adminthrough turbulence in the last few months following the departure of some of Orchestra Dendera Kings band members.
His return to the band that he once moulded during the time of the late Simon and Naison (Chimbetu) was met with enthusiasm by both fans and other band members.
He held his first show with the band at the Jazz 105 on Saturday night, and you could not doubt the inherent talent he is gifted with as he tried to gel with the rest of the crew.
The firebrand guitarist and composer expertly played the guitar, while paying particular attention to movement, poise, rhythm and choreography from other band members, who were equally doing the same, albeit displaying the arrogance of that of a master over his teacher.
Although they were trying to initiate him into the game, they should have not bothered, because Solo has crossed the lenghth and breadth of Zimbabwe’s music circles, where he has teamed up with legends in the form of Nicholas Zakaria, Sherphard Chinyani and the late Simon and Naison.
Despite his flirtation with different bands and genres, Solo has managed to retain the dendera flavour, something that fans could easily pick as he went through the paces with everyone else.
It appears that his relationship with Fogo Fire, which unfortunately did not yield much despite the sweat and effort that he put into the band — also strengthened his love for dendera, the genre that moulded his musical career.
Commenting on Solo’s return, Orchestra Dendera Kings band manager Knowledge Nkoma said the band was happy to have him back.
“I am glad that we have managed to reconstitute the original Orchestra Dendera Kings.
“His return will further consolidate the efforts we have been making in rebranding the band, while retaining the original dendera flavour,” he said.
Solo started his music career in the early 1980s where he joined the defunct Vuka Boys that featured the likes of Zakaria and Chinyani, among others.
In 1984, he crossed the floor to join Simon Chimbetu and the Marxist Brothers, where he claims to have garnered more experience in music under the tutelage of Simon than anywhere else.
During that time, he assisted Simon in a number of compositions that included some of the group’s hit songs, “Mama Elizabeth”, “Kunjere Kunjere”, “Dendera Resango”, “Africa” and “NguvaYakaoma”, probably some of the best songs Marxist Brothers did during that time.
However, his romance with the band ended in 1987 after Simon and Naison split.
Solo moved on and joined Ketai Muchawaya of the Simba Brothers, however, the liaison did not last, resulting in the formation of his own band — Fogo Fire.
Solo was, however, to learn that convincing consumers was no mean job after several singles that he did for four years, failed to impress on the market.
His breakthrough came in 1994 when he recorded the album “Mari Muenzi” that fetched better sales than the previous singles.
It was soon after this golden period that pressing family issues overshadowed his career at a time when he should have been strengthening it .
In 1998, he bounced back and released another album, “Chandada Ndichoco”.
But perhaps he had already missed his ideal moment because he was immediately overshadowed by the then new crop of artistes that included Alick Macheso, the late Tongai Moyo and Somandla Ndebele, who were already dominating the charts.
Since that time, his fortunes have been on the wane, a situation that could have prompted him to retrace his footsteps and rejoin Orchestra Dendera Kings.
Whatever situation he could have been in, there is no doubt that his presence at Orchestra Dendera Kings is expected to further rejuvenate the band’s act, as it tries to maintain its position on the market.
Online Reporter