Originally recorded in the 1970s and making its first appearance on CD in 1995, this Nonesuch compilation of Zimbabwean mbira music (or, as it is known elsewhere, the "Kalimba" or "African Thumb Piano") is a revelatory little volume, covering the various styles and uses of the instrument. Compilation producer Paul Berliner writes extensive liner notes not only on the music and the players, but on the songs themselves. These are field recordings of the highest order to be sure, but as music they are simply gorgeous. While the mbira is plainly a percussion instrument, depending on its size and whether it has one, two, or even three sets of keys, it is also a melody and harmony instrument. The sound is wonderfully warm and full despite the conditions some of this music was recorded under, and these performances do not sound out of time and space, but wonderfully within a still living and thriving tradition of folk and popular music.

Audio: Stereo, 44.1 kHz, 128 kbps mp3