Zimpapers Logo

Mthabisi Tshuma

CRACKERJACK Band Fusion and Ngoma Ingoma among others, left the crowd in wonderment when they presented top-drawer performances at The Place Jazz Festival that was held at the upmarket restaurant on Saturday night.

Hundreds of people braved the chilly weather with drizzles that gripped Bulawayo on Saturday as they came out to support the event which was held to raise funds for two young cricket players, Joseph Ncube and Tawanda Dumiso who are meant to travel to India next month for the U18 competitions.

The show kicked off just after 3pm with performances from Hudson Simba and Alois Kumbewu who set the jazz mood. With DJ Napstar on the decks alongside radio personality Babongile Sikhonjwa as the MC, the vibe was correct as imbibers quenched their thirst.

At around 10pm, the legendary Cool Crooners who have proved that with age comes maturity, gave a stellar performance with songs such as their popular Bulugwe Lami. 

They hailed Band Fusion members who backed them, for being able to master play their yesteryear hits.

However, a sound glitch which went on for about 20 minutes almost dampened the mood, but gladly, the sound engineers attended to it.

In between, bar proprietor Cathrine Sithole was out of words with the numbers that thronged the venue. She thanked everyone for the support over the years. 

“I’d like to say thank you for the support over the years. Thank you again,” she told the crowd.

Thereafter, Band Fusion took to the stage and performed for over an hour, classical songs such as Brenda Fassie’s Weekend Special among others. The group’s new recruit Buhle Sharon who is set to take the music industry by storm through her ardent strong voice, mesmerised the crowd.

The night was wrapped up by Ngoma Ingoma with their Amalobolo hit which people sang along to.

One of the organisers of the event, Lungile Ndlovu thanked the people of Bulawayo for coming out in their numbers to support the charity initiative. – @mthabisi_mthire