Zimbabwe Jazz Festival shares Bulawayo and Harare line-ups

The Bulawayo line-up includes Josh Meck, Ngoma iNgoma, George Phahlane and Mahlaba, while the Harare show will feature Victor Kunonga, Maxwell Vidima, Filbert Marova and Friends, The Cool Crooners of Bulawayo, Vera, Patrick Lupi, Nicholas Mutuwa and The Travellers.

The festival will kick off with a free show hosted by Alliance Française Bulawayo from 6pm to 10pm. The Harare concert will offer a solid eight hours of music from 2pm to 10pm, at Alliance Française Harare. Tickets to the event are selling at $20 on the day and $15 in advance.

“Following the success of 2022, this year’s festival promises to leave an equally enduring flavour on the musical taste buds of the jazz lovers we are welcoming,” the Zimbabwe Jazz Community Trust [ZJCT] chairperson Robert Basvi said. “Running on a theme centred on local flavour, audiences can expect a mixed bag of local jazz interpretations dished out by Zimbabwe’s various polished artists.”

He added: “The ZJCT is very grateful to the main sponsors that have remained consistent in sponsoring the annual festival and these are the French Embassy, the AllianceFrançaise Harare and Alliance Française Bulawayo.”

The ZJCT was founded in 2016 by jazz veteran Filbert Marova and is steered by a small, dynamic committee made up of jazz artists and jazz lovers. It seeks to provide quality entertainment and education, and promotes, preserves and revitalises Zimbabwean jazz culture. Immediately after it was founded, it began staging concerts that showcased established and upcoming jazz artists. Aside from Basvi and Marova, other ZJCT members include Kumbula Chiweza and Tinashe Mukarati.