Stella Chiweshe

One of Zimbabwe's few female mbira (thumb piano) players, Stella Rambisai Chiweshe grew up in the forest region of Mhondoro. Fascinated by music, Chiweshe began drumming at eight and first attended an mbira ceremony at the age of 16. At the time, local missionaries called mbira music "Satan's work." And even when Chiweshe moved with her mother to a province where mbira players lived, musicians did not want to teach a young girl.

Eventually, Chiweshe received the blessing of a family ancestor spirit and began to play, despite being told that no man would marry an mbira player.

In 1974, her first single "Kasahwa" did so well that Chiweshe developed a bad case of stage fright. She refused to play mbira on stage until 1984, when her musical career began in earnest. Today, Chiweshe records both traditional and pop records. She works between homes in Germany and Zimbabwe. Her late '80s record, Ambuya, a collaboration with British musicians, presents a spirited mbira pop sound quite different from the one Thomas Mapfumo and his followers have developed in Zimbabwe. While more recent releases as 2002's Talking Mbira and 2006's Double Check have further developed Chiweshe's unique sound. – Banning Eyre, Courtesy Afropop Worldwide www.afropop.org