adminof aerodynamics which states that “it is possible that something can go up and remain there”.
Both these laws, although they happen to be conflicting scientific theories, seem to apply to music.
Depending on what period of time it is, every genre of music has its name and time. Recently I gave an example of how dancehall music has evolved from ska, to reggae then to ragga. Jamaicans can testify to this. So we need not worry too much if we cannot find a solid name for Zimbabwean music.
Everything has its time. The days of tsava tsava are gone, then we had marabi and jiti. That’s gone too! We then moved to sungura. We are now at a stage of finding a new name for modern Zimbabwe music.
Controversy has arisen over what it is they call jazz in this country. Is it the music that is played by Devera Ngwena Jazz Band? Is it dendera or is it sungura? To me the music called jazz is that music which was born sometime around 1895 in New Orleans. It combined elements of ragtime, marching band music and blues.
What differentiates jazz from other styles of music is the widespread use of improvisation, often by more that one player at a time.
Jazz represents a break from Western musical traditions, where the composer writes a piece of music on paper and the musicians then try their best to play exactly what is in the score.
In a jazz piece, the song is often just a starting point or frame of reference for the musicians to improvise around.
The song might have been a popular ditty or blues that they didn’t compose, but by the time they are finished with it they have composed a new piece that often bears little resemblance to the original song.
Zimbabwe jazz is different as it follows Western musical traditions.
Some musicians will copy a Duke Wellington or Louis Armstrong song note for note without their own input.
This is where Zimbabwe jazz differs from jazz in New Orleans.
In Zimbabwe, there are hundreds of musicians who are in one way or another connected to jazz. Some have since died and others are still in business.
Among them are groups and individuals such as The Cool Crooners, Mbare Trio, Epworth Theatrical Strutters, The City Quads, Shot-Gun Boogie, Sunny Sondo, The Milton Brothers, Faith Dauti, Victoria Chingate, Summer Breeze, Harare Drive, The Gay Gaeties, Alick Nkata, Jeremiah Kainga, City Slickers, The Marshall Brothers, Broadway Quartet, Simangaliso Tutani, Chris Chabuka Jonah Marumahoko, Andrew Chakanyuka, Louis Mhlanga, Lina Mataka, Mabel Bingwa, Dorothy Masuka, The Survivors’ Band, Two Plus Two, Harare Mambos, Fanyana Dube, Paul Lunga and Jazz Impacto, Basil Kampeu, Moses Kabubi, Mhepo, Mudzimu, Hilton Mambo, Vimbai and Tinashe Mukarati, Fungai Malianga, Bob Nyabinde, Philip Svosve, Jabavu Drive, Philbert Marova, Dumi Ngulube and Amagents, Roger Hukuimwe, Timmy Makaya,
Ernest Tanga Wekwa Sando Duduzile Manhenga, Maita Women’s Jazz Band, Patience Musa and The Other Four, Jazz Invitation, Claire Nyakudyara, The Six Band, Mateo and Friends, Sam Mataure, Penny Yon, Edith weUtonga, Gibson Mandishona, Too Open, Victor Kunonga and many more, are all involved somewhat with Zimbabwe Jazz music.
You see, I have not included Winky D, Oliver Mtukudzi or Sulumani Chimbetu in the above list because in my view, although they are the most popular music artistes in the country, they are strictly not jazz artistes.
Because of their popularity, the organisers of the Winter Jazz Festival that begins this week have thought it wise to include them in order to attract huge crowds.
That decision might backfire because jazz fans are a particular class of people who may not want to mix with the ghetto youths and the dreadlocked ragamuffins whom Winky D is likely to attract. As the saying goes: “It’s not all that jazz”!
This helps to explain why we are still in confusion about what to call Zimbabwean music. One thing for sure is that we cannot categorise all music played by the different Zimbabwean musicians under one umbrella. Impossible.
Music, worldwide, has been in existence since the beginning of mankind. Like Western music, Zimbabwean music must go through an evolution which needs to be documented.
It is, however, difficult to establish when Western music began to be documented. There are documents written on Western music dated as far back as 200 but not much is known about the musical activities that transpired during that period.
However, it is known that between 1450 and 1600, a period known as the Renaissance Breakaway, brought about a lot of musical activity in European history.
The word “Renaissance” means “rebirth” or “revival”. In the West this period was marked by the rebirth or revival of learning. It was also marked by a revival of artistic and cultural values of the ancient Greeks.
This was also the period of scientific discovery and exploration. Without a foundation of written documents, it is difficult to outline the history of how music started in Ancient Greece, but it is generally believed that during the 200s and 300s, the Franks, a barbaric tribe, stormed across the Greek and Roman Empires absorbing whatever elements of culture they encountered and started to initiate a new phase of cultural synthesis.
Through this process of acculturation and search for their own cultural values, Frankish energies and talents eventually found their own modes of expression. Frankish music was extremely complex but they began by calling it Gregorian Chant after Pope Gregory 1 who was supposed to have set the repertory in order. It was the church services, for theological reasons, that set the pace as music was part of the Gregorian repertory at the Roman church masses. Portions of the music attracted the attention of composers.
The part of a Roman church mass called the synaxis (from synagogue) simply consisted of a prayer, a scripture reading or a lesson, followed by psalm singing.
Another part consisted of an epistle and gospel which were songs sung by the priest to melodic formulas. Thus the first history records of Western music music came from the Roman chants through the Gregorian Chant and Roman Liturgy between 700 and 800 AD until new innovations came about during the Renaissance period.
The great voyages of famous names such as Christopher Columbus took place during the Renaissance period. The study of astronomy also began during this period. It was indeed a period when music composers became more free to express themselves.
Medieval music which came before the Renaissance Breakaway was restrictive and was centred around Medieval church modes.
In the Renaissance period, composers took a keener interest in writing secular musical pieces with a different texture. Renaissance composers became more interested in harmony, more expressive music and it was mainly sung a-cappella, that is without instrumental backing but with four voice parts which blended together perfectly without discord.
This period also saw the development of choral music. For instance in Venice, St Marks’ Cathedral had two organ lofts with galleries for singers and instrumentalists. Polychoral music in churches became the order of the day as composers began to write music for two or more separate groups of musicians.
They also enjoyed a phenomenon known as antiphony which is the musical effect of passing musical ideas to and fro different groups.
In polychoral music there was a mixture of chordal style and contrasts of various kinds between groups, that is, pitch, dynamics, texture and timbre.
Composers also began to write music intended for instruments alone mainly for listening and dancing to. Developments in music over the years led to new forms of music known as Baroque, then Classical followed by Romantic music and then Popular or pop music. (In the Classical Realm, Europeans still expose their generations to music which is easily 300-400 years old and it is placed on a pedestal – the likes of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tschaikovsky) etc, still live on in hotels as piped music and recitals are held to honour these legends).
Musicians, music promoters and organisers of musical events need to understand these different clusters of musical forms and how they came into being before erroneously giving a name to different types of music.
Dorothy Masuka was on stage in April at an event organised by Harare Jazz Festival and she sang a rendition of Elvis Presley’s “You Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog” in its pure rock form. Sulu Chimbetu and Dudu Manhenga sang “Samatenga” then there was a purely rock ‘n’ roll group from Italy.
In my view all these artistes were misplaced at a jazz event unless the organisers felt that all music which brings in money is jazz. It’s not all that jazz! Not all music is jazz. Period!
- Fred Zindi is a professor at the University of Zimbabwe. He is also a musician and an author of several books on music. He can be contacted via e-mail on [email protected]
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