As told to Grant Smithies, Stuff
Born in Whakatāne and raised in nearby Ruatoki Valley, Whirimako Black (Ngāi Tūhoe) is this country’s most graceful jazz singer, moving fluidly between English and te reo Māori, with a dry, smoky lower register and an uncluttered delivery that owes much to great American divas Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Dionne Warwick.
She’s equally at home working with legendary Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong orchestral arranger Russ Garcia or shaking the bass-bins on tour with Salmonella Dub, and once appeared on a cross-cultural concept album with R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Senegal’s Baaba Maal and veteran Jamaican vocalist Horace Andy.
Alongside fellow bilingual vocal stars Allana Goldsmith and Leon Wharekura and musical director Dixon Nacey, Black closes this year’s Auckland Arts Festival with He Kete Waiata at Auckland Town Hall on March 26.
I WISH, 10 YEARS AGO, I’D KNOWN…
The same as I know now. Really, it’s too late for wishing about the past, and I have no regrets. I’ve learned something from everything I’ve done, and I have faith in the direction I’m travelling. I have been bilingual from the age of 5 and decided early on to sing and record mostly in te reo Māori, which is my first language. I hold my own in this space, and I’m happy with the course I’ve taken.
I WISH I COULD SWAP LIVES WITH…
No-one! I accept everything about myself these days. I’m proud to be Māori while embracing my Pākehā whakapapa as well, and I’ve learned from the resilience and the frailties and the strengths of both sides. My journey has been unique, and the things it has taught me are very valuable to me.
“I have been bilingual from the age of 5 and decided early on to sing and record mostly in te reo Māori, which is my first language.” Photo / Supplied
I WISH, EVERY DAY I COULD EAT…
More food grown by my own hands. I have a garden now. I’m getting ready for the recession! I have garden beds, and I Google how to do things. I’ve eaten all my lettuce now, but I’ve still got turnips, beetroot, capsicum, chillies, tomatoes. It can be costly to set up, but I love eating organic food, grown by the sweat of my brow, and getting your hands down into Papatūānuku helps you stay grounded and get over yourself.
I WISH I COULD LIVE IN…
Either Taupō or the East Coast. If I wasn’t here in Whakatāne, I would maybe live in Taupō because I whakapapa to there, through my grandmother, to Ngāti Tūwharetoa. I also whakapapa to the East Coast, so there would be a lot of good kōrero to be had in both those places with those sides of my whānau.
THE PERSON I WISH WAS ON A BANKNOTE IS…
Any one of the great Māori female leaders, really. There are so many outstanding wāhine it could be, but one standout for me is Whina Cooper, who worked so hard to unite people under a common cause.
THE NOISE I WISH I COULD NEVER HEAR AGAIN IS…
Cars. Remember during lockdown? There were so few cars around that it was really quiet for people as well as for all the little creatures around the place. I loved it!
I WISH I COULD SPEND A SUNDAY WITH…
My old people. All those who've passed on and taken the knowledge with them, from both sides of my whakapapa, Māori and Pākehā. I still have so many questions I’d love to ask them all.
I WISH AOTEAROA WAS MORE…
Friendly and open towards one another. It’s disappointing when you walk past people and they disregard you and look away. During the lockdowns, we saw each other all right. We were mindful of one another.
But most of the time, people are locked within themselves and don’t make the effort to really see other people. We need to look each other in the eyes, acknowledge each other, and realise that all of us, whatever our age or culture, have something valuable to offer one another.