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Andy Muridzo performs at the Jam Session

Godwin Muzari Arts Editor
Some years ago, music promotion meant unearthing talent and giving upcoming musicians exposure.

Many big musicians in the country made their names when they were given opportunities to showcase their talents as resident musicians for various clubs that dedicated slots to unknown, yet talented musicians.

The likes of Marxist Brothers (Simon and Naison Chimbetu), Oliver Mtukudzi, Leonard Zhakata and Marshall Munhumumwe, among others, built their careers because local promoters and venue owners prioritised giving musicians exposure.

Places like Mverechena Hotel in Domboshava, Mushandirapamwe Hotel in Highfield as well as Machipisa and Saratoga nightclubs were known for giving upcoming musicians platforms to shine.

Little-known musicians would be given midweek slots to sharpen their skills while weekends were reserved for the big names of that era.

As changing times continue to bring new styles and beliefs in the industry, music promoters have altered their operations. Most promoters have abandoned the mandate of giving platforms to unknown or forgotten musicians.

The common idea behind music promotion is now related to making money out of shows that feature the best local musicians or bringing in international acts. Most music promoters now weigh the benefits and losses of hosting musicians at their clubs or at big neutral venues.

In the yesteryear era when music promotion was about giving upcoming musicians exposure, jam sessions were common. These were shows that brought together various musicians to exhibit their talents in a relaxed environment where many of the artistes would take turns to present their acts in pubs and clubs.

It was a means to entertain patrons and give the musicians a testing ground for their works.

Over the past few years, the phenomenon of jam sessions had disappeared as promoters and club owners brought in new business models that favour popular artistes.

It is against this background that City Sports Bar in the capital has brought back Jam Session.

Since January, the bar has been hosting forgotten and upcoming musicians in an exciting session that has seen more than 10 artistes taking to the stage in a single session every Monday.

So far, more than 250 musicians have taken part at Jam Session and most of them have expressed satisfaction with the programme.

They have saluted organisers of the programme for giving them a platform to showcase their talents when other promoters are shunning them for popular musicians that attract big crowds.

Less popular musicians like Elijah Madzikatire, Cde Chinx, Hosiah Chipanga, Somandla Ndebele, Kapfupi, Josphat Somanje, Willom Tioght, Dino Mudondo and Taso have performed at Jam Session.

Children of popular musicians that include Tendai Dembo, Tendai Chimombe, Faheem Somanje, Ammara Brown, Biggie Tembo (Jnr) and Dereck Majaivana have also used the platform.

Other musicians that have graced the Jam Session stage include Madiz, Pauline, Tererai Mugwadi, Edith we Utonga, Kireni Zulu and Allan Chimbetu.

Musicians that spoke to this publication about the session said they are glad to have a stage where they can express themselves without competing for space with popular musicians of the time.

In an interview after his slot at the session recently, Chipanga said City Sports Bar had brought an important programme for musicians.

“Most promoters prefer to work with musicians that are in the limelight at a certain period.

“These are not promoters but businesspeople that are only worried about making money. It never used to be like that when I started music because promoters had a passion for uplifting musicians,” said Chipanga.

“I am happy to have a platform like this Jam Session to reconnect with my fans in Harare. Every musician has a following, but promoters of today look at the numbers and artistes that they believe would make business sense for them. I have many fans in Harare, but I last performed here a long time ago because promoters now prefer some musicians at the expense of others.

“They were happy when they hired us and made a lot of money, but they now ignore us because new musicians have emerged. That is not promotion. They should learn lessons from organisers of Jam Session. Every musician is important, but our times of popularity differ. We are all artistes and we deserve platforms to express our creativity.”

City Sports Bar director Biggie Chinoperekwei said they created the Jam Session to bring together musicians of various genres and backgrounds.

“This is a programme for every musician. We have shows where we consider popular musicians of the moment, but we also have space for everyone else.

“Many musicians came to us requesting for slots at shows and we felt we could create a platform where everyone has equal chance to be on stage. We do not discriminate and our motive is not to make money through this initiative,” said Chinoperekwei.

“We want any musician to be on stage and take advantage of our many patrons to showcase their skills. We have benefited a lot from hosting artistes and we believe it is now time for the artistes to benefit from our programmes.

“Jam Session is a platform made for all artistes and we want many musicians to take advantage of the project.

“It started well and we hope by the end of the year we will have given musicians space to reach out to fans, corporate organisations and promoters. It is also a chance for artistes to share ideas and exchange notes on various issues affecting the industry. It is their platform to be together and unite to map various strategies.”

Cde Chinx said it is important for musicians to regularly have get-together gatherings.

“You see, when you have so many musicians on one stage on a Monday night, it means we have time for light interaction.

“I think musicians should actually compete for slots to perform here. This is a relaxed environment where you do not perform under pressure. The crowd is appreciative and the response is encouraging,” said Cde Chinx.

“Promoters should not be obsessed with hosting ‘big names’ only. They should give everyone a chance to showcase on stage because I believe every artiste is special. We create different products and we should be able to deliver our products to fans regardless of the income that promoters expect. We need more of such initiatives.”

Mudondo was happy to feature at Jam Session on several occasions.

“I have been part of this programme for several weeks. We enjoy being together and mingling with our fans.

“It is a unique platform where we meet and interact as musicians. I have come here many times even when I am not performing and I have learnt a lot from other musicians,” he said.

City Sports Bar manager Yasin Dhala said they are targeting upcoming and yesteryear musicians with the aim of bringing unity among artistes.

“We have brought many yesteryear musicians and very soon Patrick Mukwamba of ‘Wapenga Nayo Bonus’ fame will be joining the line-up.

“Peter Tangwena, Paradzai Mesi and Calisto Nyamhute are also expected to join us soon. This programme bridges the gap between different generations in music and helps us to look beyond the current set-up in our music industry. We have a big dream for our artistes,” he said.

Yasin said one of their big achievements so far was bringing in visually impaired musician Daniel Gonora to the stage after a long time of street performances.

The musician performs with his children and has been using music as a way of attracting well-wishers on the streets.

Yasin said they are planning a big benefit concert for the musician since Jam Session was initiated to assist artistes in various ways.