Boka Marimba is a ten-member dance band that
plays exhilarating, positive-energy music from Zimbabwe and
other areas of southeastern Africa. The music is in the Shona
style: Melodic themes and variations layered in polyrhythmic,
cyclic patterns. People, on hearing this music for the first
time, have often described the feeling as one of coming home.
Some have spoken of dancing for the first time in their lives,
or for the first time ever out of the privacy of their living
rooms. People of all ages respond with enthusiasm and delight.
At one outdoor festival, an elderly gentleman came up and
said, "This was some of the best entertainment of my
life. I tried to stay seated, but finally had to get up and
dance."
The band's instrumentation consists of seven marimbas
(three sopranos, two tenors, a baritone, and a bass),
gourd shakers called hosho, mbira ("thumb piano"), and drums.
The songs are sung in the Shona language.
The sheer pleasure of playing is the glue that bonds the
band together, and the desire to share this music with others
is the fuel that fires Boka Marimba.
HOW THE BAND GOT STARTED
Dumisani "Dumi" Maraire, the late Zimbabwean master musician,
composer and ethnomusicologist, brought this music to the
Pacific Northwest in the 1960s. Marian Grebanier formed
Boka Marimba in 1987 with a group of people from the area
who fell in love with the spirit and sound of this music.
Dr. Maraire taught the band a large part of its current
repertoire. The band later expanded its repertoire with
arrangements taught by Ephat Mujuru, Alport Mhlanga, Chris
Berry, and others. We also perform original compositions
and arrangements in the same style.
THE MEANING OF "BOKA MARIMBA"
In Shona, boka means "group". And marimba
is the plural of rimba which means "wooden voice."
MARIMBA
We play Zimbabwean style marimbas. The keys are made of Padauk,
Wenge, Honduras Rosewood, and Cherry. The resonator tubes, made out of
PVC pipe, are fitted with cellophane or "space blanket"
buzzers that provide the characteristic Zimbabwean sound.
They are constructed by band members and by Carl
Dean of Portland.
MBIRA ROOTS
The mbira, a "thumb piano" with 24 metal keys, is the primary
traditional instrument of the Shona people. Many of our
songs are contemporary adaptations of traditional melodies
played on the mbira.
CURRENT BAND MEMBERS
Aisha Beck, Nathan Beck, Eric Berkley, Elgin
Dean, Eric Orem, Andy Pinzelik, Ann Pinzelik, Summer Simon, Jan Swanson, and
Karin Tauscher.
