Tuku, Sulu rekindle romance in Kadoma Oliver Mtukudzi
Oliver Mtukudzi

Oliver Mtukudzi

Entertainment Reporter
It is not every day that Superstar Oliver Mtukudzi  and Suluman Chimbetu perform together in Kadoma but when they do it’s a gig you don’t want to miss.
Mtukudzi or simply Tuku to his legion of fans is expected to perform alongside Sulu at Kadoma’s Odyssey Club on November 7.

“Tuku makes a welcome return to the mining city for a gig that promises nothing short of fireworks. It will be a night of fun with lots of entertainment lined up for the evening.

“For those who love to braai and enjoy the music, there is going to be BBQs and ice cold beer just the way fans love it. After Tuku and the Black Spirits comes Sulu and the Orchestra Dendera Kings,” Kudzaishe Matongo, the show organiser said.

The gig has the markings of a thriller considering that Tuku is riding on a wave of success with his new album titled “Mukombe Wemvura”. The album features the hit “Dzinga Hwema”.

Tuku is one of the granddads of Zimbabwean music.  His songs don’t carry explicit political messages, but he makes it easy to read between the lines.

According to Boston Globe what makes Tuku’s music so powerful is that he delivers his messages with a gritty vocal style reminiscent of Otis Redding over intricate interlocking patterns adapted for guitar from mbira.

“Tuku music also incorporates the hard-driving South African  mbaqanga beat and the katekwe drumming patterns of his Korekore people.

“A prolific artist — he’s released more than 60 album in Zimbabwe —  Tuku only started gaining widespread attention in the United States in the mid 1990s, when Bonnie Raitt began championing his music. She cited his song ‘What’s Going On’ as the inspiration for her tune ‘One Belief Away’ on her 1998 album ‘Fundamental’. More important, Tuku began working with Steve Dyer, who helped create his 1998 hit album ‘Tuku Music.’”

Far more than a musician, Tuku has been deeply involved in other art forms. He was featured in “JIT”, the first film with an all-Zimbabwean cast, and played a leading role in “Neria” a feature film for which he also wrote and arranged the soundtrack. He also wrote and directed the musical “Was My Child”, a production exploring the plight of street children in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

His recent short film was “Sarawoga”.

Lately, Tuku has been producing recordings by other Zimbabwean artistes from his Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton where he is also grooming young talents in several art disciplines.

 

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