Gito Baloi

Who was Gito Baloi?

Gito Baloi was an African musician, born in Mozambique. Originally known for his collaborations and as a member of the trio Tananas, his haunting voice and bass guitar also shine through his solo albums "Ekhaya", Na Ku Randza", "Herbs & Roots" and the posthumously released "Beyond". Gito collaborated with Jason Armstrong in 1996 and 2000 on two albums, Desert Voices, and was bass player in the band Somewhere Else together with Armstrong, George Sunday and Gaston Goliath during 1993. Baloi sang vocals in the song "Mountain Wind" on the album "Bush Telegraph" by Landscape Prayers, and was also credited on the album for production and mixing. In 2004, Baloi recorded "Sweet-Thorn", a duo album with Landscape Prayers guitarist Nibs van der Spuy.

He was shot dead in Johannesburg, South Africa on April 4, 2004 while on his way home from a concert in Pretoria. He was 39 years old.

In 2008, "Beyond", a posthumous album, was released, with 100% of its proceeds going to the Gito Baloi Memorial Trust, which was set up for Baloi's children. Gito had begun recording the 10 tracks and the production was completed by Dave Reynolds and guests including Steve Newman, Paul Hanmer, Ian Herman, McCoy Mrubata, Moses Khumalo, Pedro Da Silva Pinto, Tlale Makhene, Tony Cox, Frank Paco, Nibs Van Der Spuy, Deepak Ram, Rui Soeiro, Bernice Boikanyo, Paulo Chibanga, Thuli Mdlalose, Eliot Short, Vusi Maseko and Graeme Sacks.