The Book Cafe & Mannenberg, 12-20 December 2008
SPECIAL THIS WEEK
SAT 13, 2-5pm, SISTAZ OPEN MIC – Reflections 2008 & Resolutions 2009. Come on out Sistaz - This is UR space, come do UR thang! Song, Dance, Poetry, Whateva - An open mic platform for women artists, in the safety of daytime! - Register with Rudo B4 2pm on 793182, 792551.
A project by Pamberi Trust, supported by Hivos.
MON 15, 7pm, BOCAPA XPOSURE presents EDENE – R’n'B - young, funky, soulful, hip. A Pamberi Trust youth project supported by Hivos
WED 17, 5.30pm, LITERARY DISCUSSION – ‘BOOK OF NOT’ by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Speakers: Mandi Chikombero (Ohio Univ) and Josephine Muganiwa (UZ), chaired by Ruby Magosvongwe (UZ).
SAT 20, 2-5pm, BOCAPA XPOSURE OPEN MIC afternoon – your chance to shine! A platform for aspiring artists to show off their talent & potential. To perform, Register B4 2pm with Mandla. A Pamberi Trust Project supported by Hivos
SUN 21, from 6pm-1am – YOUNG ARTISTS UNITE on Unity Day Eve – A 7-hour spectacular featuring hot young groups on the block - Josh & Daniel Meck, Victor Kudakwashe, Reverb, Hope Masike, Tendai Manatsa, Chabvondoka!
MON 22 , BOOK CAFÉ & MANNENBERG CLOSED FOR UNITY DAY Read more
Hope’s songs of redemption
The Making of a Unique Band
“By the rivers of Babylon I sat and wept,” thus sang the long- suffering Hebrews in their time of Babylonian captivity. They found themselves singing God’s song in a strange land. But though the song speaks of tears, it is actually a song of hope and redemption. The very act of singing it meant that the singers had in actual fact symbolically freed themselves. And, in these turbulent times we live in, we need songs and singers with enormous emotional power that can heal our grief, assuage our anxieties and allow us to hope for a better future. Hope Masike neKakuwe have it in them to do just this and more.
Hope, second from left, and members of Kakuwe
The dream and vision to form Kakuwe was born long before Hope decided to enrol at the Zimbabwe College of Music. Born with music in her blood, an independent feisty spirit, Hope was always someone who marched to a different drum, and so it was not surprising that when she decided to take her music seriously, she wanted to form a unique band with a different sound. Read more
Why it was a Sacred Concert to remember
Scores of people of various ages and hues braved Harare’s sweltering heat on Saturday, 8 November 2008, to join the celebrations to mark 200 years of the abolishment of slavery with a performance of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts by the 50 strong Zimbabwe College of Music (ZCM) Choir and the Trio Arctic Band. The versatile and awe-inspiring Zimbabwean diva, Prudence Katomeni- Mbofana held the solo soprano reins.
The performance was a unique collaboration between the ZCM and their Norwegian counterparts courtesy of The Culture School of Fredrikstad as well as FK Norway. Each year three lecturers from ZCM go to Norway to guest lecture in an exchange programme that sees three Norwegian lecturers making the trek to Zimbabwe. This year’s trio, Tone Jordhus Søvik (saxaphone), Brith Løkken (trumpet) and Klæboe Eyvind Helseth were at the forefront of organising the concert. Linda Gjersoe Helseth (trombone) flew all the way from Norway to be part of this groundbreaking performance. Read more
Ellington’s Sacred Concert at the Mannenberg
2008 MARKS 200 YEARS since American president Thomas Jefferson signed the bill abolishing the slave trade in 1808.
In 1965 jazz master Duke Ellington, himself descended from slaves and recognized as one of the most influential figures in jazz, was moved to write three massive works that combined elements of jazz, classical music, choral music, spirituals, gospel, blues and dance. He called them his “Sacred Concerts,” and they were performed in churches and cathedrals around the world. He said it was the most important thing he’d ever done.
