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Career Highlights

• Founder and bandleader of Chris Berry & Panjea
• Nearly a decade living and studying music in Zimbabwe
• Fluent in Shona; studied mbira with master musician Monderek Muchena
• Panjea recordings achieved platinum sales in southern Africa
• Performed internationally, including the Sydney Opera House
• Collaborations with Youssou N’Dour, Eminem, Bill Kreutzmann, Paul Winter, Sly & Robbie, and others
• More than a dozen recorded albums and multiple film-score credits
• Guest teaching at institutions including Berklee, Stanford, Oberlin, Williams College, and University of Colorado Boulder
• Developed a distinctive system for processing mbira through bass and electric-guitar effects
• A convener and creator of musical ecosystems, he has been central in cultivating experiences like Flow Fest, Bana Kuma drum and dance gatherings, and the Black Rock Amphitheater, a one of a kind lava amphitheater on the Big Island of Hawai’i.

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A Longer Story

Chris Berry is an eclectic singer and songwriter, multi-instrumentalist virtuoso, and high-energy performer and teacher. From his humble beginning during Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe, he has blasted his powerful Afro-infused sound around the World for over twenty years; rocking audiences from NYC’s Irving Plaza to sold out stadiums in South Africa and Sydney Australia’s famous Opera House.

He has released over a dozen albums, scored the soundtrack for three films, and has collaborated and performed with some of the World’s best performers like Eminem, Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Senegalese Afro-Pop sensation Yousoou N’dour, Cuban Legends Los Munequitos de Mantanzas, Jazz artist Paul Winter, Jamaican rhythm and production duo Sly (Dunbar) and Robbie (Shakespeare), Fugee’s producer Handel Tucker, and many more.

Chris was born and raised in California where he began his apprenticeship with Master Drummer Titos Sompa (one of the founders of the African drum and dance scene on the West Cost of the U.S.) as a fifteen year old boy. This relationship led him into a ten year journey to Africa.

The Congo, Zimbabwe and Beyond

Eight of these years were spent in Zimbabwe during the Mugabe regime. During this tumultuous political period, Chris found himself living in the ghettos and villages of Zimbabwe, where he studied the music of the Shona people, adding to his growing repertoire of traditional African music. He became initiated by village elders into their heritage, played the mbira in ceremonies and on stages, and learned to speak their language fluently.

Immersed in the culture of all-night mbira ceremonies, Chris found his voice singing among the polyrhythmic harmonies commonly found throughout Zimbabwe and most of South Africa. It was soon after that his musical career took off. Encouraged by his teachers to create his own compositions, he formed the band Panjea, which fused Funk with elements of Hip-Hop, Afro-Pop, and traditional African music. The band quickly had No. 1 hits on the radio, toured all over Africa, and reached platinum record sales on an album they recorded with Zimbabwean-based Gramma Records.

As Chris Berry and Panjea’s popularity rapidly grew, Chris was warned to leave Zimbabwe due to his lyrical opposition to the oppressing government, and instructions from his teachers to take his music out to the world. However, it wasn’t until four of Panjea’s band members succumbed to AIDS and attempts were made on his own life that Chris left Zimbabwe.

International Touring

From there, Chris has toured extensively around the globe, including North and Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Asia, and Africa as a frontman and bandleader. He performed the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, co-wrote for Paul Winter’s Grammy Award Winning 2009 “Winter Solstice” album, taught music and culture as a guest faculty member at Oberlin and Berklee Colleges of Music, University of Colorado Boulder, Williams College, Stanford University and his own Panjea Foundation for Cultural Education; and has headlined in major music festivals around the world.

Collaborations

Chris has collaborated with Steve Kimock, members of the Brazilian Girls, Baaba Maal, Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mutukudzi, Manu Dibango, Xavier Rudd, String Cheese Incident, Peter Apfelbaum, Zivanai Masango, Dom Lali; and spent six months working and recording with the Central African Republic Pygmies to score the soundtrack for the film “Oka!”

Over the past decade, Berry’s work has continued to evolve through a wide range of collaborations, recordings and community-based music projects. In both New Mexico & Hawaiʻi, he has helped cultivate festivals like Flow Fest, drum-and-dance gatherings and collaborative performances centered around rhythm, creativity and community. Not only is he a touring artist, but a convener and creator of musical ecosystems.

Recent recordings have included Limitless with producer Matt Williams; The Flow with Tubby Love, Ben Teters and Will Lydgate; collaborations with New Reb including “Thrive”; and a growing body of work with Esme Olivia, including “That Train” and performances blending voice, mbira, percussion and electronic production. His 2024 album Bana Kuma further explored the meeting place between ancient rhythmic traditions and contemporary electronic sound.

Berry has also continued making music with a wide range of artists, including Paul Izak, Fieldtrips as well as Vee Mhofu in Zimbabwe. His current live projects range from drum-driven ensemble performances to electrified mbira and Organic Ecstatic, a DJ/live-performance fusion combining original electronic tracks with live mbira, djembe and voice. He regularly performs at the one-of-a-kind Black Rock Amphitheater, created by the lava itself on the island of Hawai’i.

Photo: Lali Photo Creative