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Simbarashe Mutizwa Showbiz Reporter
OOMPH! Verve and energy are the words one can use to describe the Cool Crooners, one of the oldest jazz bands in the country.
Their melodious and enticing vocal skills have for the past years ensured they attain the iconic status as the gran-daddies of jazz music in the country and in the process putting the City of Kings and Queens on the map.
The Bulawayo-based crooners still have fire burning in them as they proved on Thursday night when they sent the crowd into a frenzy with their music mixed with silky dance moves showing they still have the spark of yesteryear.
The Cool Crooners gave the audience value for money after putting up an electrifying performance during the Intwasa Spring Jazz show at the Rainbow Hotel.
Formed in 1999 after merging two jazz bands from Bulawayo, Cool Four and the Golden Rhythms, Abel Sithole, Lucky Thodlana, Timothy Mnkandla and George Salimu came together to form the Cool Crooners.
The group has shared the stage with some of the country’s renowned jazz musicians such as Dudu Manhenga, Bob Nyabinde, Jazz Invitation and Tanga WekwaSando.
Speaking to Chronicle Showbiz, one of the co-founders of the group, George Salimu, said the group depends on exercises as a way to keep fit for the stage and have nimble feet even at an advanced age.
“We take exercises and practise very seriously. Whenever we go for our rehearsals we make it a point that we reserve some time for exercises and we do not only do this at rehearsals but also at home,” he said.
Salimu added that the Cool Crooners, who have proved their mettle both at regional and on the international stage, forget about age whenever they are performing on stage.
“We know that we’re getting old for this business and at some point we’ll have to retire but when we’re on stage, we forget about our age and give our audience a good time as we’re billed to do that.
“Our stage performance at times comes naturally. We usually look at the crowd and see what they want and from there we make sure that we do our level best,” he said.
Salimu said the group, which has three albums to their name — Blue Sky in 2001, Bhulugwe Lami in 2002, and Isatilo in 2005 — are working on their fourth album which is set to be released later this year.
Online Reporter