2012 Summer Nights Festival of Outdoor Concerts
African Music Night at the Osher Marin JCC
Oliver Mtukudzi & the Black Spirits
Music, Dinners, Cocktails, Picnics, Dancing, Playground
Sat, July 21, 2012 @ 7pm
Zimbabwe’s pride, most successful artist and national treasure
Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits perform for African Music Night, the third of the five Saturday night outdoor, multi-cultural family friendly concerts of the
2012 Summer Nights Festival at the Osher Marin JCC.
African Music Night brings a beloved legend in the music of Africa on his long awaited international tour. Oliver Mtukudzi is gifted with a deep and gusty voice plus a talent for writing songs that reflects on the daily life and struggles of his people.
“Tuku” as he is known, began performing in 1977 and has earned a devoted following across Africa and beyond, all the while incorporating elements of musical traditions. He has written and performed some of the most heart rending music against hatred and violence and composed music appealing for restraint, for tolerance…music about self-discipline and peace amongst the people of the world. His music has continued to touch people in many different ways, guiding and stirring past generations in the same manner the compositions will impact on the future.
All are invited to throw a blanketon the turf, secure a picnic table next to the playground, sit on chairs or learn some African dance steps and dance away, bring the kids and play together, or leave them at home and make it a date night. Bring a dinner or purchase one on site from Sol Food Restaurant. The night is filled with possibilities and the music is African.
WHAT: African music, picnics, dinner, playground, dancing, cocktails, fun. Outdoors under the stars.
WHO: All are invited. Family Friendly
WHEN: Sat, July 21 @ 7pm. Doors Open @ 6pm. African Dance lesson @ 6:35
WHERE: The Osher Marin JCC, 200 N San Pedro Rd. San
Rafael, CA
PARKING: Ample FREE parking. Accessing the OsherMarin JCC from Highway 101 is effortless, ¼ mile E off 101
TICKETS: Adults- $20 advance/$25 day of/Kids
6-18 - $5. Children 5 and under FREE ~ www.marinjcc.org/summernights
MORE:
A member of Zimbabwe’s Kore Kore tribe, he sings in the nation’s dominant Shona language as well as Ndebele and English. Tuku’s music is heavily influenced by a humanist chimurenga ethos, which, in turn is inspired by the hypnotic rhythms of the mbira (thumb piano). His music also incorporates South Africa mbarqanga, the energetic Zimbabwean pop style jit, and the traditional kateke drumming of his clan.
One of Tuku’s biggest fans is Bonnie Raitt, who has not only called Tuku “a Treasure," and recorded a cover of "Hear me Lord" but also credits Tuku as the inspiration for
the song "One Belief Away" on her album Fundamental. Tuku (along with Angelique Kidjo, Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo) is one of the most successful African recordings artists in North America, having sold hundreds of thousand of records on Putumayo, Heads Up/Telarc and Sheer Sound. Tuku is an alumni of Acoustic Africa II (2011 edition) and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Eastern and Southern Africa, focusing on Young People's Development and HIV and AIDS Prevention. 2012 / 2013 marks the return to North America of one of Africa's musical giants.
The Summer Nights Festival is a series of five
celebrations for all ages with live music, dance instruction, food, and family fun. Presented by The Kanbar Center for the Performing Arts, each celebration brings in hundreds of guests for an
evening of culture and community under the summer skies.
“One of the most remarkable aspects of Summer Nights is the venue. The outdoor field and playground where the concerts take place are part of the larger campus serving the JCC and Brandeis Hillel Day School. Located uphill from the JCC, Swig field is
surrounded on all sides by the Marin Hills and the JCC building, creating a self-contained, safe, outdoor park-like environment that is expansive and open, yet accessible only through the JCC and removed from the street.”
Sat, 7/21: African Music Night —Oliver
Mtukudzi & the Black Spirits
Sat, 7/28: Cajun Night - Steve Riley & the Mamou
Playboys
Sat, 8/4: Latin Music Night —Orquesta La Moderna Tradicion
