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Biography
By 1985, Forward was playing in a unusually complex style - much to the amazement of master mbira players two and three generations his senior. This style was first recorded in 1985 and 1986 by his American friend Glenn Makuna (see MBIRA tapes nos. 56, 57, 58, 143), who dubbed Kwenda "the Coltrane of mbira." Asked about his experience of playing mbira, Forward responds: "When I pick up my mbira, I don't know what is going to happen. The music just goes by itself, taking me higher and higher until I can end up crying because the music is so much greater than a human being can understand." and "I just have to get out of the way so spirits can make my mbira play." In 1997, Kwenda toured the US with Erica Azim, and they recorded the Shanachie CD Svikiro: Meditations of an Mbira Master. 1n 1999, Azim's field recording of Kwenda on a Zimbabwean mountaintop at sunset was included on Ellipsis Arts' Trance 3 CD. In February 2000, Kwenda performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC with Erica Azim, and they toured North America during 2000, 2001 and 2002. The MBIRA Recordings Library includes several recordings of Kwenda. CDs Available From MBIRA
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Forward Kwenda was born 5 April 1963 in the rural Buhera area of Zimbabwe, an area known for its fierce resistance to colonial rulers and respect for Shona tradition. As a young boy, Forward excelled in traditional dance and recitation of ancient poetry. At the age of 10, he began to play ngoma (drums) and hosho (gourd rattles) for his mother's gombwe (rain-making) spirit. He was given the name "Forward" because of his curiosity about many subjects, enthusiastic involvement in many activities and his singing for liberation war freedom fighters.