Chopteeth

Chopteeth

Chopteeth playing at the Kennedy Center (2008).
Background information
Origin Washington, D.C., United States
Genres Afrofunk
Afrobeat
Funk
Highlife
Afropop
Years active 2004 – present
Labels Grisgris
Website www.chopteeth.com
Members Michael Shereikis, guitar and vocals
Anna Mwalagho, vocals
Robert Fox, bass
Craig Considine, trombone
Mark Gilbert, saxophones
Justine Miller, trumpet and vocals
Trevor Specht, saxophones and vocals
Cheryl Terwilliger, trumpet
Atta Addo, djembe & twinchin
Mark Corrales, percussion
David McDavitt, drums
Jason Walker, drums and percussion
Brian Simms, keyboards
Jon Hoffschneider, keyboards
Victor Crisen, guitar

Chopteeth is a Washington, D.C.- based afrofunk big-band. Although rooted in Fela Kuti's Nigerian afrobeat, Chopteeth's music is an amalgam of Ghanaian highlife, Senegalese rumba, Jamaican ska, Mande griot music, 1970's West African funk, Ewe dance drum rhythms, Kenyan Taita afropop, soul-funk, and jazz.[1] Chopteeth's writing and arrangements feature unique driving syncopations, and occasional odd meters. Chopteeth vocalists sing in eight different languages including English, Nigerian Pidgin, Swahili, Wolof, Mande, Twi, Taita, and French.[1]

History

Founded in 2004 by Robert Fox (bass), ethnomusicologist Michael Shereikis (guitar & lead vocals), Jon Hoffschneider (keyboards), and bata drummer Mark Corrales (percussion), Chopteeth quickly attracted a stable line-up of musicians including saxophonist Mark Gilbert (Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Four Tops, Cab Calloway, Don Cherry), trombonist Craig Constadine (Busta Rhymes), trumpeter Justine Miller, Romanian guitarist Victor Crisen, Kenyan vocalist/dancer Anna Mwalagho, and Ghanaian music teacher David McDavitt (drums). In 2008 Ghanaian drummer Atta Addo joined Chopteeth on percussion.[2]

The name "Chopteeth" comes from a song by Fela Kuti called "J'ehin J'ehin". It refers to someone who eats his own teeth, a crazy person. Percussionist and former member Mark Corrales came up with that name for the band because he said they were insane to think they could sustain a large afrobeat band.

Chopteeth won several Wammies (Washington Area Music Awards)presented by the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA):[3]

Band

Educational Sites Authored by Chopteeth

Video

Discography

Albums

Recording Collaborations

References

External links

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 About Chopteeth
  2. ↑ Chopteeth musicians
  3. ↑ Washington Area Music Association (WAMA)

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.