Intro
Baba Marimba World Beat Dance Band™ plays music filled with energy and joy.
Musicians from left to right: Joe Townend, Andrea Eckhardt, Mark Holdaway, Heidi Wilson, Martin Tiernan,
Robert “Swami” Peizer and Mike Ankomeus.
Latest update from Heidi:
We are happy to let you all know that Baba Marimba will be playing at Monterey Court Friday July 29, 7-10 pm. Reservations recommended here https://www.montereycourtaz.com/reservations.html or at (520) 207-2429.
You can see more info on our calendar page here.
And now a word from Swami, our percussionist and marketing director:
So grateful for you all... we're proud to announce the release of our new studio work, 6 songs that we produced recently and are making available for sale on thumb drives (first available at our gig at Monterey Court July 29). We will also be streaming them on various platforms like Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube and others starting on July 29.
Right now there's a free download of one of our favorites, "Can't Stop," here on babamarimba.com, along with a teaser sample to send to friends. Our next step is sharing our music with the world beyond Tucson! You'll see it on the menu under Latest Release.
It feels like we're launching Baba 3.0: we've been around for darn near 11 years now, and have metamorphosed into a genre-breaking band whose music we like to call "World Beat Jazz™" Our official tag line is "World Beat Dance Band™" but our music crosses genres and definitely incorporates a jazz feeling, so there you have it.
We integrate eclectic World Beat instrumentation – baritone and soprano marimbas, karimbas, mbiras and kalimbas and conch shells, mixed with drums, bass, guitar, horns, flute and electric viola – with African, Latin, Middle Eastern and Caribbean percussion.
Doesn't get more World Beat than that!
The release of our first CD "Tango de los Muertos" marked Baba 1.0, mainly showcasing our melodic songwriting by Heidi Wilson, Mark Holdaway and Mike Ankomeus. Baba 2.0 was the reinvention of the band with a world-class rhythm section, departing from using the baritone marimba as our sole bass instrument.
The new releases (Baba 3.0) highlight the extraordinary musicality of Joe Townend on bass and Martin Tiernan on drums and the fabulous electric viola played by Andrea Ekhardt (I'm still here on percussion).
We learned so much in our studio recording sessions that we are now using technology and, in particular, Joe's sound engineering skills to produce recordings in-house. We are keeping our GoFundMe active - thank you to all our first-run donors! - because equipment is not cheap, and now we are branding and marketing the band worldwide, at a more professional level.
We also have a Patreon account for those who would like to subscribe and support our music on an ongoing basis. More to come on that, soon. Thanks again to all y'all, and see you Friday at Monterey Court! - Swami
For the Love of Music,
Heidi and the Band
Mark Quote
“When people come to our shows, it’s a bit like playing dress up – each song is a piece from a different part of the world, and the women and men play at putting on a different demeanor, a different persona. And then they cut loose! It is wonderful to be playing this music for folks who are having so much fun! – Mark Holdaway, Baba Marimba guitarist” - Mark Holdaway, Baba Marimba guitarist
…Read Tucson Weekly review of our CD Tangos de los Muertos.
Album Cover
Musicians
Heidi Wilson
Mike Ankomeus
Mark Holdaway & Joe Townend
Andrea Eckhardt