A nine-piece music group from Bulawayo is proving that disability is not inability after landing an Oscar nomination for Short Documentary.
Music by Prudence is a short film produced by Prudence Mabhena, the lead singer of Liyana.
Liyana’s music was described by one magazine as “a fresh, bright sound led by a singer with the voice of an angel.”
The 35-minute documentary charts the band’s life story, with special focus on the 22-year-old Prudence who was born disabled and suffered rejection by her family at an early age.
Thomas Mapfumo to feature at the February Jazz Feast in North Carolina
Friday, 22 January 2010
African vocalist/musician, Zimbabwean-born, Thomas Mapfumo and his band, Blacks Unlimited, will begin their three-day engagement at Duke University with performances at The Duke (University) Coffeehouse. On February 25, 26 and 27, the same group will be in concert at Reynolds Theater on Duke University's campus with fellow Zimbabwean dancer Nora Chipaumire, who will be appearing here for the first time. Mapfumo and his group have been here before, when they played before a full house at the popular Carrboro, North Carolina, The Cat's Cradle. Their concert with Chipaumire is a collaboration called Moved and will be one of the first times the artist have performed together. This should be quite a treat to not only African music and dance lovers, but to people who have a keen sense of adventure and who like to view the different and unknown, especially art that has substance with an edge. Info: (919) 660-3348, Duke Performances,
By Larry Reni Thomas
MUSIC superstar Oliver Mtukudzi says he will star in his fourth feature film in 2010 and also plans to record an album featuring duets with musicians from other African countries.
The movie titled Sarawoga is based on a novel by the same name whose main theme centres on African power struggles in pre-colonial times.
The film gives a clear picture of how the undiluted African culture was and the important advisory roles played by ancestral spirits to the traditional leadership.
You are cordially invited to join others at the FundraisingBarbeque Event being hosted for our friend, sister and mother, Christine Mutambanengwe. As most of you know, Sis Christine (Mai MaTwins)has faced serious health challenges since being diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. This debilitating illness has left her incapable of working and supporting herself. As she battles with cancer she also faces kidney failure and lung infection. Now the Zimbabwean community is again demonstrating the compassion, love and humane connection as we meet onSat 10 October 2009 @White Rock Lake(WestSide)3pmto support the fundraising efforts to help Sis Christine.
The Mambos new cultural ambassadors - Dallas, Texas
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
By Gwinyai Dziwa.
A new African musical outfit, the Mambos, has been assembled in Dallas, drawing a rich experience in musical talent spanning decades. The group’s band members have vast experiences in Ghananian and Zimbabwean music genres such as museve, rhumba, chimurenga and Tuku. After opening in Austin, Texas at Copa Bar & Grill on August 28, they will perform in Dallas at Murphy’s Place on August 29 and another show on September 11 at the Lakewood Bar & Grill.
“We are excited to present our African culture through music, the group has a majority of their members coming from Zimbabwean bands, they will share music culture taped from Cape to Cairo, our audiences can expect to be on their feet for the longest – you just can’t afford sit down,” says Band Manager Clive Chinzou. The name of the group is reminiscent of the Harare Mambos and, ironically, the group’s keyboard player and bassist is Charles Jangano, the son of Green Jangano, the man who led the Harare Mambos from the late '50s.
HARARE - Zimbabwean music superstar Oliver Mtukudzi officially launches his 57th album Dairai in Harare on June 26. Tuku will launch the album at the Harare International Conference Centre with a gig featuring Sulumani Chimbetu and his son, Sam Mtukudzi.It will be one of the very few shows that Tuku has staged in Zimbabwe this year. Oliver Mtukudzi was born in Highfield, Harare in 1952, making him 57. “My first attempt to sing was my birth cry,” says Mtukudzi.
