London, England – Real World Records announced today the death of Dr Hukwe
Zawose on Tuesday 30 December 2003 at his home in Bagamoyo, Tanzania at the age
of 65.
Born in Doduma, a rural area of Tanzania, Dr Zawose was a legend in his own land,
a clan leader and community mentor who had single-handedly breathed new life
into the ancient traditional music of the Wagogo people. He first appeared in
Great Britain in the early-eighties with the Master Musicians of Tanzania. His
extraordinary 5-octave vocal range – switching between a high, feminine sound
and a form of throat-singing and his exquisite playing of the buzzing ilimba
thumb piano or the sensuous one-stringed izeze fiddle mesmerized audiences. The
first of many appearances at WOMAD began at Mersea Island, UK in 1985.Basing himself in the old Tanzanian town of Bagamoyo, where he devoted his time
to founding and then teaching at the unique College of Performing Arts and
presiding over a huge extended family, Dr Zawose travelled to the four corners
of the globe, engaging his audiences in his taut and extraordinary web of
singing and dancing talent, often travelling with his brilliant nephew Charles
Zawose. In 2002 Hukwe and Charles accompanied Peter Gabriel as support act
during his Growing Up Tour.
Dr Zawose recorded a number of albums during his life, including the traditional Chibite recorded in 1995 at the Real World ‘Recording Week’ and Spear
To the Heart on the WOMAD Select label – both featuring emotional polyphonic
vocal pyrotechnics with Charles. Most recently Dr Zawose teamed up with the
highly respected producer/guitarist Michael Brook to concoct a rendezvous of
traditional and modern sounds, ancient spirit meets digital technology. The
result was Assembly (released on Real World Records in May 2002). This
was Michael Brook’s reaction to the news of his death: “Hukwe’s voice and
music always made me feel a sense of light, slightly giddy happiness. In person,
his effect was similar, which makes his passing all the sadder. I’ll miss his
remarkable talent and humour, and feel honored to have known and worked with him.”
One of his final collaborations was with Peter Gabriel on the track ‘Animal
Nation’ which they also performed together on tour: “I was devastated to hear
of Hukwe’s death. He was an extraordinary musician, singer and composer and made
most of the most beautiful music we have ever put out on Real World Records.”
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
