Erica Azim is one of the leading western authorities on and practitioners of Zimbabwean

Music of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean music includes folk and pop styles, much of it based on the well-known instrument the mbira which is also popular in many other African countries. An annual Zimbabwe Music Festival is held each year in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. People from all over the world attend...

 mbira

Mbira

In African music, the mbira is a musical instrument that consists of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator...

 music. She is currently based in Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, and makes frequent trips to Zimbabwe to record music, as well as visits around the US to teach mbira, particularly to areas in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, where there are large communities of practitioners of Zimbabwean music. Azim has studied the performance of the mbira extensively in Zimbabwe, and is now known as a gwenyambira, a musician qualified to play at traditional religious ceremonies. Teachers she has studied with in Zimbabwe include well-known performers such as Ambuya Beauler Dyoko, Cosmas Magaya

Cosmas Magaya

Cosmas Magaya is a renowned Zimbabwean mbira player and teacher. Raised in the rural areas surrounging Mhondoro, he appears in the recordings of longime friend and musicologist Paul Berliner's The Soul of Mbira released by Nonesuch Records....

, Mondrek Muchena, Irene Chigamba, Tute Chigamba, Chris Mhlanga, Newton Gwara, Forward Kwenda

Forward Kwenda

Forward Kwenda is a mbira performer from Zimbabwe. He was born in the rural Buhera area in Manicaland, an area known for its fierce resistance to colonial rulers and respect for Shona tradition. As a young boy, Forward excelled in traditional dance and recitation of ancient poetry...

, Luken Pasipamire, as well as Raymond, Fradreck, and Fungai Mujuru. Azim has also studied under Ephat Mujuru

Ephat Mujuru

Ephat Mujuru , a Zimbabwean musician, was one of the 20th century's finest players of the mbira, a traditional instrument of the Shona ethnic group of Zimbabwe.-Biography:...

 and Dumisani Maraire

Dumisani Maraire

Abraham Dumisani Maraire , known to friends as "Dumi," was a master performer of the mbira, a traditional instrument of the Shona ethnic group of Zimbabwe. He specialized in the form of mbira called nyunga nyunga, as well as the Zimbabwean marimba...

, the first Zimbabweans to bring mbira music to the west.

Azim is also the founder of Mbira.org, a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving and sustaining Zimbabwean music, as well as teaching and distributing this music more broadly. Azim directs events such as the mbirathon fundraiser, mbira camps that frequently feature guest teachers from Zimbabwe, and regular mbira workshops at her Berkeley location.

Azim is also featured on numerous recordings of mbira music, including her own titles, as well as a guest on recordings by Forward Kwenda

Forward Kwenda

Forward Kwenda is a mbira performer from Zimbabwe. He was born in the rural Buhera area in Manicaland, an area known for its fierce resistance to colonial rulers and respect for Shona tradition. As a young boy, Forward excelled in traditional dance and recitation of ancient poetry...

.

Other notable western ethnomusicologists associated with mbira music are Paul Berliner

Paul Berliner

Paul Franklin Berliner is an American ethnomusicologist, best known for specializing in African music as well as jazz and other improvisational systems. He is best known for his popular ethnomusicology book on the Zimbabwean mbira, The Soul of Mbira: music and traditions of the Shona people of...

, Hugh Tracey

Hugh Tracey

Hugh Tracey was an important twentieth century ethnomusicologist. He and his wife collected and archived music from Southern and Central Africa. He began making field recordings of music in the early 20's, through the 70's....

, and Andrew Tracey

Andrew Tracey

Andrew Tracey, born 5 May 1936, Durban, South Africa,is a South African ethnomusicologist, promoter ofAfrican music,composer, folk singer, band leader, and actor...

.

See also

• Hosho (instrument)
  Hosho (instrument)
  The hosho are Zimbabwean musical instruments consisting of a pair of Maranka gourds with seeds. They typically contain hota seeds inside them. The hosho are used to accompany Shona music, especially mbira music. They make a rattling sound that western ears may be unaccustomed to hearing...
  
  
• International Library of African Music
  International Library of African Music
  The International Library of African Music is an organization dedicated to the preservation and study of African music. It is seated in Grahamstown, South Africa and is closely affiliated with Rhodes University....
  
  
• Music of Zimbabwe
  Music of Zimbabwe
  Zimbabwean music includes folk and pop styles, much of it based on the well-known instrument the mbira which is also popular in many other African countries. An annual Zimbabwe Music Festival is held each year in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. People from all over the world attend...
  
  
• Mbira
  Mbira
  In African music, the mbira is a musical instrument that consists of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator...
  
  
• Paul Berliner
  Paul Berliner
  Paul Franklin Berliner is an American ethnomusicologist, best known for specializing in African music as well as jazz and other improvisational systems. He is best known for his popular ethnomusicology book on the Zimbabwean mbira, The Soul of Mbira: music and traditions of the Shona people of...
  
  
• Shona music
  Shona music
  Shona music is the music of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. There are several different types of traditional Shona music including mbira, singing, hosho and drumming. Very often, this music will be accompanied by dancing, and participation by the audience...
  
  
• Hugh Tracey
  Hugh Tracey
  Hugh Tracey was an important twentieth century ethnomusicologist. He and his wife collected and archived music from Southern and Central Africa. He began making field recordings of music in the early 20's, through the 70's....
  
  
• Zimbabwean Marimba

Recordings

Mbira - Healing Music of Zimbabwe
The Relaxation Company CD, 2000

Mbira Dreams
The Relaxation Company CD 3261 and cassette, 1996

Nyama musango on Belief: A Collection of World Sacred Music
Beliefnet CD 1001, 2000

Mwanangu on Mama’s Lullaby and Mother Earth Lullaby
Ellipsis Arts CDs 4291 and 4293, March 2001 and 2002

Nyama musango (background for Peter Matthiesen reading from "Sand Rivers")
on The Naturalists
Audio Literature, 1997

with Forward Kwenda: Forward Kwenda - Svikiro: Meditations of an Mbira Master Shanachie CD 64095, 1997 (extensive liner notes by Erica Azim)

External links

• Mbira.org This site also includes a biography page for Azim