The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe
THE Zimbabwe Jazz Community Trust will hold the second edition of the annual Zimbabwe Jazz Festival on October 27 at Chez Zandi.
This comes at a time when the trust has successfully rebuilt the status of jazz music in the country, hosting weekly jazz sessions under the banner “Back to Jazzics”.
The weekly gigs have seen the number of attendees growing exponentially over the past one year.
Like was the case last year, the festival will feature the crème de la crème of local jazz acts, among them Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana, Hope Masike and Rute Mbangwa. Not to be outshined, the male acts on the line-up are also top-notch, with the inimitable Bulawayo-based group, The Outfit, leading the pack alongside Tanga Wekwa Sando, the legendary Cool Crooners as well as new kids on the block, Intotal.
“This year, the trust has cast its net wide by incorporating jazz talent from as far afield as Bulawayo and Mutare. This is in line with its objectives and drive to make the festival a national event. There will be various types of jazz exhibited at the festival. We will have smooth jazz, township jazz, Afro-jazz and classic jazz,” said the trust’s spokesperson, Tinashe Mukarati.
To add more magic to the festivities on the day, an album titled “Zimbabwe Jazz Chapter 1” will be launched. The album features acts such as Raven Dutchess and Nonhlanhla Muhoni. The brains behind the album, veteran jazz musician, Filbert Marova said the six-track album is sizzling.
“The album will be the first in a series branded Zimbabwe Jazz, which is an initiative of Back 2 Jazzics, a company committed to promoting Zimbabwean jazz music. It is a scorcher,” said Marova.
Speaking on the Zimbabwe Jazz Community Trust’s “limited” success, Mukarati said corporate support is the only missing link in helping them achieve their goals.
“As a non-profit organisation, we appeal to the corporate world to assist us with funding to enable us to realise our objectives. Jazz is a fantastic genre of music to be enjoyed by all and we wish to ensure that Zimbabwean jazz is consumed and appreciated nationally and internationally,” said Mukarati.
He also revealed that besides the weekly shows in the capital, they plan to replicate the same programme in various towns as well as host workshops for jazz artistes.
He said: “As a trust, we also aim to create opportunities for more jazz artistes to emerge while at the same time setting and maintaining a high quality standard for the genre. We intend to empower jazz musicians and businesses operating within the jazz industry through strategic and mutually beneficial partnerships and projects.”
The French Embassy, Alliance Francaise and Chez Zandi are working on making the 2018 jazz festival a reality.
