Stella Chiweshe

"Double Check"; Piranha

3.5 stars (out of 4)

A groovier disc I haven't heard this year. Actually, this album is two discs, but I'm talking about the second, called "Classic Hits," on which the Zimbabwean queen of the mbira (thumb piano) wields her little instrument the way Jimi Hendrix wielded a guitar. Her mbira and husky voice sail over 50 minutes of fuzzy, furious Africanized rock 'n' roll culled from throughout Chiweshe's lengthy career with her band, The Earthquake. Disc One, "Trance Hits," operates on a completely different wavelength. The recordings are new, but the music is old, traditional. It's mellower and more otherworldly than disc one, but still energetic enough to keep a dance floor full.

Recommended if you like: Congotronics series, Oliver Mtukudzi