"One of my all time favorite African roots albums. Very light, airy melodies that I can recall easily to mind. The recording is good quality for the era (originally released in 1971). There is great joy in the voices and the mbira's rhythms are rich. Buy this if you have any interest in traditional africa music. It's hard to find better." "Lovely, early recordings of delicate music played on the "mbira," or Zimbabwean finger piano. With the rise of pop stars such as Stella Chiweshe, this style has since become much grander, more forceful and more tightly arranged, but on this album, originally released in 1971, the style is far looser and enchanting in a different way altogether. This was one of the first albums released in America to feature this style of music, an immensely influential release in terms of the growth of "world music" and interest in African styles. Nice stuff... definitely recommended!" (Amazon)
"Zimbabwe master musicians Maraire and Mujuru make a compelling pairing on Shona Spirit, a terrific collection of duets and solo performances highlighted by its virtuoso mbira performances; more than just an entertaining collection, this is also deeply spiritual music with real depth and meaning." (Allmusic)
"A thoughtful overview of the continent's traditional music, African Odyssey Vol. 2 assembles performances from three different regions: Ethiopia (represented by five-string krar master Seleshe Damessae), Zimbabwe (mbira virtuoso Dumisani Maraire) and Senegal griot Djimo Kouyate, who sings and plays the 21-string kora)" (Allmusic)
" From the masterful student of the great Ephat Mujuru comes this album of mbira pieces, both traditional and contemporary. The performances are perfect with respect to the virtuosity of Maraire, and the compositions written by him are also worthy of being heard. The tempos range from exceptionally slow, as in "Mudendero," to exceptionally fast and bouncing, as in "Machekeche" (actually transcribed over to the marimba by Maraire from the usual mbira repertoire). For someone looking for an introductory album to the music of the Shona mbira, this wouldn't be a bad place to start. Perhaps even better would be an Ephat Mujuru album, or better still, the Shona Spirit album featuring both the master and his student. Still, listen to any and all that you can if interested in the style to any degree whatsoever. This is powerful music performed by the masters of the genre. " (Adam Greenberg)|
