Accompanied by his band, The Limbe Train Sound System, Mango jets into the country on Tuesday and goes to Murewa on Wednesday for a workshop and performance before the Book Café gig.
The tour has been facilitated by Pamberi Trust, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe and The Standard newspaper as part of Standard Jazz events, a new partnership between Book Café and the weekly publication.
Mango is Japan’s expert in African and world music.
The multi-award winning artist has studied African music widely, and is today regarded as Japan’s greatest living “world music” exponent.
Born in Kagoshima (Southern Japan), Mango studied Swahili and travelled to Africa to learn to play various instruments.
He learnt how to play lamellaphones (thumb-pianos), limba from Hukwe Ubi Zawose, mbira from Garikai Tirikoti and electric likembe (Congolese amplified lamellaphone) from bands of Kinshasa.
Back in Japan, he has started to compose original performances, a cross-breed of African sounds and Japanese effects and mixes, sung in his dialect of Southern Japan and Swahili. He has been awarded for various achievements.
Among his accolades are 2006 and 2008 Best Album awards (World Music) in Japan and Multi-film Festival celebrity nominee and winner as composer of the music for world acclaimed film Chocolat.
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He has travelled all over the world on his musical expeditions.
Mango is without doubt the greatest and most acclaimed Japanese musician to perform in Zimbabwe.
He has previously performed in Harare at the Mannenberg with Chiwoniso Maraire under the SukiAfrika collaboration in 2011.
