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Calabrash Breath receives wild reception

With Calabrash Breath, Wambali Mkandawire’s new purely jazz album, the artist maintains his position as a living Malawi music legend, if the reception the album got at the Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Saturday night is anything to go by.

With no curtain-raiser, Wambali took jazz lovers on a 90-minute journey through his own brand of Afrocka jazz music and briefly took them back to what he was once well known for.

Wambali belts out one of the songs from the album
Wambali belts out one of the songs from the album

He played to an audience that included the Speaker of Parliament Richard Msowoya, leader of opposition in Parliament Lazarus Chakwera and former government official hostess Mama Tamanda Kadzamira.

As testimony that the Wambali of Zani Muone and Tidzamtamanda fame would remain a favourite, patrons to the show happily sang belted Penya iwe maso ako mtsogolo.

A few songs into Calabrash Breath, never mind that he did not disclose the titles to the songs as he and his five-member band played, you could tell which direction Wambali was taking.

As a Mlowe boy growing up along the northern lakeshore, the calabash was synonymous with music apart from being a gourd for drinking traditional beer and refreshments.

How the soldiers of the King’s African Rifles turned the calabash into a musical instrument in the traditional dance largely based on the Army Brass Band is the genesis of Calabrash Breath, Wambali explained to a parked Bicc auditorium.

“Slave trade, developed jazz with brass instrument, some of us sensed jazz coming back to Africa and I don’t want Malawi to remain behind,” Wambali said.

He explained that just like our ancestors incorporated the calabash into brass music of the army, he sat down and incorporated Western ideas into African music to come up with his album.

With that explanation of his album title and vision done, about 20 volunteers went to the front and danced to the title track, a fusion of western jazz and malipenga.

Calabrash Breath was one of two songs where Wambali gave the titles to, the other being One Drop One Music, a poignant celebration that Africans are one and share one element: water.

It was Wambali’s way of saying xenophobia does not exist only in South Africa but even among Malawians. Wambali says with one drop of water or blood, Africans are one.

Saxophonist Dan Sibale was on point, giving life to the song, brought it alive as water and blood do to the body.

Halfway through the night, jazz lovers saw Earl Klugh, Jonathan Butler and Wambali all in one come alive on stage.

At 9.42pm, Wambali said his ‘thank yous’ to the wildly excited audience with an old favourite, Nkhujipereka.

To pay homage to a musician who has for over 30 years carved his own niche in music, the audience stood and choraled the song.

Speaking in an interview after the show, Wambali said the reception surpassed his expectations.

“I am feeling great, especially because the crowd was wonderful, the response was very good with people responding to music they have never heard before. Its unusual,” said Wambali.

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