The Sunday Mail
Andrew Moyo
TOMORROW night all roads lead to City Sports Bar where music industry giants Alick Macheso and Suluman Chimbetu will grace the popular Jam Session that has been dubbed, Sungura Explosion.
They will share the stage with other talented artistes including Peter Moyo, Romeo Gasa, Tendai Dembo, Somandla Ndebele, Tryson Chimbetu and Tatenda Pinjisi among others.
The show is a precursor to a sungura filled week, which has been dubbed, Sungura Week. According to organisers, the show and the entire week is dedicated to the memory of the late Leonard “Musorowenyoka” Dembo, who died on April 9, 1996.
With the line-up comprising of both the old school and new school sungura artistes, the show is bound to be an exciting affair. While there are numerous artistes from other genres who have lately been dominant in the industry, Baba Shero, as Macheso is popularly known, is one artiste to look forward to at the gig as he still commands a huge sungura following.
When it comes to stage performances, there are very few artistes who can match the sungura king who has come to be known for his antics on the bass guitar. While Macheso has been a dominant figure on the sungura scene, Suluman Chimbetu has been on the forefront of keeping the dendera torch alight.
A brilliant and seasoned stage performer, Sulu has never been one to disappoint his fans on any stage and tomorrow will be no different when he takes to the stage at the Jam Session.
With a fresh album that is probably his best work yet, fans are in for a treat as they will get to enjoy the new sounds.
Peter Moyo who is set to launch a new album in May will be out to prove why people should be on the lookout for his new project.
Many people already know what he is capable of on stage, which makes him one of the draw cards for the gig.
Most of the acts who are also performing are no pushovers either as they have proven their worth many a times.
Speaking to The Sunday Mail Leisure City Sport Bar Manager Mathias Bangure said they were excited to be hosting such calibre of artistes for this week’s Jam Session.
“This is the first time that these artistes are sharing the stage at City Sports Bar so I believe this is going to be one of the best sessions we have ever hosted at this club,” said Bangure.
“This will definitely be an explosive sungura experience and I am sure people who have seen Macheso or Sulu on stage know what I am talking about.”
He said the idea behind bringing all these artistes under one roof was to promote unity among local musicians.
“We are trying to preach unity among musicians and having big names in the industry leading by example is one way of putting our message across. On the other hand, we also want upcoming talent to shine and be recognised, so putting them on the same stage with big acts means they get more exposure.”
He said that they were setting the week aside for sungura with a host of other programmes lined up.
“We are calling it the ‘Sungura Week’ and we are doing this in remembrance of the late sungura icon Leonard Dembo who died in the month of April. Besides this special Jam Session, we are also hosting Uncle Charlie’s album launch on Wednesday where he will be supported by other artistes including Nicholas Zachariah, First Farai and Simon Mutambi to name a few.”
City Sports Bar’s Jam Session is only a year old but this platform has made a significant contribution to the local arts industry as it has enabled hundreds of artistes to showcase their talents.
