Staff Writer
Zimbabwe’s mbira player Hope Masike currently in France, reportedly wowed French audiences with her diverse repertoire of traditional music and folklore.
The trio comprises two accompanists: long-time band members, the saxophonists Mpho Muteta and Ndomupeishe Chipendo.
Friday, 5 July saw Masike introducing this ensemble, The Hope Masike Trio, for the first time at the Festival des Hauts de Garonne in Bordeaux. It lived up to its expectations as a thriller.
Both Muteta and Chipendo are also versatile musicians who are at home with Masike’s signature instrument, the mbira, and are accomplished percussionists and backing vocalists. Muteta plays the soprano saxophone while Chipendo is alto sax.
“The repertoire of this set is very mbira-centric,” Masike says. “I created this trio to celebrate the ancient mbira music of the Zimbabwe people. During the tour our main focus is on playing songs from the ancient times of Zimbabwe and revisiting some of my earlier compositions. We want to take our audiences on an enriching spiritual and artistic journey of Zimbabwe.´
Speaking from France, Masike said the experience so far “has been really great” and that the set has been an elegant, musically mature and rich experience.
The Hope Masike Trio is presently doing several concerts in the south of France and is on their penultimate run with two shows left. Their last show is on 13 July. Masike has become renowned for her exciting fusion experiments with the mbira, and the tour has provided French audiences with entertaining insights into a revered cultural instrument and its significance.
The Hope Masike Trio will be introduced to Harare audiences in a first-of-its-kind concert on Thursday 8 August at the Alliance Francaise de Harare.
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