Zimbabwean Afro Jazz Band based in Toronto launches New Album

As the lead guitarist tested his fender telecaster to a solo riff, the mood of the crowd looking up at the band was practically palpable. A deliciously tantalizing sense of excitement slowly permeated through the audience as they expectantly waited for this underground band that had been playing all over Canada, finally release their long awaited album.

As Micho the band leader stepped up to the microphone his "mbira" clutched in one hand the silence in the club was deafening, without looking at the audience Micho began thumbing the "mbira" and immediately a gush of entrancing melody immediately caught the crowd, Micho almost as if in a trance like state, all of a sudden broke out into a sonorous voice and began singing "Bongozozo". As the crowd broke into applause and cheers anyone who would have been there would have known that Dande Showcase had arrived.

This band which is based in Toronto Canada is a Zimbabwe Roots Afro-Jazz band that has been playing within Canada and internationally for the past 15 years. As the manager Danga explains, "Dande initially started as a group of conscious guys who wanted to play music that meant something to people who believed in culture and the old ways, without forgetting that we now live in a global village, one thing lead to another and we ended up doing this as a full time gig".

Already an established popular underground band within the spiritually conscious circles, Micho the leader of the group decided to take it to the next level by releasing their first album "Bongozozo" which has eight tracks and covers a wide variety of Zimbabwean cultural topics infused with an element of jazz and other international genres that have influenced the band-members of Dande Showcase.

Micho whose name is an ode to a local svikiro (spirit medium) from his village, delivers an album that does justice to the superb live performances that the band does every night throughout Canada. "Bongozozo" manages to highlight the African traditional instruments, namely the "mbira", "marimba" and the "ngoma" without allowing the jazz elements of the songs to overpower them.  

The only fault I could see with the album is the lack of enough tracks to completely let us experience the full range and depth of the band. The show which was held at Creatures Creations on Dundas street Toronto brought out a wide a varied crowd that just goes to prove how Zimbabwe music is continuously crossing all races and cultures with its cultural roots. Be on the lookout for these guys and for more information you can find them at www.dandeshowcase.com or their artist page www.dandemusicshowcase.com.  

The album will be available online soon through iTunes.