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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZTARABUTarabu (or 'taarab music') is an African musical style popular along the East African coast, of indeterminate origin but combining African, Indian and Arabic elements to produce a music somehow identifiably African. It developed in coastal cities from Somalia to Mozambique, reflecting the cosmopolitan outlook of multi-racial peoples, major centres including Mombassa and the island of Zanzibar. By combining Arabic and Indian melodies and drumming with Swahili, a classical culture maintained links with Swahili literature. During the 1930s the instrumentation was mainly Arabic, including lute, pottery drums, zither, fiddle, tambourine and rattle; the guitar-like gambuz was also used. Performed mainly on ceremonial occasions, tarabu survived the generations and remained a popular recreational music; a modern selection on Songs The Swahili Sing on Original Music is both amplified and augmented by the tabla from India, Western guitar, accordion and violin. By the 1960s the invasion of the Zairean rumba became universal, resulting in a Latin influence in tarabu; meanwhile, more mainstream Kenyan pop was influenced by the arrival of dozens of Zairean musicians in East Africa: in the 1980s such bands as Orchestre Virunga, Orchestre Makassy and Super Mazembe were composed mainly of Zaire nationals. Towards the end of the 1970s specifically East African styles had also begun to emerge, such as benga, a fusion of Luo traditional music and the rumba. Tarabu ensembles flourished in the 1990s, though rarely heard in Europe and the USA; a good series of albums on Globestyle included Mailidi And Musical Party, Mimbasa Wedding Special, Zein Musical Party, The Style Of Mombasa, Cultural Musical Club, Taarab 4 and The Music Of Zanzibar. |