Zivanai keeps carving a place for himself in the hearts and minds of both musicians and audiences alike with his sweet, sincerely heartfelt and ticklish style of guitar playing. He understands the subtle intricacies of traditional and popular Zimbabwean music, as well as other Southern African music styles but is also amazingly at home with other international forms from Blues to Funk, Rock to RnB, Reggae, Soul and Jazz. At 28, Zivanai can be regarded as a veteran of music. This all-round musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer/arranger, producer/engineer has toured the world, rubbed shoulders and shared the stage with legends such as Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mtukudzi, Hugh Masekela, Buddy Guy, Ziggy Marley, Marxi Priest, The String Cheese Incident and others far too many to mention.
With the album DUTU-STORM (May 20, 2007 Release), Zivanai is poised to prove once again that he is one of the finest guitarists, songwriters, lyricists and producers to ever come out of Zimbabwe. He also emerges as one of the torchbearers of Afropop and World Music into the future.
Wholly recorded and mixed by Zivanai himself and mastered by Grammy Award Winning mastering engineer Paul Blakemore, DUTU-STORM disregards barriers and defies categorization while projecting a certain maturity beyond Zivanai's age. Laced with touches of Contemporary Jazz, Blues, RnB, Rock and Reggae, yet still firmly rooted in the sounds, rhythms, tradition and culture of Zimbabwe and Southern Africa, the album reflects the various influences that have shaped Zivanai into the maverick musician he is today.
"I was immersed in classical music as a young boy into my teens, yet at the same time, traditional Zimbabwean music was a part of my daily life," says Zivanai " and ever since arriving in the United States in 2004, I have been exposed to and dipped in all these rich international forms of music. DUTU-STORM is a result of my being a 'world-citizen', and not forgetting that I am Zimbabwean at my very core!" The lyrical arrangements on this album bring out the poet in Zivanai. The 12 tracks are sung in Shona and Zivanai employs rich, ages old traditional Shona analogy and proverbs to put his rich messages across.
Featured on the album are some of the San Francisco Bay Area's most illustrious musicians namely Baba Ken Okulolo ( Kotoja, AfroGroove ConneXion, West African Highlife Band), Bob Crawford (Michael Franti and Spearhead), Donna Viscuso (WOM), Amber Hines (Albino, KTO Project) and one of New York City's very best and saxophone genius Chris Cuzme (Rufus Reid, Ryan Adams, Guster, Panjea etc). This album could very well provide Zivanai with the international breakthrough and recognition that he so rightly deserves!
Checkout www.zivimusic.com for more about Zivanai's life and musical journey and enjoy the music!