Because of the scale of the music and the sheer number of artists needed to execute each work, Ellington’s sacred concerts have rarely been performed in the 30 years since his death in 1974. Read more
This week @ the Book Café and Mannenberg: 23 Oct – 01 Nov 2008
SPECIALS THIS WEEK
The Book Café
SAT 01, 2-5pm, House of Hunger POETRY SLAM – GIVING EACH OTHER A BOOST – the ‘Feel Good’ Slam. Celebrating LIFE - Come Feel The Energy! All Poets Welcome. A Pamberi Trust Project supported by Hivos
SAT 08, 2-5pm, SISTAZ OPEN MIC – Come on out Sistaz With ATTITUDE – Song, Dance, Poetry, Whateva - this is UR space, come do UR thang! Register with Rudo B4 2pm on 793182, 792551. A Pamberi Trust Project supported by Hivos
Mannenberg
SAT 08, 8-9pm, Zimbabwe College of Music presents DUKE ELLINGTON’S SACRED CONCERT – featuring PRUDENCE KATOMENI-MBOFANA (soprano), TRIO ARCTIC BAND & the ZCM’s 50-strong choir – The Duke’s famous masterpiece in Harare for the first time ever: a rare treat for jazz-lovers! Limited seating, arrive early to get a good seat. (Followed at 10pm by Luck Street Blues). Read more
BAFA 2008 gets Harare dancing
Hararians put down their burdens last week for the Buddyz Annual Festival of the Arts held in the Harare Gardens. On the last two nights, Saturday and Sunday evening, the atmosphere was electric as Rute Mbangwa, Dudu Manhemda, Mambokadzi, Reverb, Jiggaz, Winfree and Edith katiji entertained the excited crowds.
Channel O visits Zimbabwe
Channel O VJ Rachel Stuart at last week’s Channel O Party at the Harare Gardens. The talented Zimbabwean born and raised socialite is also a renowned model. Present at the party was another Zimbabwean Buffalo Soldier, who won an award at the recent Channel O awards. Rachel was host of the party, back to back with DJ Tuneman, also of Channel O.
Power FM DJs- What happened to Squilla?
Hie
Can somebody tell me what really happened to Squilla. I remember during his last show on radio that’s Friday on PBS, he was saying that he will be putting up a show at the new Flammingo Drive Inn Saturday night. That was the last time I heard Squilla’s voice. The next time I heard the mentioning of my favourite dj’s name was during Hazvinei Sakarombe’s (DJ Chilly) show on Sunday. She was just saying “something terrible happened to Squilla” without mentioning what happened. A certain caller tried to ask Hazvi what had happened to Squilla but she chose to give a deaf ear and diverted the issue. Read more
Dancing under the stars
Dancing under the light of the stars at a recent dance event in Harare.
See more pictures.
Cornerstone- back on the block
Stu Charles on flute. PHOTO- Christian Hoppe
This Saturday afternoon, 25 October at The Book Café, Pamberi Trust presents a rich revival under it’s arts development programme with the return of CORNERSTONE, a funky/ R&B/ jazzy group that has been entertaining Harare audiences for almost two decades, both collectively as a band and also separately as individual artists. Read more
On The Zimbo Jam- Alick Macheso- Lucky Guitarist or Musical Genius?By Memory Chirere Although many Zimbabwean music lovers are agreed that Alick Macheso is the King of Sungura, the Zimbabwean brand of Rhumba, that is as far as the agreement will go. As Masimba Kuchera admits in an article on the Chesopower website, ‘there have been many schools of thought on the (real) strength of Macheso- some arguing about his skills with the bass guitar, some contending that it is his vocals and others proffering his dancing skills, it is generally agreed that the musician is of immense talent.’ When people agree that you are extremely talented but go on to debate hotly about exactly whether your strength lies in theway you walk or the way you run, then that is a mark of genius. You actually put people in a crisis of naming aspects of a phenomenon.
- A Dance Farewell for Isabel MatolaBy Ruvimbo Hope Masike Here is one of the most beautiful things about Zimbabwe. It is inimitably Zimbabwean. We Zimbabweans love peace, of course, among other things. We love fun, joy and we are naturally celebratory people even when there isn’t much to celebrate about. For instance young children jump around joyously chanting “Ndege! Ndege!” when an aeroplane passes over them. Now when there is something worthy of the celebration, the joy is electric, understandably so, considering how almost everything else around us is seemingly dull and confusing and uninspiringly so. As a result, when Isabel Matola’s Mozambique Dance Festival came by, it turned out to be one of the brightest lights in town, which was a well deserved acclaim.
- Kanda Bongo Man Lands in Harare With One Guitar[Herald] France-based rhumba maestro Kanda Bongo Man had just one guitar when he set out to perform at the Harare International Conference Centre on Wednesday evening, and his day was saved by a local musician who offered him his instruments on the 11th hour to avert what could have turned out to be an international disaster.
- Alick Macheso- Lucky Guitarist or Musical Genius?
