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Raymond Jaravaza, Showbiz Correspondent
INSPIRED by his grandfather, a guitarist who was a part of a jazz group in the 90s — a Bulawayo musician has set his eyes on being part of a younger generation of performers that are resuscitating the genre.

Jazz originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

As early as the 1920s, jazz musicians were using their music to call attention to discrimination and the ill-treatment of black people as slaves.

The tradition of jazz musicians raising awareness of social injustices continues today.

“Jazz has always been considered as music for the old, but as a young musician who grew up listening to my grandfather play the genre with his group that was called Mazi a Moyo, I want to use jazz to spread a message of love and tolerance to one another as human beings.

“People always ask me why I’m into jazz when musicians my age are into the latest genres like Amapiano. I tell them that music is a universal language that can be used to spread awareness to social issues that affect people in the communities that they live in and jazz is one such music genre that has been used to do just that for centuries,” said 24-year-old Ashley Ndhlovu.

Like any other young musician cutting his teeth in the industry, funding his career from his pocket is one of the biggest challenges that he faces.

“Studio time is very expensive and I struggled financially when I started. But I was lucky to link up with an old friend, Benjamin Shawa who offered me free studio time to record my singles.

“There are no shortcuts in the music industry thus I’ve learnt that patience and doing what I love the most over and over again is the only recipe to success,” said Ndhlovu.

To date, the young muso who has performed with talented contemporary artiste, Nkwali, has recorded an EP that has five songs.

“My music talks about love, unity and respect. I’ve performed with musicians such as Noma Nkwali, a contemporary musician who has been in the industry for a while now, African Tribe and Precious Ndebele. I’ve also performed at the National Art Gallery as a solo artist,” he said. — @RaymondJaravaza