Reggae violin is the new Arusha sound! Plus, a teaser for an upcoming exciting event...

Have I mentioned how much fun I'm having playing reggae violin? Almost every Tuesday evening I jam with a group of reggae musicians at Empire, a local night spot. Since anyone can come and bring their instrument to the jam, the group on the stage changes periodically and so does the style of the music! Some of it is good old roots reggae, some is more modern Tanzanian reggae and dance hall, and there is some Tanzanian pop music in the mix as well. All great fun to play along with. I listen, figure out what key the song is in, and then my fingers take over.... it usually works just fine.

On Saturday nights at Empire there is a regular band, Warriors from the East. They invited me to play with them last Saturday and I had a wonderful time. The band was so much tighter than at a jam session because they rehearse and play together regularly. And they played some great reggae standards by Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Miller and Bob Marley, as well as some Tanzanian music. There were many people dancing. A great time was had by all!

Umoja has a very exciting project in the works. I will write more about it soon, but for now I'll whet your appetites by saying it will include original music composed by Danielle, projected visual images by a French artist, choreography by Tiana, the Umoja Ensemble kids, some of the students from Umoja Music School, an ensemble of Umoja teachers, singing, drumming, dancing, and a story about magical children who turn into ants! The performance, titled Ndoto (Swahili for dream), will take place in June. I am excited to be part of it, and one of the great things about having Danielle for a roommate is that I get to hear her think out loud as some of her compositional ideas evolve. More about Ndoto soon! Meanwhile here are links to two videos of some of the kids rehearsing. There's a part near the end of one of them where I'm playing a drum with David.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAVLoJ1NIpI&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAVLoJ1NIpI&feature=youtu.be