A range of sounds…

Chris Berry’s live work ranges from intimate mbira-centered performance to full ensemble shows and immersive electronic dance experiences. Explore three current performance offerings below: the Chris Berry Ensemble, Chris Berry Trio feat. Abou Diarra & Esme Olivia, and Ecstatic Organic DJ Fusion.

Top Photo: Sky Wild Photography

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Chris Berry Ensemble

Zimbabwean Mbira · Americana Roots · Acoustic Storytelling · Polyrhythmic Dance Music

Master musician Chris Berry bridges continents and traditions, blending the sacred, interlocking rhythms of Zimbabwean mbira with Appalachian banjo, Hawaiian uke, and deep acoustic grooves for a warm, story-driven live experience.

Americana and African music collide in the Chris Berry Ensemble: a multicultural acoustic journey from Appalachian roots to Zimbabwean mbira, with a touch of Hawaiʻi along the way. Traditional Shona mbira, roots songwriting and polyrhythmic dance music unfold through the sounds of wood and metal: mbira, guitar, banjo, ukulele, upright bass, drums and African percussion. Layered vocal harmonies and sing-along choruses carry the music from gentle, spacious moments into infectious groove and dance.

Led by Berry’s mbira, voice, original songs and storytelling, the ensemble moves through rhythm, place and song with a sense of warmth and discovery. Esme Olivia also steps forward with original music shaped by jazzy harmony, funky rhythms and poetic, inspiring lyrics. Together, the group balances the closeness of acoustic songwriting with the expansive pulse of a larger ensemble.

Chris Berry: mbira, vocals, percussion, banjo
Esme Olivia: guitar, vocals
Maurizio Capparelli: drum kit, vocal harmonies
David Estafen: upright bass
Seth Robinson: ukulele, vocal harmonies
Lee Parrish & Scott Laaback: hand percussion
Special Guest Gabriel Fara Tolno: djembe

A Taste of the Sound

This album gives a good sense of the Ensemble’s sound and musical direction.

1 07:01
2 05:26
3 06:18
4 05:20
5 05:40
6 05:54
7 06:02
8 05:27
9 04:54
10 04:00
11 05:32

Chris Berry Trio • Featuring Abou Diarra & Esme Olivia

Electrified Mbira • African Rhythm • Voice • Story

Worldclass musician Chris Berry joins Ivorian percussionist Abou Diarra and Mexican-American vocalist Esme Olivia in an electrifying meeting of African tradition and contemporary sound. After nearly a decade immersed in Zimbabwean music and culture, Berry became a master of mbira and developed a system that transforms its ancient resonance through bass and electric-guitar effects. Diarra brings powerful West African rhythm, while Olivia adds harmonies, percussion and dynamic dance. Together they move from hypnotic mbira and interlocking grooves to expansive song and dance music, rooted in tradition, alive with innovation, and built to move a festival crowd.

Chris Berry Trio

Chris Berry — mbira, vocals, effects, percussion
Esme Olivia — vocals, dance, percussion
Abou Lion Diarra — percussion, vocals

“Take a cat that plays a kalimba on steroids, adds electronics and fuses traditional African sounds with modern Afropop and you pretty much know what’s going on here. The only thing is, you don’t know how wild it is until you play it. With compelling lyrics delivered by a heartfelt voice being the cherry on this sundae, the sum total is a wonderful, outside the box world beat date that’s tailor made for the next generation of open eared, armchair travelers. Wild, wonderful stuff that saves you a ton of airfare and baggage fees as it takes you someplace else.”
~ Midwest Record on Chris Berry and album King of Me

Photos: 1. Abou Diarra 2. Chris Berry – by Terry Warner 3. Esme Olivia – by Julleye Photo/Video

Download CB Trio Press Kit
& High-Res Photos

Ecstatic Organic – DJ Fusion by Chris Berry & Esme Olivia

Chris Berry’s irresistibly danceable, original beats are steeped in the ancient technology of rhythms from the Congo, Zimbabwe, and beyond. Chris plays live djembe while Esme Olivia DJ’s the set. The two riff and sing together, activating your inner pharmacy with some heaven on earth groove.

Photos: First, second & third – Colyn Huber Lovegreen Photography for Afro Tropic Productions. Fourth – Julleye Photo/Video. Fifth: Jami Deva. Sixth & seventh: Lali Photo Creative

Ecstatic Organic is a live/DJ fusion from Chris Berry & Esme Olivia, blending funky electronic grooves with live polyrhythmic drumming, mbira, voice, percussion and organic instrumentation. Rooted in African rhythm and expanded through contemporary production, the set moves between deep groove, soaring vocals and high-energy dance-floor release.

Chris Berry
Chris Berry brings decades of immersion in African rhythm and mbira into a contemporary live/electronic setting. In Ecstatic Organic, he blends mbira, polyrhythmic drumming, percussion, voice and bass-rich electronic production into a fluid, improvisational dance-floor experience.

Esme Olivia
Esme Olivia brings soulful vocals, rich harmonies, percussion and a strong movement presence to Ecstatic Organic. Her voice and dance add warmth, lift and emotional depth to the electronic and rhythmic foundation, helping shape the set into an immersive, embodied journey.