Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

KACHAMBA BROTHERS BAND

African Kwela band formed in Malawi '61. Brothers Daniel (guitarist; eldest) and Donald (flute; b '55) Kachamba lived in Salisbury, Rhodesia with their Ngoni parents '57-61, began playing at parties in and near Blantyre, the capital of Malawi; kwela had spread from South Africa and they soon became the most accomplished interpreters of it in Malawi. Donald left '70 to pursue a solo career touring East Africa and Europe, but made LP The Kachamba Brothers Band in Malawi '72; continued to tour widely and made live LP Donald Kachamba's Kwela Band '78 in Austria, faithfully recreating the flute-guitar kwela style of '50s-60s, already no longer played in Malawi; another album Donald Kachamba's Band on Kenyan AIT label.