Chris Berry & Abou Diarra Thursday, Aug 22 8:00p Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center Berkeley, CA

A onetime Ashkenaz regular with bands from Panjea to CB3 and great instrumental jams late into the night, Chris Berry returns after three years with his latest project. He calls it the Electronic Mbira, which starts with the hand-held mbira (the African thumb piano); only Berry has invented a new twist on this ancient instrument, delivering a full band sound from just two people. His bandmate this time is Ivory Coast drummer Abou Diarra, as they tour to celebrate the release of Berry’s 13th CD, “King of Me.”

Singer and songwriter Chris Berry has sold more than one million albums in Southern Africa, where he is a star, and where his Zimbabwean band headlined huge concerts until that country’s increasing strife forced Berry to return to the U.S. In recent years Berry has worked to build community through his world-rooted music, focused on his electrified mbira (Zimbabwean thumb piano), as well as his singing and percussion playing. His life is unusual, to say the least. He went from a rock-loving Sebastopol kid who discovered a Fela Kuti cassette to 10 years of studying and living in Zimbabwe, mastering the mbira (thumb piano) and creating his band Panjea. He was the first non-Zimbabwean ever to be given the title of Gwenaymbira or “one whose music summons the spirits.”

The Grammy Award-winning musician has taken his Afro-infused sound around the world for more than 20 years, rocking audiences from New York City’s Irving Plaza to sold-out stadiums in South Africa and Sydney Australia’s famous Opera House. He has been collaborating and performing with some of the world’s best performers, including in recent years Bill Kreutzmann, Steve Kimock, members of the Brazilian Girls, Baaba Maal, Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mutukudzi, Manu Dibango, and String Cheese Incident, and spent six months working and recording with the Central African Republic Pygmies to score the soundtrack for the film “Oka!” He also launched the Panjea Foundation for Cultural Education.

Ivory Coast’s Abou Diarrassouba is the founder and musical director of the Black Warriors, New York City’s premier band working with West Africa’s biggest acts. His drumming mastery has put him in the company of a world of musicians and styles; he’s equally in sync on tour with EasyStar AllStars’ tribute to Pink Floyd, in their high voltage rendition of “Dub Side of the Moon,” or reggae titans The Wailers in a recent South American tour. Born into a music family, Diarra picked up sticks at the age of 3 and began playing on anything that would make a good sound. Later he was chosen to be the house drummer for the popular TV program, “Dimanche Passion,” which aired weekly. There he honed his skills backing most of the major musicians in Africa. This resulted in a dual world tour with Ismael Isaac and Rocky Dawuni and ultimately led him to New York. In addition to drums, Diarra plays flute, saxophone, clarinet, guitar, bass, piano, and djembe.