 Chris was born and raised in California where he began his apprenticeship with Master Drummer Titos Sompa (one of the founders of the African drum and dance scene on the West Coast of the U.S.) as a fifteen-year-old boy.This relationship led him into a ten-year journey through Africa.After originally arriving in Congo’s Brazzaville, his fascination of Zimbabwean "mbira" music eventually led him to Zimbabwe’s capital city Harare, where he settled and studied under "mbira" master Monderek Muchena for ten years.