Zimpapers Logo

From Yoliswa Dube in Johannesburg, South Africa
THE atmosphere at the Sandton International Convention Centre was electric as two of Africa’s greats, Oliver Mtukudzi and Hugh Masekela shared the Conga Stage during the last lap of the Joy of Jazz Festival last Saturday night. The annual event brings together some of the world’s top jazz artistes. Mtukudzi, who opened the act with some of his greatest hits, drew roaring screams from thousands of fans from across Africa who had gathered to watch the duo perform. His South African counterpart, Masekela, popularly known as Bra Hugh also had the opportunity to sing some of his most popular songs to which jazz lovers also sang along.

It was a love relationship between the trumpet and the acoustic guitar as the two music gurus collaborated jazz and Tuku music to create a fusion of harmonies and melodies. Music knows no language and indeed the duo depicted this perfectly as Shona and Setswana were used interchangeably throughout the performance. Together with Victor Kunonga and Sam Mataure, the artistes memorably sang one of Mtukudzi’s most popular songs, Neria and Masekela’s Thanayi featuring Shai Shai Mbira Ensemble.

The diversity, vibrancy and energy lived up to the dictum that “sustained intensity equals ecstasy”. It was magic that one needed to experience in order to understand. The seasoned artistes, who kept their legion of fans captivated by their performance, took time to denounce xenophobia and violence against fellow Africans.

“This performance is our way of saying goodbye to xenophobia forever,” said Masekela. Speaking to UK-based broadcaster BBC about his collaboration with Mtukudzi, Masekela said he had been an admirer of the Zimbabwean music legend for over 30 years. “When I first discovered him in 1982, he never stopped to amaze me,” said Masekela.

Mtukudzi said the collaboration was a healthy one as he was also a fan of Masekela and his music. “It’s not just collaboration by education or design, we both had to do it at some point in our lives,” he said. The synergy, Masekela said, came from the fact that the two musicians are both inspired by heritage.

“Music is not a systematic thing, you can’t just collaborate with anybody, we come from the same rural beginnings. We fall easily into each other’s music. We enjoy what we’re doing together, more than the audience,” Masekela said. Mtukudzi said problems would always arise if people fail to re-collect their heritage.

“You’ll have problems if you fail to re-collect your heritage because I’ll believe I’m Zimbabwean better off than a South African or a Malawian, which isn’t true at all. We go back to our heritage and you’ll find that our heritage is the same throughout the whole of Africa. If we don’t believe in that and re-collect wisely, we’ll always be secondary,” he said.

This year marks the 18th edition of the Joy of Jazz Festival, which brings together nearly 30,000 music lovers and 40 musicians to a three-night spectacle of the finest and largest authentic jazz concert programme. Also performing at this year’s festivities were Steve Dyer, Jimmy Dludlu and Friends, Vusi Mahlasela, Simphiwe Dana and Ray Phiri with Stimela, among other popular names.