Community Concert Hall welcomes genre-defying CB-3 (Chris Berry Trio) on January 15, 2010
CB-3 at the Concert Hall
CB-3 (Chris Berry Trio) brings its unique fusion of funk, dance hall reggae and African rhythms to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, with Michael Kang of String Cheese Incident joining the trio. The dance floor will be open.
Community Concert Hall welcomes genre-defying CB-3 (Chris Berry Trio) on January 15, 2010
DURANGO, Colo. – CB-3 (Chris Berry Trio) brings its unique fusion of funk, dance hall reggae and African rhythms to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, with Michael Kang of String Cheese Incident joining the trio. The dance floor will be open.
Chris Berry’s musical roots trace back to the ghettos of Zimbabwe, specifically the capital city of Harare, where he lived for 10 years studying the mbira (mm-bee-rah) – a thumb piano with 29 keys – and immersing himself in the ancient rhythms of the Shona, the indigenous people of the region.
He sold in excess of one million albums in Africa, but after losing most of his band to AIDS and Zimbabwe’s brutal regime, Berry narrowly escaped the country in 2000. He returned to his native U.S. and kept the music alive first with his band Panjea and now the more danceable CB-3. Berry was honored in Africa as the first non-Zimbabwean to receive the title of Gwenaymbira or “one whose music summons the spirits.”
The genre-defying CB-3 includes Berry (vocals /mbira /percussion), Aaron Johnston (drums) of the Brazilian Girls, and Jesse Murphy (bass) of the Brazilian Girls and John Scofield’s Uberjam. The band has garnered a reputation for its rotating roster of special guests, and Michael Kang is one of CB-3’s most consistent. He brings electric mandolin, guitar and vocals to the trio’s Durango engagement.
Berry’s electric mbira, which he developed, is the only instrument of its kind and produces the distinctive sound that characterizes CB-3’s music. CB-3 offers a mix of the modern and the ancient, with traditional African rhythms resonating through the contemporary effects and heavy electronics. Sample CB-3’s music and view video clips at http://www.myspace.com/chrisberrytrio.
Tickets for CB-3 – $27 for Balcony and Orchestra and $35 for Plaza – are available on line at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657 or 877.282.9992. Or visit the Ticketing Services Office in Downtown Durango at 7th and Main Ave.
Showtime is 7 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6 p.m.
The Community Concert Hall is located in the growing arts complex of Fort Lewis College. It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.
