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Wellington Kudiwa Entertainment Reporter
German music star Max Frankl, who was recently in the country, has praised Zimbabwean musicians for their unequalled hospitality and respect they showed during his three-day visit. The comments came after the German artiste had embarked in a tour of Africa which saw him travelling to five countries on the continent. In an interview with The Herald Entertainment, Frankl said Zimbabwe was by far the best country that taught him the true value of inter-cultural relationships in music. “People in Harare were very kind, friendly, open and warm-hearted and I loved the way people care for each other.

‘’Zimbabean artistes really have much respect towards music and life in general and that is definitely something that I will try to import into my own culture in Europe where people tend to behave sometimes a little rudely and selfishly.”

After years of diligently working on his music and a deep understanding of his instrument, Frankl has become one of the most diverse and individual jazz musicians in Europe.

Born in 1982, on the outskirts of Germany’s southern jazz mecca, Munich, Frankl has managed to win an impressive amount of awards, including the prestigious ECHO-Jazz.

Frankl was part of a group for the tour and says he enjoyed his time in Zimbabwe.

“Together with Max von Mosch and Henning Sieverts we were invited by the Goethe Institute to tour Africa. We played in concerts, did workshops and had the most amazing time of our lives. One of the highlights was the recording session with our friend Alexio Kawara and the Shades of Black in Harare.

“We worked in a cosy studio and felt the eternal spirit of Mother Earth while playing music with amazing musicians and great human beings,” he said.

Frankl said that if any colloborations are meant to happen it will be with Kawara.

“I spent around three days in Zimbabwe, but I think I got some impressions by our short yet intense stay. I like everything that musicians from Zimbabwe play as it is connected to a deep groove that comes from Mother Earth and I think that is a quality that comes from the African continent and that is what moves people the most in music.”

Frankl added that he has actually learnt more than he expected from Zimbabwean musicians than the others from the African continent and hopes to disseminate his newly acquired knowledge of Zimbabwean culture and music to the rest of Europe, particularly in Germany.