Originally it consisted of Gito Baloi (bass and vocals), Ian Herman (drums and percussion) and Steve Newman (acoustic guitar).
They worked individually or as a band with Paul Simon and Sting,[3] and shared stages with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Suzanne Vega and Youssou N'dour.
Tananas were originally an essentially instrumental band allied to jazz but including folk elements and an unmistakably African set of sounds.
The group's latter stage recordings included more vocals by singer and bass player Gito Baloi, who sang in Shangaan, Tsonga and Portuguese.
At first glance, their music cannot be identified as typically South African, as they experimented with a wide variety of styles and merged them into their own unique blend.