‘Bra Louis’ Headlines Harare Event
THE much-acclaimed fifth edition of the Zimbabwe Jazz Festival 2022 roars to life today for the first time in Bulawayo before switching to the capital tomorrow, where celebrated guitar maestro Louis Mhlanga is scheduled to perform.
Themed’ Creative Freedom’, this year’s Festival will feature some of Zimbabwe’s finest jazz artists, and to celebrate this new jazz development in Bulawayo, entrance is free.
The Festival’s artistic director, Filbert Marova, told EnterSportNews that everything is set in place and ready for the Festival to take off.
“The rains have shown up in Bulawayo, but the appropriate contingencies are in place to address this concern. We are delighted that the Festival is happening in two cities for the first time,” Marova said.
“There is also a workshop planned for Bulawayo, and it will take place today, a few hours before the commencement of performances.”
Artistes to grace the Bulawayo event includes Ngoma Ingoma, the Cool Crooners, Rute Mbangwa and Buhle le Ngqondo.
On the Harare stage will be Intotal, TGV Entertainment, Prince Edward Jazz Band, Tanga wekwaSando, Louis Mhlanga, Dudu Manhenga, Jeys Marabini, and Jazz Invitation.
Marova highlighted that this year’s Festival’s theme reflects the essence of Jazz as a genre.
“Jazz is music rooted in freedom and creativity; thus, the theme points directly at the root of the genre as a whole,” he added.
“We expect to witness growth both artistically in how the musicians express their creative freedom in numbers in terms of how many people we reach and the diversity of people with this year’s two-city presentation.”
Organised by the Zimbabwe Jazz Community Trust (ZJCT) in collaboration with Alliance Française and the French Embassy, the annual Zimbabwe Jazz Festival is based on renowned artists but also invites young musicians to perform alongside them.
Two recent Zimbabwe Jazz Festival editions took place online due to the Covid -19 pandemic. This year’s edition will celebrate the return to live concerts.
“After the bleak Covid-19 lockdown years, some of our objectives have been met, and more restaurants and venues in Harare are opening up to live Jazz music entertainment after the genre made a comeback with sustained events by the ZJCT,” said Marova.
“We are bringing jazz back to the people again, and they will love it.”
In a statement, Alliance Francaise de Harare director Fanny Gauthier said Zimbabwe is full of talented musicians who boast of having contributed to the career of some of them and wish to continue this commitment.
“Together with our long-standing partners, we are joining forces for an event specifically dedicated to Jazz, a musical aesthetic closely linked to the African continent,” Gauthier said.
ZJCT Chairperson Robert Basvi emphasised that this is a festival not to miss, given that the legend we have always wanted to feature is here.
“As has become our tradition of continual improvement, we have once again raised the bar by bringing the guitar maestro, Mhlanga, to serenade his hungry Zimbabwean fans on this day of celebrating the creativity of Jazz,” he said.
“The other fine artists featured on the lineup have proven their mettle and will certainly make this yearly feast live up to its billing, to satisfy all Jazz appetites,” concluded Basvi.
