Hands on play and music making with the Kalimba, an African thumb piano.

Learn about the ethereal, mysterious kalimba, a.k.a. the African thumb piano, with expert Carl Winters.  Hear jazz, blues, gospel and R&B played on the kalimba and play it yourself while hearing how the instrument has been used in African cultures.  

Carl Winters was born in San Antonio, TX and comes from a musical family. His inspiration to begin playing/studying the Kalimba (African thumb piano) came in the 1970s from Maurice White, founder of Earth, Wind, & Fire. After playing with various jazz groups in Houston, Winters moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and became an elementary school teacher where he incorporated music into the curriculum. For 25 years, his students, known as the “Kalimba Kids”, performed for the Hayward Unified School District Superintendent & staff, the Mayor of Hayward & staff, churches, TV & Radio stations, restaurants, nursing homes and schools. Winters assists with the Allen Temple Baptist Church Children’s Choir. He has performed at the Smithsonian Institution, the Gullah Festival in South Carolina, the Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD) and various other museums and churches across the country.