Zaza Korinteli

Zaza Korinteli ( _ka. ზაზა კორინთელი) better known by his stage name Zumba (born December 29 1973) is a Georgian rock musician, folklorist and civic activist. His music fuses a wide variety of genres, principally Georgian folk tradition, rock, and reggae. Being a multi-instrumentalist on guitar, bass, wind instruments, percussions, and vocals, he leads the band ZumbaLand and also collaborates within several other musical projects. His stage name is an acronym of a Georgian phrase "zogjer ubralod moindome, bolos agisruldeba" (ზოგჯერ უბრალოდ მოინდომე ბოლოს აგისრულდება), translated as "Just wish sometimes – it will eventually come true."

Biography

Born in Tbilisi, Korinteli graduated from the Department of Psychology, Tbilisi State University. He founded his first band in 1993 and named it ZumbaLand. The group initially performed in the streets, parks and metro stations of Tbilisi and recorded its debut album "I am waiting for the sunrise" in 1995. It went on to win two nationwide rock music festivals in 1996. In 1997, Korinteli disbanded the group and moved to Kraków, Poland, where the band was reincarnated featuring Georgian, Polish, Ukrainian, and American musicians. This line-up toured Poland at the end of the 1990s and recorded the album "Project Union" in 2000. The same year, Korinteli returned to Georgia and assembled a new band which has since maintained its lineup. It has since recorded three studio albums "Euroremonti" (2002), Jolo (2004) and Adila (2006), staged nationwide tours and performed at various festivals and concerts in Georgia, Ukraine, and Russia, including jamming with the American jazz musicians Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis and Richard Bona. [ru icon [http://www.segodnya.ua/news/1022940.html Заза Коринтели в Одессе (Zaza Korinteli in Odessa).] "Segodnya". April 18 2008.] Zumba was one of the organizers of rock concerts supporting opposition demonstrations during the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia and 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine. [ [http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav113004.shtml States in Caucasus, Central Asia closely monitor developments in Ukraine.] "Eurasia Insight". November 30 2004.] He is one of the Georgian stars that the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili and his United National Movement has enlisted in their pre-election campaign for Georgia’s 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections. [ [http://russiatoday.ru/features/news/19286 Battle of the bands enters Georgian election campaign.] "Russia Today". January 2, 2008.] The musician is a supporter of Georgia’s integration with Europe and has called for a thorough "Euro remont" of the society, referring to a Russian/post-Soviet take on Western style of interior design. During the November 2007 political crisis in the country, he led several other musicians and artists to issue a manifesto, urging to eliminate the last vestiges of Soviet-era mentality and reform Georgia into a Western-type democracy, at the same treasuring the country’s traditions and cultural heritage. It also called for the opposing political factions to reconcile and work together towards the cultural evolution, state reinforcement and territorial integrity. [ka icon [http://www.24saati.ge/index.php?lang_id=GEO&sec_id=2&info_id=28470&date=2007-11-06&new_month=11&new_year=2007 ოპერის მანიფესტის ხელმომწერები პრეზიდენტმა დაამშვიდა (President consoles Signatories to the Manifesto).] "24 Hours". November 6 2007.]

Korinteli is also known for his work as a cultural ambassador for Georgia and his promotion of Georgian folk music and folklore in general. He founded, in 2004, and has since managed an annual summertime folk culture festival Art-Gene hosted by Open Air Museum of Ethnography at Tbilisi. The festival also tours across Georgia, popularizing Georgian folk culture and collecting its obscure examples in the countryside. [ [http://www.georgiatoday.ge/article_details.php?id=3271 Art-Gene 2007: Annual Folk Festival Gears up for its Tbilisi Finale.] "Georgia Today", Issue #365. July 13 2007.]

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