Sounds of Zimbabwe
by John Oseid
For years, I'd hoped to catch the Zimbabwean guitar great Oliver Mtukudzi. Last Sunday I got my chance when he came to New York on a U.S. tour that ends this weekend--if you hurry, you can catch him tomorrow evening at the Santa Monica Pier in L.A., or on Saturday or Sunday at Yoshi's Jazz Club in San Francisco.
"Tuku" is known as a fine lyricist who tackles social issues with a positive message. I can't speak to that, as he sings mostly in Shona, but with all the troubling news of late out of his Southern African nation, he has no lack of material.
The 56-year-old Harare native began his career working with Zimbabwe's musical elder statesman Thomas Mapfumo. His prodigious output, which includes a collaboration with Bonnie Raitt, is now approaching 50 albums.
Conde Nast Traveler's Ombudsman editor Sanjay Surana, our graphic designer extraordinaire Haisam Hussein, and I grooved to the rolling anthems of Tuku and his Black Spirits Band at the bandshell in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The program we saw was part of the Celebrate Brooklyn series of (mostly) free concerts.
With his Prospect Park set, Mtukudzi had the entire crowd on its feet with a multitude of different sounds, including South African Township jazz rhythms. His tight band included a marimba player and two young women who pulled triple duty: one on percussion, the other playing Zimbabwe's national instrument, the mbira, or thumb piano. Both sang lovely melodies behind Tuku's husky-voiced lead and joined him in synchronized dance steps that had the crowd on their feet. Above is a sample of the svelte bard's moves on the video for his gorgeous song "Ndakuvara."
A good place to discover one of Africa's leading artists is with his stirring 2000 album Paivepo on the Putumayo label. He also starred and sang in a well-reviewed 1990 comedy film, Jit.
You have one more weekend to catch Celebrate Brooklyn shows in Prospect Park this summer season. Oaxacan-American singer Lila Downs, whose music was featured prominently in Salma Hayek's film Frida, performs Mesoamerican songs of her own composition this Friday night, August 8.
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