Dumisani Maraire recordings: Shona music of Zimbabwe, 1976

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Maraire, Dumisani
Title
Dumisani Maraire recordings: Shona music of Zimbabwe
Dates
1976
Quantity
4 items  :  EC - 1 reel (7 1/2 ips, 1/4 tr. stereo, 7"), 2 compact discs (digital, stereo); WD - 1 compact disc (digital, stereo); Duration: 2:20:48
Collection Number
2012004
Summary
Zimbabwean musician and singer-songwriter Dumisani Maraire and marimba ensembles recorded on three occasions in Seattle.
Repository
University of Washington Ethnomusicology Archives
University of Washington
Ethnomusicology Archives
Box 353450
Seattle, WA
98195-3450
Telephone: 2065430974
ethnoarc@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Access is restricted.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Abraham Dumisani "Dumi" Maraire (1944-1999) was a Zimbabwean musician and singer-songwriter known for his mastery of the mbira, a traditional instrument of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. In particular, he specialized in the form of mbira called nyunga nyunga.

Maraire was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and studied music from an early age. From 1968 to 1972, he taught at the University of Washington in Seattle, and later taught at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. In 1982 he returned to Zimbabwe to create an ethnomusicology program at the University of Zimbabwe. He then came back to Seattle and the University of Washington to teach and obtain his doctorate in ethnomusicology. He died in Zimbabwe in 1999 of a stroke.

Maraire is often credited as having introduced Zimbabwean music to North America, as well as cultivating the Zimbabwean music scene in the Pacific Northwest. His children, Chiwoniso Maraire and Tendai "Baba" Maraire are both musicians, the latter forming half of Seattle hip hop duo Shabazz Palaces.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Shona music of Zimbabwe.

Contents:

2012-4.1 - Dumisani Maraire and Minanzi Marimba Ensemble, recorded in 1976; studio recording? (no audience); contents not identified (final piece cuts off abruptly); Archives reel copy deposited by Beverly Mendheim (Duration: 32:17)

2012-4.2 - Dumisani Maraire and Minanzi I; live performance (date and location unknown); contents not identified; Archives compact disc copy deposited by Tendai Maraire 11/2008 (Duration: 58:40)

2012-4.3 - "Dumi and the Maraire Marimba Ensemble": "Chiwoniso"; contents - Minanza Ye Zimbabwe; Chemtengure; Unondo Tamba Iwewe; Mweya; Ingubo Yami; Warigamukono; Chiwoniso; studio recording by Neville Pearson ("re-mixed and re-mastered" (date unknown); Archives compact disc copy deposited by Tendai Maraire 11/2008 (Duration: 49:49)

Transmission Data: 2012-4.1 EC (reel) digitized 1/2012 - 2012-4.1a.aif (48 kHz/24-bit); 2012-4.2 and 2012-4.3 ECs (compact discs) copied to digital files 1/2012 - 2012-4.2.aif and 2012-4.3.aif (44.1 kHz/16-bit)

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Concerts
  • Ethnomusicology
  • Folk songs, Shona
  • Marimba
  • Marimba music
  • Mbira
  • Mbira music
  • Shona
  • Shona Music
  • Shona--Africa--Southern Africa

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)
  • Zimbabwe

Form or Genre Terms

  • Sound Recordings