Hukwe Ubi Zawose was a prominent Tanzanian musician. He was a member of the Gogo

Gogo (ethnic group)

The Gogo are a Bantu ethnic and linguistic group based in the Dodoma Region of central Tanzania. In 1992 the Gogo population was estimated to number 1,300,000...

 ethnic group and played the ilimba, a large lamellophone similar to the mbira

Mbira

In African music, the mbira is a musical instrument that consists of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator...

, as well as several other traditional instruments. He was also a highly regarded singer.

He came to national and international attention after Julius Nyerere

Julius Nyerere

Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985....

 invited him to live and work in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...

.http://www.afropop.org/explore/artist_info/ID/366/Hukwe%20Zawose/ He also gained much attention for his work with Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel

Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...

, and released two albums (Chibite and Assembly) on Gabriel's Real World Records

Real World Records

Real World Records is a record label started in 1989 by Peter Gabriel to record and produce world music.-Overview:The label grew up alongside the success of the WOMAD festivals and Peter Gabriel's exploration of music from other cultures, and helped push world music into the general public's...

 label. His final release before his death, Assembly, was a collaborative effort with producer/guitarist Michael Brook

Michael Brook

Michael Brook is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores....

. At the 2005 Tanzania Music Awards

Tanzania Music Awards

Tanzania Music Awards are national music awards held annually in Tanzania. It is also known as Kilimanjaro Music Awards or Kili Music Awards after its sponsor . The awards were established in 1999 by the National Arts Council under the Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Culture.- External links...

 he was given the Hall of fame award. His family is included in the 2009 documentary Throw Down Your Heart, which follows American banjo player Béla Fleck

Béla Fleck

Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...

 as he journeys through Africa.

Discography

• 1989 - Mateso - Master Musicians of Tanzania (Triple Earth Records)
• 1994 - Tanzania: The Art of Hukwe Ubi Zawose (Jvc/Sire)
• 1996 - Chibite (Real World Records)
• 2000 - Mkuki Wa Roho (Real World Records)
• 2002 - Assembly (Real World Records)

External links

• Hukwe Zawose page
• Hukwe Zawose obituary

Listening

• Audio samples from Chibite

See also

• Ilimba
  Ilimba
  The ilimba is a lamellophone from Tanzania. It is a traditional instrument of the Gogo ethnic group and its most famous player in the 20th century was Hukwe Zawose, who developed a version of the instrument with between 66 and 72 metal keys....
  
  
• Music of Tanzania
  Music of Tanzania
  The music of Tanzania stretches from traditional African music to the string-based taarab to a distinctive hip hop known as bongo flava.-National anthem:...