A heartfelt and beautiful collaboration between two percussion masters. There’s a meditative yet unmistakably joyful feel throughout the disc, a symbiotic strength that draws equally from Motherland and Diaspora. To put it simply, it’s fantastic. So beautiful and engaging that it totally captivated me. No further written description will do justice to this stunning music—you simply must hear it for yourself.
~Global Rhythm Magazine~
Shona and Santeria/Orisha traditions may be miles apart geographically, even spiritually, but in the hands of Michaels Spiro and Williams, their musics blend beautifully, woven so tightly and harmoniously it’s hard to believe they weren’t always played together. ….It’s boggling to discover that these sounds, from traditions rooted so deeply in Africa, are emerging from a couple of Euro-Americans. Their playing is as beautiful as it is respectful as they play songs about ancestors, nature, and spirit. Any lover of Afro-Cuban music will delight in this highly recommended album.
~“Spin the Globe,” KAOS Radio, Olympia, WA~
That this album succeeds is a tribute to Williams’ & Spiro’s insight and determination to douse the deep currents that connect human music so far beneath the surface of our contemporary cultures. A wonderful chill passes down my spine when the intertwining Shona and Cuban threads merge in these amazing songs. Lively and danceable in spirit, BataMbira also evokes something ancient and ancestral that leaves me surprised and moved.
~Dandemutande~
You’ve got to hear it to believe it! You can hear the power coming through Michael Spiro and Michael Williams, two American musicians who are not afraid to innovate, to use the fruit of their many years of study to think creatively about the African and Afro-Cuban traditions they so deeply respect.
~The Voice of America~
A vital, expressive music capable of casting a hypnotic spell that is a product of Spiro’s and Williams’ diligence in researching their musical sources and their considerable talents as performers.
~Percussive Notes Magazine~
An amazing collaboration. Few musicians anywhere would have the patience to attempt such a task. Congratulations to Spiro, Williams, and all those involved in the complex, revealing BataMbira project.
~World Discoveries~
