Chopteeth

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Chopteeth
Chopteeth playing at the Kennedy Center (2008).
Chopteeth playing at the Kennedy Center (2008).
Background information
Origin Washington, D.C., United States
Genre(s) Afrofunk
Afrobeat
Funk
Highlife
Afropop
Years active 2004 – present
Label(s) Rootstock
Website www.chopteeth.com
Members
Michael Shereikis, guitar and vocals
Anna Mwalagho, vocals
Robert Fox, bass
Craig Considine, trombone
Mark Gilbert, saxophones
Justine Miller, trumpet and vocals
Trevor Specht, saxophones and vocals
Cheryl Terwilliger, trumpet
Mark Corrales, percussion
David McDavitt, drums
Brian Simms, keyboards
Jon Hoffschneider, keyboards
Victor Crisen, guitar

Chopteeth is a Washington, D.C.- based afrofunk big-band. Although rooted in Fela Kuti’s Nigerian afrobeat, Chopteeth’s music is an amalgam of Ghanaian highlife, Senegalese rumba, Jamaican Ska, Mande griot music, 1970’s West African funk, Ewe dance drum rhythms, Kenyan Taita afropop, soul-funk, and jazz.[1] Chopteeth’s writing and arrangements feature unique driving syncopations, and occasional odd meters. Chopteeth vocalists sing in eight different languages including English, Nigerian Pidgin, Swahili, Wolof, Mande, Twi, Taita,and French. [2]

Contents

[edit] History

Founded in 2004 by Robert Fox (bass), ethnomusicologist Michael Shereikis (guitar & lead vocals), Jon Hoffschneider (keyboards), and bata drummer Mark Corrales (percussion), Chopteeth quickly attracted a stable line-up of musicians including saxophonist Mark Gilbert (Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Four Tops, Cab Calloway, Don Cherry), trombonist Craig Constadine (Busta Rhymes), trumpeter Justine Miller, Romanian guitarist Victor Crisen, Kenyan vocalist/dancer Anna Mwalagho, and Ghanaian music teacher David McDavitt (drums). [3]

The name “Chopteeth” comes from a song by Fela Kuti called "J’ehin J’ehin". It refers to someone who eats his own teeth, a crazy person. Percussionist Mark Corrales came up with that name for the band because he said they were insane to think they could sustain a large afrobeat band.

Chopteeth won the 2007 Wammie (Washington Area Music Awards) for "Best World Music Group," presented by the the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA). [4]

[edit] Band

  • Michael Shereikis, guitar and vocals;
  • Anna Mwalagho, vocals;
  • Robert Fox, bass
  • Craig Considine, trombone;
  • Mark Gilbert, saxophones;
  • Justine Miller, trumpet and vocals;
  • Trevor Specht, saxophones and vocals;
  • Cheryl Terwilliger, trumpet;
  • Mark Corrales, percussion;
  • David McDavitt, drums;
  • Brian Simms, keyboards;
  • Jon Hoffschneider, keyboards;
  • Victor Crisen, guitar;

[edit] Educational Sites Authored by Chopteeth

[edit] Video

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Struggle, 2008

[edit] Recording Collaborations

[edit] References

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ About Chopteeth
  2. ^ About Chopteeth
  3. ^ Chopteeth musicians
  4. ^ Washington Area Music Association (WAMA)

[edit] See also

Languages