Mbira and drums meet the violin

in concert with
Jimu Makurumbandi (Zimbabwe) and Øyvind Rauset (Norway).
24TH OF JULY
kl. 20.00
kr 80

Who is Jimu Makurumbandi?

A Zimbabwean musician, dancer, choreographer and actor, trained in Zimbabwe and Norway via France. Brought up in the ghetto of Mbare Harare Zimbabwe from a very poor family. He is a self taught musician learned all using the art of listening and looking when his family was holding ritual ceremonies known as “Bira”part of family activities. So dancing and music has been part of his life. Jimu is inspired by great musicians the likes of Thomas Mapfumo ,Oliver Mtukudzi, the late Mamma Miriam Makeba, Ayu Ogada and other great African musicians. Now Jimu Makurumbandi feels that time has come to share his experience on an international level.

For Jimu Mbira music is like a bridge between earth and heaven.

Dande Mutande is a Mbira show which is a mixture of acapella drum and Mbira songs from Jimu Makurumbandi and some folk rhythms from Zimbabwe. There will be a fusion of Norwegian Fidle and Mbira in this concert. (Gwindingwi meets Norsk Folk musik)

THE MBIRA

The mbira dzavadzimu («mbira of the spirits») of the Shona people of Zimbabwe consists of 22 to 28 metal keys mounted on a gwariva (hardwood soundboard) made from the mubvamaropa tree (Pterocarpus angolensis). Although the metal keys were originally smelted directly from rock containing iron ore, now they may be made from sofa springs, bicycle spokes, car seat springs, and other recycled steel materials. The mbira is usually placed inside a large calabash resonator (deze) to amplify it. A mutsigo (stick) is used to wedge the mbira securely inside the deze. The mbira is played with the two thumbs stroking down and the right forefinger stroking up.

Øvind Rauset

Øyvind Rauset is a violin player with classical education, who also plays folk, rock and world music. He played in the first Norwegian folk rock band Folque in the 70’s and in the group Ym-Stammen in the 80’s-90’s. He has been on stage at Roskilde, Kalvøya, Quart and the Kongsberg jazz festival. The last 5 years he plays swing jazz with the Oslo Radio-Orkester. He participated with Jimu in the Heritage Dance group which performed in the new Oslo Opera last autumn and in Harare (Zimbabwe) in May 09.

He has released 2 albums, «Landscape With Two Figures» and «13 Impossible Dances», the last one available on iTunes.