Let’s Talk Zim Music

When you embark on national projects which benefit fellow citizens, it’s very rare not to face opposition from people who would be holding different views. There are always people who think that you should conduct business according to their thinking even though they will not, at any given moment, commit resources or their time to […]

My mother was born and bred in Shurugwi. Her parents worked at Gwenhoro Farm which was owned by the late Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Douglas Smith. That was where my father met my mother and they got married. I come from a family of five children, three girls and two boys. My two elder sisters

One balmy sunny morning, at the height of Zimbabwe’s fuel crisis, I took my place on a long fuel queue at one petrol station in Harare. Incidentally, a man who was in the same queue, waiting for his turn to be served came and introduced himself to me as Mr. Michael Andsen.  Mr. Andsen asked

Since 1990 and for a period spanning almost 30 years now, Mrs. Tomoko Takahashi has been a great inspiration behind the work of Jenaguru Arts Centre. She is a Japanese citizen and, co-founder and managing director of Jenaguru Arts Centre. The incredible woman encouraged me to do many things: to support fellow musicians who may

During the 1990s and the early 2000s, Jenaguru Arts Centre saw it as crucial and beneficial to the arts industry to engage the National Arts Council and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) on a regular basis concerning the way the music industry should be run. Our multiple stakeholder approach enabled all the participants to constantly

The late Simon Chimbetu attended my father’s funeral in Norton.  I felt honoured to have the presence of an artist of Chimbetu’s caliber among the people mourning my father. He drove all the way from Harare to bid my father farewell.  My father was well-known in Norton and surrounding areas as Mr. Zuda. Simon Chimbetu

Before embarking on an international music and dance tour, Jenaguru conducts thoroughdance rehearsals under the tutelage of Mr. Exhibit Simango, who is a well-known danceteacher in Zimbabwe. At times, Mr. Simango is assisted by Mr. Mputhumi Mandhla Hlazo and Mr. Aleck Bhokisi who are also accomplished dance teachers in their own right. Typically, a day’s

I was very adventurous when I was in my teens. I would travel all the way from Norton to attend music festivals at Gwanzura Stadium. Then during our Youth Club music sessions at Ngoni Hall in Norton, my age mates would gasp with both surprise and admiration as I narrated to them the things I

The main purpose of Jenaguru Arts Centre is to search for and discover talented artists especially those who major in traditional music and dance. Our mandate is to scout for talent in Zimbabwe. Due to financial constraints, our efforts are restricted to areas in and around Harare. Once identified, the artists are nurtured and given

Gramma Records and Zimbabwe Music Corporation (ZMC) were both subsidiaries of Lonrho Africa Plc. I understand that Lonrho sold Gramma Records to Mr. Julian Howard who was working for Lonrho as a legal practitioner. Mr. Julian Howard became the major shareholder of Gramma Records as well as its chairman.  By that time Gramma Recording studios