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Bruce Ndlovu .
JAZZ has been derided as a dead or dying genre, and should one look at the line-up of most nightspots in Bulawayo on most weekends it would not be far-fetched to assume this was so.
House, dancehall and hip-hop are the common staples that music lovers are fed weekend after weekend.
However, a new player on the scene is trying to bring the groove of jazz music back.
Music lovers in the city are in for a rare treat this weekend when the Vintage Shisha Bar opens its doors to the public.
Vintage Shisha Bar is located at what was formerly known as Exchange Bar and launches under new management, having undergone refurbishment. The new owners have maintained some of the bara��s pre-colonial artefacts and blended in a contemporary touch.
Run by Bulawayo socialite and showbiz entrepreneur Rejoice Mafukidze, Vintage Shisha Bar promises to revive the jazz scene in Bulawayo.
In an interview with B-Metro this week, Mafukidze said the new bar would cater for the discerning jazz listeners who crave for a live stage moment in the heart of the city.
a�?Vintage Shisha Bar is set to be the place to go to for the mature reveller and as an illustration of this on Saturday, local band Djembe Monks will be on our stage,a�? said Mafukidze who also runs Backroom Shisha Lounge at Bradfield Shopping Centre.
Mafukidze said she invested a lot to have the new place appeal to the modern partygoer.
a�?Most of us will remember that the old bar at Exchange Buildings resembled an era long gone. So, we thought of redesigning the place and have it fit modern times.
a�?We gave the place a makeover. With this bar we want to highlight what it used to be back in the 1900s and what it is now. We have preserved its historical paintings, ceiling, animal hunt trophies. We also kept some artefacts that depict the history of the place and how it came about. In doing so, we highlighted what is was and also added some contemporary dA�cor that will please todaya��s bar patrons and music lovers.a�?
The bar not only serves as a jazz music and drinking place, it offers the much talked about Shisha smoking culture as well.
Shisha smoking, a relatively new custom in the city, is a single or multi-stemmed instrument for vaporising and smoking flavoured tobacco, whose vapour or smoke is passed through a water basin, often glass-based before inhalation.
Mafukidze said on the launch weekend, willing patrons will have a sample of the Shisha.
a�?The bar derives its name from the age old tradition of Shisha smoking. Smokers of flavoured tobacco will enjoy this experience while they wine and dine in a jazz music environment.a�?
Online Reporter