A café on the move

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

WHEN one looks at the entertainment calendar in Zimbabwe, there is no shortage of major events.
On any given weekend, the cream of amapiano acts troop into the country’s major cities, bringing with them an intoxicating mixture of high-octane stage performances and an ever-growing catalogue of hits.

Amapiano is a wave that has swept through the continent and Zimbabweans have not been spared.
For those locals who still prefer lush local instrumentals and lyrics that hit close to home, tjibilika and sungura artistes are still the undoubted first choice, which is why gigs featuring stars in these genres are not hard to find.

Everywhere one looks, there seems to be something for everyone, including sweet melodies for R&B lovers and even gigs and venues dedicated to dancehall and hip-hop.

In such an environment, jazz lovers seem to be the exception.
Since Jazz 105’s last Winter Jazz Festival was held almost a decade ago, fans of the genre have become orphans, finding occasional shelter in venues that sometimes accommodate what some now regard as a peculiar style of music.

Jazz music has apparently become the old man of Zimbabwean music — homeless, shunned and largely ignored.
However, Josh Hozheri, the veteran promoter whose Jazz 105 once gave jazz a place it could call home, believes he can bring the genre back to its glory.

On 8 August, the businessman and jazz enthusiast will launch the “Moving Jazz Café” at King’s Kraal in Bulawayo, a move he believes will breathe new life into a sleeping giant.

For Hozheri and his close collaborator, Afrika Revenge’s Mehluli Taz Moyo, the gig will not just be a reimagining of Jazz 105, but a homecoming of sorts, as they both cut their teeth in the City of Kings.

“Bulawayo has always had a great influence on my musical tastes and what I have done as a promoter. When I was a student in college, where I was attending Hotel School, I used to be a part-time bartender at Club Alabama and they used to play a lot of jazz music there.

“That is where I heard the likes of Paul Lunga and the music that I heard in those days was imprinted on my mind. So, when I went back to Harare, I had an idea of what I wanted to implement, which is where concepts like Jazz 105 came from,” he said.

The revered promoter and businessman added that jazz music had been instrumental in his personal growth, which was why he had made it a point to host local acts at the old Jazz 105. Thus, he said, it was fitting that the famed music café would make a return in the City of Kings.

“I got a greater love and understanding for jazz music when I was in Bulawayo and that is why, when Jazz 105 was at its peak, we used to bring the likes of the Soul Brothers and the Cool Crooners because these were acts that I saw people in the city fall in love with. I also fell in love with them while I was working there, so it is fitting that I bring things back to where everything began,” he said.

As enchanting as Bulawayo is for Hozheri, also known as Big Josh, the jazz fest, which will be headlined in its debut gig by Louis Mhlanga, Gog’ Bekezela and Hudson Simbarashe, will not be exclusive to the city.

The Moving Jazz Café, as the name suggests, will shift from city to city, giving Zimbabweans a taste of the finest jazz tunes by local and international artistes.

After the Bulawayo leg, another gig is slated for Harare the next day.
“Since the end of Jazz 105, people have always complained that we do not have a dedicated jazz venue in Zimbabwe. With this concept, we are saying let us come together and send jazz to all corners of the country.

“So, Jazz 105 will go around in Zimbabwe, spreading its wings beyond Bulawayo and Harare. We are already in talks with Thandiswa Mazwai, who will plan on taking us to Zvishavane. For that gig, we have plans for an all-female cast.

So, we are breaking new ground through a platform that we believe was sorely missed by jazz lovers,” explained Hozheri.

He added that he had been moved by the cries of jazz enthusiasts who felt that their genre of choice was largely neglected by local promoters.

“If you look at the current landscape in Zimbabwe, you will notice that we have a lot of amapiano shows, we have Zimdancehall gigs and sungura acts also have their fair share of the stage.

“However, something is lacking. There are no gigs or venues for people who love something more mature. All these genres and the gigs that promoters are bringing cater mostly to a certain kind of listener which should not necessarily be the case.

“We need something different for the people who feel that they have no place in these gigs that predominantly accommodate young people. That is where jazz music comes in and we are here to satisfy that need,” said Hozheri.