Description
Makonde Ebony Wood Drummer
Playing seven drums could be challenging for many people with good vision. Mzee Morris was blind and he could play up to seventeen drums by the time of his death. Like many artists in Tanzania, Mzee Morris remains a distant memory for the many women and men who came of age in the 1980s. For the new generations, the name Mzee Morris is unrecognizable, lost to the winds of time. The memory of this legendary musician, a national hero, appears to be fading away each passing day. Yet to sum up the life of this accomplished musician to the fading winds of time, abject poverty he experienced at the end of his life, or his blindness, would be to miss an important point: he was able to rise above challenges thrown his way, make significant contributions to the nation, and ultimately, guarantee his place in history.
