Pamwe Marimbe

Zimbabwean marimba music has a tendency to take over people’s lives in a way that is pretty much indescribable. Once entranced by the sheer joy of playing this music, it becomes an integral part of one’s existence. Such is the transformative journey embraced by Pamwe Marimba, an ensemble composed of passionate advocates of this musical tradition across the United States.

Zimabwean music came to the United States in the late 1960’s via Dumisani Maraire, a Zimbabwean musician who was invited to teach at the University of Washington in the Ethnomusicology department. Maraire, known by his peers as “Dumi,” was originally teaching the music of the mbira, a traditional African-style instrument. As he gained a following of students, he decided to have a set of marimbas shipped to Seattle from the Kwanongoma College in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to start a band with his students. This was the first ensemble of this kind in the U.S., and the music took the people by storm.

Over the course of the 1970’s, people came and went from Dumi’s bands, and many of his students relocated and began their own marimba projects, passing on what they had learned from Dumi. Since then, many other Zimbabwean musicians have come to the U.S. to teach the music. There are now Zim-style marimba programs in many of the states, primarily the western states, many of which host Zimbabwean teachers regularly. The members of Pamwe grew up playing this style of music in their respective local communities, including Boulder (CO), Santa Fe (NM), Eugene (OR), Spokane (WA), and Coeur d’Alene (ID).

The members of Pamwe all formerly played in Santa Fe-based ensemble, Polyphony Marimba, under the direction of Peter Swing. After the announcement of the retirement of Polyphony’s touring era, Pamwe was formed in an effort to continue making music together. The musical and relational chemistry that this group of musicians has is both beautiful and powerful, and the members decided it was a must to continue playing together; thus, Pamwe was born!

Pamwe’s vision is to share the beautiful music of Zimbabwe that the members have grown up learning, studying, and playing. We are also excited to share how this music has impacted our own artistic and musical styles by including original compositions.

The band embarked on two separate tours in 2024, one in the Southwest and one in the Midwest. Most recently, Pamwe recorded their first album which will be released in May of 2025, stay tuned!