Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Founded in 1965 in the wake of independence, the Culture Musical Club Taarab Orchestra (CMCZ) is one of the oldest Taarab orchestras in Zanzibar. Generations of musicians have played in it. CMCZ specialises in traditional Taarab music, featuring female solo singers and male instrumentalists.
Taarab is a fascinating combination of many musical styles: predominantly African beats, with Egyptian, Indian and even Cuban influences. This rich global influence on a single genre owes to Zanzibar’s history as an important commerce hub. The Dhow Countries Musical Academy calls this the ‘dhow effect’. The dhow is a traditional sailing vessel that originated in the Middle East and spread over the Indian Ocean region. The ‘Dhow countries’ are all the countries that sailed to Zanzibar throughout history, blowing onto the island, leaving their instruments, their styles and blending them with what was already on the island. The result of this confluence is the unique sound of Taarab. Taarab roughly translates in Arabic as ‘having joy with music’.
It plays traditional Taarab music with all female solo singers and male singers on instruments. It was clear that this orchestra had played together for a long time and were well rehearsed. They have a total of 45 people in their orchestra. They usually play with about 25 and we saw 15. Instruments in this orchestra we saw: 4 violins, 1 oud, 1 base, 1 qanun, 1 accordion, 2 drums and 1 tramboline. They produced a wonderful rich sound.
Read the field report here: singingwells.org/stories/day-five-february-20-2020-dcma
Founded in 1965 in the wake of independence, the Culture Musical Club Taarab Orchestra (CMCZ) is one of the oldest Taarab orchestras in Zanzibar. Generations of musicians have played in it. CMCZ specialises in traditional Taarab music, featuring female solo singers and male instrumentalists.
Taarab is a fascinating combination of many musical styles: predominantly African beats, with Egyptian, Indian and even Cuban influences. This rich global influence on a single genre owes to Zanzibar’s history as an important commerce hub. The Dhow Countries Musical Academy calls this the ‘dhow effect’. The dhow is a traditional sailing vessel that originated in the Middle East and spread over the Indian Ocean region. The ‘Dhow countries’ are all the countries that sailed to Zanzibar throughout history, blowing onto the island, leaving their instruments, their styles and blending them with what was already on the island. The result of this confluence is the unique sound of Taarab. Taarab roughly translates in Arabic as ‘having joy with music’.
It plays traditional Taarab music with all female solo singers and male singers on instruments. It was clear that this orchestra had played together for a long time and were well rehearsed. They have a total of 45 people in their orchestra. They usually play with about 25 and we saw 15. Instruments in this orchestra we saw: 4 violins, 1 oud, 1 base, 1 qanun, 1 accordion, 2 drums and 1 tramboline. They produced a wonderful rich sound.
Read the field report here: singingwells.org/stories/day-five-february-20-2020-dcma
