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TANANAS are a trio of world class musicians from South Africa and Mozambique who got together in 1988. Their improvisational and rhythmic sensibility have established them as one of the most original and compelling groups to have emerged from South Africa in recent years.
The individual band members - Gito Baloi (Bass/vocals), Ian Herman (Drums) &Steve Newman (Guitar) - only come together as Tananas for less than two months a year, bringing new influences to the fold and keeping a sense of freshness and spontaneity to their unique sound.
Instrumentation:
guitar (acoustic / semi-acoustic), bass guitar, drum (kit drums), vocals
Genre:
African Jazz
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Baloi, a Mozambican, had been playing with Pongola, and Herman had been drumming with Cape rockers The Genuines. The first Tananas album was released in 1988. The group recorded two album for a major label and ran into problems. Baloi recorded two solo albums, while Newman and Herman recorded two Tananas albums without him.
Long regarded as South Africa’s most gifted drummer, Herman took up an offer of work in the United States. In New York he worked with luminaries such as Paul Simon and George Duke, later settling in San Francisco. He returned only briefly, to record with Peter Sklair and Paul Hanmer’s band, Unofficial Language.
In 2000 Herman got a call from Newman and longtime Tananas manager Kerry Friedman, imploring him to come home and make a new start with Tananas.
Tananas used to be essentially an instrumental band allied to jazz but unmistakably African at heart. In recent years the recordings have included more vocals by Mozambican singer and bass player, Gito Baloi, who sings in Shangaan, Tsonga and Portuguese.
Tananas have performed at WOMAD festivals across the globe and are in constant demand as collaborators, sessioners and solo artists working with artists as diverse as Sting, George Duke and Paul Simon.
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