Aba Taano

The Joy of Africa

Combining singing and dancing, and performing in styles ranging from the traditional Lugandan folk songs of their ancestors to gospel, improvisations and rap, Aba Taano are five young singers full of humor, happiness and dynamism. Their warm voices and expressivity imbue both their gestures and their sound with an expressive and rich color.

Aba Taano began their career as the eldest members of the Uganda Natumayini Choir, a humanitarian choir dedicated to aiding Uganda’s orphans.  After more than 300 performances with the choir, in venues all over Spain, from the Teatro Real to Madrid’s Auditorio Reina Sofia, the young singers of Aba Taano have developed a rousing and joyous repertoire sure to delight audiences. Their concerts this past May, across Spain and Holland proved so infectious they were dubbed “The Aba Taano Effect,” inspiring audiences to demand five encores, and to give standing ovations in the middle of the group’s performance.

Aba Taano’s members are based in Uganda, and sing in Swahili, Fang, Zulu, Lutoro, Acholi and Xhosa, as well as their native Lugandan. They have recorded two CDs in Spain, with a third for the Dutch Record Company recently recorded in Holland, slated for worldwide release in October 2009. Their performances have been broadcast numerous times by National Dutch Radio, National Spanish Radio (Radio 3), Radio Aragon Zaragoza, Vaughan Radio Madrid and SER Madrid. Aba Taano is scheduled to tour Spain again this year, and will also be embarking on a tour of Central Europe in October and November, with stops in Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Estonia.

Projects for 2010 include the recording of the Acholi Mass for vocal quintet and string orchestra, and two tours in Holland.