Larry Maluma touches base

KELVIN KACHINGWE, Lusaka
AUSTRALIA-BASED musician Larry Maluma, known for songs like Chakolwa and Punzisana Aana, is in the country for a visit.
Larry, who is expected to go back to Melbourne on Monday, visited the Weekend Mail in Lusaka.
“It’s just a private visit, I brought my family for a holiday,” he said.
Still, there was no way the visit was going to be private. Maluma had found himself making some media appearances. Also, pictures of him meeting Zambians friends and fans were being posted online.
The last time Larry was in the country was three years ago when he came to promote his debut album Ulemu (Respect), which he recorded in Zambia over three decades ago just before he migrated to Australia.
The unique debut album, Ulemu, is Maluma’s 12th album to date. His other albums are Confusion (1987), One Man’s Poison (1989), Man and Woman (1993), Nuff is Enough (1996), Motion (1997), Roots and Herbs (2000), Makani Angu (2005) and Ndakondwa.
A musician, composer and vocalist, Larry moved to Australia in 1985, where he has tried to broaden the Australian perspective of African music.
Some of Australia’s finest musicians are featured on Larry’s albums releases. They include Vika and Linda Bull, who appeared as backing vocalists on Man and Woman while Nichaud Fitzgibbon features on Hallelujah.
With many of the players regarded as Australia’s leading session musicians, the individual and collective brilliance of the musicians, respectively assures a diverse sound which encompasses complex African rhythms, Jamaican ska and luscious jazz horns.
That is why critic, Tony Mchon of music.com.au, said of Ndakondwa: “Although it’s difficult to categorise this music as anything other than African, Maluma has been in Australia a long time, and there’s a distinct cross-pollination of cultures going on here, enriching and universalising the listening experience.”
Some of the major shows where Larry has performed include the Apollo Bay Music Festival, the Bellingen Global Carnival and the Globe to Globe World Music Festival.