake Dance to the DCC Mlimani Park Orchestra. Enjoy….
Our journey to the Royal Drums: in the words of James Isabirye Story
…e drums. I told Musisi, ‘please teach our boys 100 songs.’ I told Shaban, ‘you must learn every part and every song.’ And that is how we ended up on this road. We filmed the drums yesterday and today we are going to see the Bigwala and discuss more lessons learned. Tomorrow, we are going to find out how much more there is to do.”…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 4, Part 2 – Flutes Story
…visit to Uganda and have invited them back to do studio recordings. But today, we focused on two things: 1) Discussing in detail some of our observations from our time exploring the royal instruments of the Kingdoms of Uganda. 2) Recording again Albert Ssempeke’s Buganda Music Ensemble. Given that we first decided to rediscover the Royal Drums after recording Albert’s group in 2013, we wanted to end this field visit with his recordings. Part two:…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 4, Part 1 – Reflections Story
…song-writing. Are all instruments the same? Here we are less sure. The xylophone is extraordinary and continues to thrive outside of palace life. Xylophones didn’t disappear in Uganda village life after the fall of the kingdoms in 1966 because they were part of village life. We don’t need to rediscover the xylophone and we are fairly sure it is not on the endangered list. Contemporary Ugandan musicians are incorporating the xylophone into contempo…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 3, Part 2 – Interviews with Musicians of Uganda’s Royal Palaces Story
…didn’t live in the palace so we waited until we were called to play. Every day was a great day at the palace and the one thing I learned was to be humble. When the king came in and sat we had to sit on the floor. I am very comfortable sitting on the floor, showing that I have humility. On the day of the attack in 1966 I was actually at home because it was not my turn to play. But when the news came I grabbed my bike to go back to the palace, but a…
Central & Eastern Uganda: Day 3, Part 1- Drum Making and Palace Players Story
…art One: Drum Making The Singing Wells team was joined by James Isabirye today as we travelled to Mukono, to visit Ssebengwa Drum Makers (P.O. Box Mukono near Colline Hotel, Jinja Highway, opposite the Pork Joint). The shop is run by Abass Mirimu, a gentleman from the famous village of Mpambire which is known for its drum makers. Abass was the maker of some of the Entenga drums (the royal drums of the Buganda King). Above: Abass Mirimu To be speci…
Central and Eastern Uganda: Day 2 – Kampala to Jinja Story
…e short drum with a lizard-skin playing surface, and the bass drum The xylophone Here, we will focus on the players, verses the xylophone instrument itself. We have recorded a lot of Ugandan xylophones over the years, but this time we really wanted to understand the players themselves as the arrangement mirrors in many ways the royal drums. There are generally six players, 3 on each side, configured very roughly as follows (I say roughly, because…
Musisi’s Story, Part 1: The Fall of the Buganda Kingdom Story
…was really traumatic for me. I lost my home, my job, my music in a single day. I was just happy for the day to end. I’m telling you all this to tell you that this was the last day I played drums in the palace. I was arrested and I stayed in jail for a couple of weeks. Then, in 1966, I got employment at the Kyambogo music department for Peter Cooke (who was head of the music department at the time). It was then called the National Teachers’ Colleg…
Rediscovering the lost Royal Drums of the Buganda Kingdom: Day 1, Uganda Story
…me at the palace. In terms of the music, we recorded the following songs today: Ganga Alula Omusango gw’abalere Mubandusa Ekyuuma kya Bboola Veneneka Olugambo olubuulire Sekanyolya The Drummers In terms of the moment, let’s stress a few things: These drums are magnificent. They are actually 15 drums, 12 of which are tuned to the notes of a xylophone and thus we are hearing a full song – percussion, bass, rhythms and melodies across the six players…