Samite – Resilience (Samite Music, 2018)
Resilience is a beautiful album by United States-based Ugandan musician and former refugee Samite. His main instrument is the flute and he delivers a set of engaging musical pieces that incorporate Ugandan roots music and jazz.
Samite’s music is played at concert venues and also for elders at institutions for seniors. Resilience is inspired by Samite’s own experiences of musical healing to search out comfort and relief. His mission is to transmit this comfort to other individuals.
Samite participated in Dr. Bill Thomas’ Disrupt Dementia, a national tour that stopped at hundreds of facilities and played music for residents. These endeavors are chronicled in the Sundance award-winning documentary Alive Inside.
On Resilience you’ll find tranquil, yet inspiring and mesmerizing music performed on flute, soft vocals, guitars, bass, percussion and keyboards.
The lineup includes Samite on vocals, flute, litungu (East African lyre), adungu (a Ugandan arched harp) and bass; David Cullen on guitars, bass and keyboards; Tony Cedras on guitar, strings and piano; Tristan Jarvis on upright bass, electric bass, guitar and keyboards; Frank Paco on percussion; and Nate Richardson on guitar.
“The power of music is that it can tap human resilience, which is the same spirit in African refugee camps as it is in senior centers,” says Samite. “We are very resilient.”
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.
