Heidi Wilson

Sax, Marimbas & Vocals

Born into a musical family, Heidi studied violin and oboe as a child and switched to the saxophone at age 18, discovering her true voice. She was a founding member of Eneke-the-Bird, a creative performing duo and arts organization that thrived in Tucson for 17 years. She has contributed her saxophone expressions on many recordings including the genres of Blues, Brazilian, Jazz, and Hip Hop. Besides Baba Marimba, she was a performing member of the Temenos Quartet (Jazz/Folk/Indie), and records and performs with Witch Hazel, a Hip Hop artist.

She continues to grow as a musician, including explorations in LoFi/Hip Hop music and more… She has been with Baba Marimba since its inception in 2010, and loves the collaborative energy of the group. Everyone contributes to the creative process, which lends to a very diverse and varied sound experience.

Heidi is also a craniosacral practitioner and instructor, a tai chi teacher, a mother and grandmother. 

Heidi Wilson on Facebook

Mike Ankomeus

Trumpet, Flutes, Conch shells, Didgeridoo, Marimbas, Melodica, Vocals & Percussion

Mike learned to play trumpet from his father, Denny Ankomeus, who toured with big bands in the Golden Age of swing. He holds a BA degree in instrumental music from Arizona State University and an MA in education from Northern Arizona University. He has a passion for music and dance collaboration, and he loves exploring ancient harmonic tonalities and trance music.

Mike also plays with Santa Pachita, a regionally-touring band advocating for human rights. He is a highly experienced musician and educator dedicated to public service and community development. 

Mike Ankomeus on Facebook

Chris Screven

Many Guitars

Chris started playing guitar at age 14 starting with Chicago style blues and later studying classical and flamenco guitar.  In 1970 he was inspired by a concert by Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete and began learning Brazilian jazz guitar.  Influences from guitarists such as Baden Powell and Wes Montgomery eventually lead to him to study jazz at a music conservatory. Although this did not lead to a professional career in music, it made music a major part of life and set the stage for years of musical study with a focus on guitar.  Later influences from other musicians such as Tommy Emmanuel, Michael Hedges, Leo Kottke, Martin Taylor, Ayub Ogada, Fela Randsome Kuti, Sonny Ade, and others led Chris to expand his repertoire to include World Music.

More at his website here.

Screven Music

Joe Townend

Bass & Vocals

Joe was raised in Denville, NJ, a lovely small town near the railway station where his father used to catch a commuter train to New York City to work.

While in college at the University of Scranton he learned to play upright and electric bass and joined his first band, The Druids, which recorded a few singles for Columbia Records. Joe continued playing bass while a student at Michigan State and then in San Francisco with a band called Nazgul. In LA he recorded an album with super guitarist John Ussery that was released on Mercury Records, and did club and concert gigs all over California and Nevada.

 

In Minneapolis he was a founder of the performance group Meeting Rivers, which combined music, dance and spoken word in shows with a spiritual journey theme. 

Joe was musical director and bassist for Bassirima Soro’s (K-Bass’) band Farafina Musiki from 2012-2013, and played bass with The Key Ingredients of African Soul (KIAS) from 2013 to mid-2017.
 

He began studying West African percussion in Tucson in 2005 with Martin Klabunde, one of the few Professional Djembe Instructors certified by Mamady Keita. Joe was a founding member of drumming group Planet Djembe, which performed from 2010-2015. 

He joined Baba Marimba in late 2017 and continues with them today. He has written and arranged many new songs for the band.

Joe Townend Media

Andrea Eckhardt

Electric Viola, Marimbas, Percussion & Vocals

Andrea is a dual German-American national, born in New York City to a musical family. Her mother taught her to sing melodies and harmonies to traditional Eastern European songs, and her father taught her to play South American folk music.

She is a highly skilled multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, and her desire is to facilitate personal and global healing through her beautiful music.

Andrea Eckhardt - Facebook

Brian Hanner

Drums & Percussion

Brian Hanner, a native of Texas, is a multifaceted musician who has made Tucson, Arizona his home. He started his musician life as a saxophonist in sixth grade until a friend let him sit down behind his drumset. And that was it. Now, many decades later, he is a sought-after freelance percussionist, drummer, recording engineer, and music producer, known for his commitment to the arts. In addition to holding down the drum chair for Baba Marimba, Brian is currently in his third season as Principal Percussionist with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to his performance work, Brian is deeply involved in supporting local music through his co-ownership of Hanner House Records, alongside his wife, Syndenn Sweet. Their record label is dedicated to providing a supportive and accessible studio environment for local musicians. The goal of Hanner House Records is to help artists record their music and share it with the world in a comfortable and affordable setting. One of their recent projects is a children’s educational record titled "I L-O-V-E This D-E-S-E-R-T," which was created in collaboration with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. 

Brian earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, where he studied under the guidance of Dr. Lawrence Kaptain, Drew Lang, and Dr. Christopher Hanning. He then pursued a Master of Music degree in percussion performance at the University of North Texas, working closely with Mark Ford, Christopher Deane, and Eugene Migliaro Corporon. He has also spent time learning drumset with Steve Houghton, Gary Chaffee, Ed Soph, Ignacio Berroa and Jim Chapin. He is an endorser of Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets. 

Basically, he just loves being a drummer and making music with a groove.

Brian Hanner - Facebook

Robert "Swami" Peizer

djembe, congas, doumbec, marimbas, multi-ethnic hand percussion, vocals

“Swami” (a stage name given to him by kinetic sculptor Mat Bevel) loved playing the piano since childhood, but stopped for many years until music took over his life in 1990.  He was introduced to Congolese, West African and Caribbean drumming at a workshop with his Middle Eastern drum teacher, Mary Ellen Donald, who studied with Hamza El Din, an internationally known composer, oud and tar player, and vocalist.

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, he was blessed with access to drum and dance instructors from the national ballets of Guinea, the Congo, Brazil and Trinidad.

For 20 years, teachers like Mamady Keita, Karumba Diakete, Mabiba Baegne, Fred Simpson, Malonga Casquelord, Ferdinand Batantu, Samba Ngo, Massengo, Hugh Humphries and Wilfred Mark gave him both close friendship and an intimate access to their music and culture that was unique and precious.

He also played with many jazz musicians and groups, playing percussion with the Jersey Foreman Express in the Bay Area for 10 years, and did workshops and performed with Eddie Gale, a former trumpeter with Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor.

Integrating World Music rhythms and instrumentation with jazz, R&B, funk, reggae and original compositions is Swami’s passion.