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Kudos for "Soul Resonance"


I just wanted to thank you SO much for the wonderful DVD!!!  You did a great job covering how Zimbabwean music came to America and continued around the world. The film gives a really balanced and coherent view of how this all happened. The fact that everyone you interviewed, whether Zimbabwean or not, tells basically the same story (from different angles, of course), gives this film a lot of credence.  I thought you wove together all the interviews really beautifully. I was very surprised and pleased that you used so much of my interview in the film - thank you for your trust in me! Love and gratitude, Maria Minnaar-Bailey, A Zimbabwean-American, Seneca, MO

I loved it, and was very moved by the whole story and all the characters in it! I know what a labor of love it was, but even more than that, what a LABOR it was! So much footage, so many decisions. You did a marvelous job at telling a story that will affect people for generations to come. Seeing the interviews of people who are now older, some no longer with us, and knowing that you have
preserved moments in time... it's a historic document whose value will increase exponentially as the years pass. Specifically, I saw a huge difference in this last edit and thought you succeeded in pulling it all together in a way that any viewer, regardless of their prior knowledge of Zimbabwean music, would understand and appreciate. I know that's hard to do when the subject is so close to you.  You were able to let go of some of your "babies" - the most difficult task in editing!  All the work was definitely worth it! Congratulations! Robin Truesdale, Filmmaker - "Tumbuka Bloom", "Conviction", "Rhythm Bridge", Boulder, CO

Makadiniko Laurel, Today I received and reviewed your "Soul Resonance" DVD.  It's a veritable masterpiece, and I expect to view it many more times in the future. Tatenda chaizvo,  Lewis (Pete) Peterman Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Music, San Diego State University

Dear Laurel, I received the two copies that you sent to me.  Thanks a lot, you did a good job and I am proud to show it to other people.  Best wishes, Ambuya Stella Chiweshe, Berlin, Germany  

Great job on the movie, we really, really liked it!!!  Michael Coolen brought by his copy for us to watch and we really liked it and are impressed by the whole thing. We learned some of the history that we didn't know and felt like you really captured the whole wonder of the music. We also appreciate the tone you set as far as the sharing and adapting of the music. Music is not stationary, it is ever evolving and being influenced by those who play it and their life experiences and I felt that you expressed that well. I know that it has been a debate in the marimba community, but like Thomas Mapfumo said to us, we are not Zimbabweans, we are not Africans and this is not our tradition. We must give credit but we must also make the music our own. Thanks for all your hard work. Lynette Figini and Gray Mercer, Balafon Marimba, Corvallis, OR

I viewed the DVD last week and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the SPREAD of marimba and mbira music.  I knew it had spread around the NW (and to some extent the SW), but didn't realize how it had spread to the east and Australia.  It really is captivating, and I can see how people want to start their own bands if they move and no longer have a group to play with.  Thanks for doing such a professional job.  I loved the map with the routes traveled and the interviews with the two men who really knew the history, one Caucasian, the other Zimbabwean. Elinor Michel, Sesitshaya Marimba Ensemble, Moscow, ID

Having been in the grip of this music for over five years and having been exposed to so many different stories about the people and the history involved, I was enthralled and grateful to have it all come together for me.  It was like having a cloud lifted and I could see: see the instruments and see the music from Zimbabwean perspective and get to know a little bit about so many people I have met over the years.   An excellent body of work! Congratulations and thank you so very much for your passion to lead you through this project. Best regards, Grant Peck, Kutandara Marimba Experience, Boulder, CO

The DVD arrived yesterday...  I watched it last night and loved it.  It certainly captures the spirit and energy of this music as well as giving lots of interesting stories about its origins (on marimba at least) in Zimbabwe, and then how it developed in the US - and even Australia.  Many thanks for devoting so much of your time, energy and other resources to documenting this phenomenon and hopefully, the DVD will add further to the strength and spread of Zimbabwean music, dance and culture around the world.  It was great for me to eventually see the faces of many of the contributors to Dandemutande, which I have been reading since the early paper editions in the 1990s.  … The film succeeded in showing the impact of Dumi's performances in starting the international phenomenon of Zimbabwean marimba bands, and how some of the members of those bands are still instrumental in promoting and teaching the music.  Just like the music, the DVD is warm, energetic, and inspirational; a reflection of the collaborative community from which it comes.  Wishing you all the best distributing and publicizing it to festivals and other forums.  I will certainly be asking my university library to purchase a copy.  Many thanks again for all your work. Ilan Zagoria, Perth, Australia

I LOVE the film you made…  I appreciate the pace and information covered, the very candid and inspiring interviews and precious moments captured.  It feels like a film whose time had come and utterly vital in preserving and getting the story out there.  What a labor of love (I can't even begin to imagine the work involved!)  It will forever be one of those precious little items I keep in a special place -- something to show others, or just watch on my own when I want a reminder of the faces and sounds that were such a huge part of my life at one time. It reminds me of priceless footage that anthropologists have captured in projects such as "Folkways" and world music series'. Thank you both, so much, for your time and dedication, inspiration, enthusiasm. Suzanne Greenwood, Homer, Alaska