Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited
Ashkenaz, Berkeley, CA, May 4, 2001

The music of Thomas Mapfumo is as charged as ever, as was evident from his May performance in Berkeley, but the news is mixed. Mapfumo was touring the United States after fleeing Zimbabwe, where political and economic fortunes have dangerously deteriorated. While Mapfumo will appear more often outside his native country, it's not necessarily a good sign. "I've got to see my kids are safe," Mapfumo, now a resident of Eugene, Oregon, told an interviewer in January. "I can't bring them up (in Zimbabwe). The situation's too bad."
During his show in Berkeley, Mapfumo alluded to his African exodus and the volatile situation back home. "We must live in peace," Mapfumo told the crowd of 350 that crammed into Ashkenaz to hear him.
One of the night's highlights was Mapfumo's performance of "Disaster," his song about the violence and tyranny that have recently gripped Zimbabwe under president Robert Mugabe. Mugabe, who was elected with the help of Mapfumo's protest music, has barred government radio from playing "Disaster," but at Ashkenaz in Berkeley — 10,000 miles from Zimbabwe's capital of Harare — Mapfumo could play it freely.
Mapfumo's political dance music stirred the Ashkenaz crowd for more than three hours. Though Mapfumo, who is in his 50s, doesn't move around as easily as he did as a younger man, he remains one of world music's legendary figures. That status hasn't changed since his move to the United States. Dozens and dozens of fans were turned away from Mapfumo's sold-out show in Berkeley, and large crowds were expected to follow Mapfumo as he continued his tour to Kansas City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other U.S. cities. It's odd to think of Mapfumo as a U.S. resident, and it's clear he will return to Zimbabwe when the situation is right. Despite the upheaval in his life, Mapfumo seemed a man at ease during his show in Berkeley.
"Thank you … thank you so much," Mapfumo would say after every song. Each salutation brought another round of warm applause. — Jonathan Curiel (San Francisco, CA)

Also reviewed in Dirty Linen #95:
Tafsuth Imazighen/Amazigh (Berber) Spring
Solas
John Hammond and Wicked Grin
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Sharon Shannon and The Woodchoppers, with The Karan Casey Trio
14th Annual MerleFest
South by Southwest (SXSW)
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