Results for "Mbira"

Shanta Nurullah

Born: June 16, 1950

Shanta first heard the sitar while on a 1969 study abroad stay in Poona, India. She found a teacher, Bhaskar Chandavakar, and received beginning instruction for five months. After college, she acted in Chicago's Kuumba Workshop had a few bass lessons from Pete Cosey, who sent her to Kelan Phil Cohran, who encouraged her to explore the sitar in her own special way. After several years in Cohran's Black Music Workshop, Shanta formed her first band, Insight. Players with this group included Ari Brown, Malachi Favors, Babu Atiba, Bernice Brooks, Alan Burroughs, Randy Ford, Elihoenai and Yosef Ben Israel. Her next group, co-founded with vocalist Rita Warford, was the all women's emsemble Sojourner, with members from Chicago and Detroit (Chavunduka Sevanhu, Sherri Weathersby, Kafi Patrice Nassoma, Elreta Dodds, Gayelynn McKinney, Ahsia Hill). 

Robert Heirendt