Poor Harare show - Mtukudzi was grieving

Oliver Mtukudzi’s mediocre performance at the Chibuku Road To Fame was a result of bereavement, his manager has said. Mtukudzi’s manager, Sam Mataure, said the poor performance was not a result of the new look Black Spirits but that the superstar was still in a state of mourning following the death of his relative Wonder Mukonowenzou. “I don’t want to sound like I am defending the mediocre act, but the reason was because mudhara (Mtukudzi) was coming from a funeral in Chiweshe.  “What miracle did you expect from someone coming from a funeral?

Remember he had to cancel the Friday gig following the death of a relative who also happened to be his sound engineer. It would be wrong for anyone to say that it was the new band members who messed up.  “You know that Mtukudzi is not in the habit of putting up mediocre shows and quite honestly this was one of the sad moments for him,” Mataure said.  He said there was no way the band could have cancelled the show since it was a corporate gig. Mtukudzi lost his sound engineer, board member, relative and technical director Wonder Mukonowenzou last week and was forced to cancel his solo show which was scheduled for Jazz 105. Popularly known in music circles as Sekuru Nzou, Wonder had become part of Tuku Music and he engineered the sound on most of Mtukudzi’s chart-topping albums including “Nhava”. Mtukudzi or simply Tuku was one of the draw cards at the Chibuku Road To Fame national finals held at Glamis Stadium at the weekend.  However, Tuku and his backing group, the Black Spirits’ act received lukewarm reception from fans and instead it was Orchestra Dendera, Orchestra Mberikwazvo and Utakataka Express which thrilled crowds. Critics say it could have been the sort of audience which did not appreciate his music as there were a number of sungura artistes on the bill.  Tuku is set to lock horns again on September 30 at the same venue with the likes of Tongai Moyo, Alick Macheso, Suluman Chimbetu and dancehall star Winky D at a gig dubbed “Zim’s Finest.” Given such a line-up, music fans will be expecting nothing less but high-energy performances.