LONG LIVE JOHN CHIBADURA

Clive Malunga Zim music Matrix

ONE morning, at the height of Zimbabwe’s fuel shortages, I joined a long fuel queue at one petrol station in Harare.

Incidentally, a man who was in the same queue, came and introduced himself to me as Mr Michael Andsen.

He asked me whether I was aware the three sons of the late John Chibadura stayed in Domboshava with their mother, Amaiguru Neria Chibadura.

He told me about how difficult it was for the Chibadura sons to establish themselves in Zimbabwe’s music industry.

The trio had decided to revive the Tembo Brothers band.

He told me that John Junior was the new Tembo Brothers lead guitarist, Simba the lead vocalist and Knowledge was on backing vocals and percussion.

Andsen, a die-hard fan of the late Chibadura, had been assisting the boys to perform around Domboshava by providing funds for transport, hire of instruments and posters.

His narration of the boys’ plight touched my heart.

It reminded me of my past relationship with the late sungura master. I used to meet Mukoma John regularly at Queens Garden Hotel.

He would buy me food without asking whether I was hungry or not.

At times, he would give me money which would last me a month or so.

I told Andsen that on his return to Domboshava, he must tell the Chibadura family that I was waiting for their phone call.

I decided to assist the young Chibaduras at any cost.

It was my turn to pay back for the love and care I received from their late father.

Andsen faithfully carried the message to the Chibadura family and I received a call from Simba.

I invited the boys to Jenaguru Arts Centre so that we could talk face-to-face.

I had last seen them at their Chitungwiza home when they were very young.

When they arrived, I told them about the support I received from their late father.

Then, I used to frequent their Chitungwiza house during the 90s, when my life’s graph had started rising.

I used to sell musical gadgets and combos that I got from Japan.

I had started organising Jenaguru Arts Centre, so many well-wishers were sending second-hand musical instruments from Japan.

My first port-of-call was always Mukoma John.

I also told the boys how their father stood with me when I started organising the Jenaguru festivals.

At the 1992 concert at Harare Gardens, Chibadura was one of the main attractions.

He graced the event and thrilled fans alongside dancer, Manyowa.

Chabadura supported me when I had no penny.

I promised to assist them with music recording, video production and advertising.

Our first studio booking was at Trutone Studio.

We recorded two songs; Vana Vangu and Ndinoda Iwewe.

However, the quality of the studio production was poor.

We paid for the two songs and proceeded to Red-Diamond to re-record the same songs.

They were charging US$15 per hour but I offered to pay US$50 per hour for quality music.

I am very particular about the quality of a music production.

I prefer to be in and out of the studio 20 to 50 times until I feel the music is ready for consumption

Our first single Vana Vangu became a huge success.

It was on all billboards challenging for the first position.

The song Vana Vangu was number one on Radio Zimbabwe, National FM, ZTV and it’s still trending well online.

We thank the fans for their support and encouragement as well as John, Knowledge and Simba, popularly known as JSK Chibadura or Tembo Brothers.

The media always supports us.

Their six-track album is now complete.

It was recorded and produced at our state-of-the-art Jenaguru Music Studio.

I worked with Gart Studio to record four of the songs.

On the Vana Vangu video we spent more than US$2500.

We have devised the name of our music genre as mbingura, which means a fusion of mbira and sungura music: mbi- from mbira and –ngura from sungura.

I added mbira, ngoma, hosho, semi-acoustic guitar and chipendani to sungura to make the flavour truly Zimbabwean.

We are now eyeing the already established international market in South Korea and Japan.

I am looking forward to seeing the boys establishing themselves in Chitungwiza by buying or building a property there.

I pray that they restore their father’s legacy or even surpass it.

Currently, we are busy planning the Tembo Brothers “Live in Concert” scheduled for early August.

This will coincide with commemorations to mark the death of Chibadura who died on the August 4 1999.

We are also planning to have a facelift of the grave site.

To the boys, they now need to exercise patience, maintain unity and stay focused.

Long live Chibadura!

 NB: For feedback, you can contact me on [email protected] or WhatsApp/SMS 0782 464 001.