Johannesburg, South Africa – Mozambican-born composer, bassist and singer,
Gito
Baloi, was shot in the neck by two men who opened fire on him on Sunday,
April 3rd. The attackers took his wallet. The 39-year-old musician was returning
home after performing at the Lucit Candle Garden in Pretoria.
It is estimated that 20,000 people are murdered in South Africa each year. During 1988 Gito Baloi, Steve Newman and Ian Herman formed a collaboration which
they named
Tananas.
This world music band made several live performances in Namibia, Swaziland,
Mozambique, France, Sweden and Japan. Out of Tananas’s brief four year history
came four highly acclaimed albums: Tananas, Spiral, Time
and Orchestra Mundo. In 1996, Gito as part of Tananas won the “Best Contemporary Jazz Band Award”
at the South African FNB Awards.
Baloi is survived by his wife, Erica Hibbert, and their two daughters, Lorha
(8) and Tivia (6).
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.
