Zanzibara, Vol. 5: Hot in Dar

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: n/a

Notes: Lyricists: Abdallah Gama; Joseph Mulenga; Muhiddin Maalim. Editors: Werner Graebner; Werner Graebner. Translator: Henri Lecomte. This stunningly beautiful album documents the febrile dance music scene that bubbled in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam in the late '70s and early '80s. Only three bands are represented on this ten-track program, and while there is a certain amount of stylistic variety in evidence, there are also some very clear threads of stylistic commonality: the cascading, descending guitar parts; the almost clinically tight vocal harmonies; the rich horn charts; the gentle but insistently bumping drum parts. While true highlights are a bit hard to pinpoint on an album this consistently fine, the Mlimani Park Orchestra does edge out the Dar International Orchestra in terms of both vocal sweetness and instrumental sophistication. The former's "Visa Vimenichosha" is particularly gorgeous, a swaying, bouncing, loping masterpiece of graceful guitar parts and intricately woven vocals whose eight-minute length passes like two; their "Talaka Ya Hasira" features particularly lovely lead vocals. Dar International's "Uzuri Wa Asili," on the other hand, is also very pretty but just a bit too static -- its "Louie, Louie" chord progression gets old well before the song's nine-minute length has passed. Overall, though, this is a brilliant collection of gems from a time and place that deserve many more such compilations. ~ Rick Anderson

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