Hukwe Zawose - JVC WORLD SOUNDS (TANZANIA) THE ART OF HUKWE UBI ZAWOSE (1989)

Review by Alex Henderson
Different types of thumb pianos can be heard in different African countries. Some of the most prominent African thumb pianos include the mbira (which has been played by such American jazzmen as Stanley Cowell) and the likembe; this 1989 recording by Tanzanian vocalist/thumb pianist Hukwe Ubi Zawose uses such thumb pianos as the large, 66-key irimba and the smaller chilimba. The Art of Hukwe Ubi Zawose was recorded in Tokyo, where the Japanese JVC recorded a wide variety of world music for its JVC World Sounds series, but the acoustic Afro-folk that Zawose provides is purely Tanzanian. Zawose's accompaniment includes singers/musicians Dickson L. Mkwama (born 1943, Tanzania) and Lubeleje M. Chiute (born 1948, Tanzania), and the instrumentation of his part-male, part-female group ranges from thumb pianos to various African string instruments. Raw yet harmonically rich, Zawose's songs are sometimes very socio-political. "Nelson Mandela" is an ode to the South African freedom fighter (who was imprisoned by P.W. Botha's apartheid regime when the song was written but went on to become South Africa's president), while "Solte Tulifurahia" examines the history of the Tanzanian Revolutionary Party. This fine CD is well worth searching for.