Led by Ugandan-born flute player, percussionist, and singer Samite (pronounced "Sam-ee-teh"), the trio bearing his name will give a free performance of vocal and instrumental music at Ithaca College on Wednesday, February 15. The concert will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music. Guitarist David Cullen and drummer Mar Gueye round out the group.
Currently living in Ithaca, Samite was born and raised in Uganda, where he learned to play the traditional flute of that country from his grandfather. Attending school at the King's Courtyard, he heard the royal musicians playing for the king. That daily influence permanently instilled within Samite the rhythms and patterns of his people's traditional music. Recognizing his talents, a high school teacher in Kampala put a western flute in Samite's hands. It was the first step on the path that led Samite to become one of the most highly acclaimed flutists in East Africa.
In 1982 Samite fled to Kenya as a political refugee and started playing with the Bacchus Club Jazz Band and the African Heritage Band. Increasingly drawn to instruments and rhythms from the traditional Ugandan music scene, he eventually played solo at the Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nairobi. Delivering his mellifluous vocals in his mother tongue, Luganda, he mesmerized audiences with original compositions played on kalimba (finger-piano), marimba (wooden xylophone), litungu (seven-stringed Kenyan instrument), and various flutes, both traditional and western.
Samite immigrated to the United States in 1987, eventually settling in Ithaca. His sixth and newest CD, "Tunula Eno," is a work of commitment, devotion, and an overwhelming sense of humanity. Written and recorded during the last year of his wife's life, the CD is a celebration of that which makes us human: love, loss, endurance, hope. It is a joyous album conveying optimism through stories and song, replete with swirling melodies, infectious rhythms, and soulful vocals.
Samite is the founder of the nonprofit organization Musicians for World Harmony, whose mission is to enable musicians throughout the world to share their music to promote peace, understanding, and harmony among peoples. The organization places special emphasis on the displaced, the distressed, and all those who could benefit most from the healing power of music.
