Founded in 1958, the Cultural Musical Club in Zanzibar (an island off the coast of Tanzania) is a meeting spot for the musicians, a place where they can get in a quick game of dominos, a prayer, watch some TV and play some music together. It’s led by accordinist Said Mwinyi who also serves as the groups musical director, chief composer and arranger. This is a daily ritual for him, aside for those times when the ensemble is on tour. The group is made up of 17 odd musicians, from singers to Mwinyi’s ever present accordian, oud, violins, double bass, dumback, and bongos. They play Taarab music, a style that is incredibly popular along the East African coast, commonly referred to as Swahilli wedding music due to its integral role in those celebrations. It’s a style that draws influence primarily from Middle Eastern music (note the presence of oud), yet there are also vague links to Indian music, as well as African dance bands, and this mix is not just unexpected but quite beguiling. The accordion acts as a spine to most of the songs, played in a middle eastern manner, often in a similar style to Arabic woodwind instruments. Then there’s the steady throb and rattle of percussion over which a singer will occassionally build, it’s orchestral taarab music and it’s absolutely compelling. This disc is a celebration of the groups 50th anniversary and sees them also getting highly percussive in the island’s Ngoma style, or dance music. The music just unfolds slowly, weaving its way along, not escpecially dynamic, rather it can be quite hypnotic.
Bob Baker Fish
