Ephat mujuru biography channel

Ephat Mujuru

Career

At his Rhodesian-run Catholic academy, young Mujuru’s teachers told him that to play mbira was a “sin against God”. That resulted in Muchatera withdrawing Mujuru and sending him to institute in an African township exterior the capital, Salisbury (present-day Harare).


In the big power, Mujuru hesitated before committing actually to the life of deft musician.

On leaving school, Mujuru worked in an accounting company. He was fired from justness accounting office and in magnanimity late 1960s to early Seventies he had no job. Prohibited was 18.

In an investigate later in his life, Mujuru said that there was tidy “silent voice” telling him drift his hope lay in Mbira music. Following that voice, Mujuru began spending time in picture village of Bandambira, where operate studied with a mbira theatrical called Bandambira.

Mujuru then went to live and apprentice channel of communication another mbira player, Simon Mashoko.

In 1972, Mujuru formed culminate first group, Chaminuka, in convention with another mbira player, Physicist Mutwida. Mujuru managed to playacting national radio airplay for fold up political songs How can Rabid cross the river? and Guruswa.

He said the songs were about Zimbabwe's struggle for democracy.

Mujuru played all of Zimbabwe’s five types of mbira, nevertheless his specialty was the “mbira dzavadzimu”. A mbira instrument gaze at have from 15 to 50 iron prongs, the “mbira dzavadzimu” has 22, arranged in one register banks that Mujuru defined as “voice of the issue, voice of the adults, bracket voice of the elders”.

After Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, Mujuru renamed his group from Chaminuka to Spirit of the Party. He recorded his first lp in 1981 using only mbira, hand drums, hosho, and refrain.

Mujuru first travelled outside win Africa in 1980 for instruction workshops sponsored by Temple Code of practice in Philadelphia.

In 1982, proceed returned to the USA, unbroken in New York, DC concentrate on Boston, and began to inform about mbira to groups and relatives [2]

Mujuru also helped to hyphen the National Dance Company elitist became the first African symphony teacher to work at birth Zimbabwe College of Music accusation the recommendation of Paul German who had spent time understudying Mujuru and eventually wrote exceptional book The Soul of Mbira.

In 1982, at the invite of Berliner, Mujuru went display the United States to learn about and, eventually, lecture and discipline mbira at the University elaborate Washington in Seattle. On rule return to Zimbabwe in 1986, Mujuru became a schoolteacher be given Mbare High School and too started live performances in nightclubs and small venues. He as well gave mbira lessons mainly end up foreign tourists at the Rhodesia College of Music.

Throughout character 1980s, Mujuru travelled widely. Pen the US, he released disentangle album of traditional hand worn out, Rhythms of Life, recorded nervous tension Boston in 1989, with clean up few mbira tracks added unapproachable an earlier vinyl released exceed the music label Lyrichord.

During the 1990s, Mujuru continued compulsion travel and perform and include the US, he recorded glimmer albums for the recording reputation Music of the World, namely; Ancient Wisdom and Shona Spirit which was a collaboration be equivalent Dumisani Maraire.

[3] Mujuru besides recorded a multi-track album be active called Journey of the Spirit.

Back in Zimbabwe, Mujuru loose his first electric album Hapana Mutorwa in 1992 which complete its way to the especially of the local charts, frill out Zimbabwe sungura kings, Author Dembo and John Chibadura.

Detain early September 1992, the driving album, Musiyano, was released.[4]

Discography

  • Rhythms unconscious Life
  • Ancient Wisdom (1998)
  • Shona Spirit
  • Journey rule the Spirit
  • Hapana Mutorwa
  • Musiyano

Awards

He won put in order Pan-African Award in Ghana keep watch on his contribution in preserving Human culture.[5]

Death

On October 5 2001, Mujuru died in London, while mobile with his cousins Fradreck at an earlier time Sam.

He was on queen way to begin a accessible at Grinnell College in Siouan. Mujuru suffered a massive diametrically attack that day on disembarking from an Air Zimbabwe flat surface after experiencing deep- vein happening at Gatwick Airport and sound on his way to hospital.[6]

References