The jazz community is alive and well in Zimbabwe, with the 2023 edition of the Zimbabwe Jazz Festival which will be staged in both the Sunshine City Harare and Bulawayo the City of Kings this September. The annual event is presented by the Zimbabwe Jazz Community Trust and Alliance Francaise.
The festival kicks off in Bulawayo on Friday 22 September, with a free show hosted by Alliance Francaise de Bulawayo at their leafy premises on Heyman Road from 6 - 10 pm. The event will be graced by an exciting lineup of artists which includes Ngoma iNgoma, George Pahlane, Mahlaba, and Harare’s Josh Meck.
The Harare event offers a solid eight hours of great music from 2 - 10pm, with tickets at $20 on the day (or $15 in advance), and a ‘big bang for your bucks’ of 8 great acts: Max Vidima (back from SA), Victor Kunonga, Filbert Marova & Friends, Vera, Nicholar, Patrick Lupi, visitors Cool Crooners (from Bulawayo), and The Travellers Band (Gweru) - once again hosted by Alliance Francaise de Harare at 328 Herbert Chitepo Avenue.
According to the ZJCT Chairperson Robert Basvi, the festival is building on the successes of the 2022 event and "it'll leave an equally enduring flavour on the musical tastebuds of the Jazz lovers". The 2023 festival is running on a theme centred on local flavour, and audiences can expect a mixed bag of local Jazz interpretations dished out by Zimbabwe's various polished artists.
We urge all Jazz-lovers to come and enjoy sweet home-brewed jazz which will certainly whet their Jazz appetite and leave them with an enjoyable, lingering local flavour playing on their minds. The Zimbabwe Jazz Community Trust is very grateful to the main sponsors that have remained consistent in sponsoring the annual Zimbabwe Jazz festival and these are the French Embassy, the Alliance Francaise Harare and Alliance Francaise Bulawayo. - Robert Basvi (ZJCT Chairperson)
According to organisers other sponsors who are to be commended for being part of the event and supporting the art of jazz in Zimbabwe, are Total Energies, cfao, Utande, Fast Jet and Seed-Co.
The Zimbabwe Jazz Community Trust initiative is the brainchild of jazz veteran Filbert Marova and is steered by a small, dynamic committee that comprises both jazz artists and jazz lovers, who aim to revive, promote and preserve the Jazz culture of Zimbabwe, providing quality entertainment and education, thus culturally enriching our country.
Established in 2016, the trust immediately set out to stage a series of high-quality jazz performances, featuring both well-known and lesser-known hand-picked local jazz artists to keep the spirit of jazz alive.
The ZJCT Board of Trustees comprises Chairperson Robert Basvi – engineer/entrepreneur/music analyst; Filbert Marova - pianist, composer, and educator; Kumbula Chiweza – educator/jazz fanatic/property consultant; Tinashe Mukarati – saxophonist/music administrator and entrepreneur.
Promotional assistance for the Festival is provided by Kunzwana Trust, whose mission is to promote the work of Zimbabwean artists and instrument-makers for fair reward, and who have been strong supporters of Jazz in Zimbabwe over the last two decades.
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