Sulu to host solo show at Cresta Oasis tonight

Sulumani Chimbetu

One of Zimbabwe's top dendera musicians, Suluman Chimbetu, will for the first time hold a solo concert in Harare tonight. The solo concert dubbed "Music with Sulu", which will be held at the Cresta Oasis Hotel in the capital, will be a litmus test for the musician and his fans, who for once would measure the young's vocal and instrumental ability without the backing of the Orchestra Dendera Kings.

However, it should prove to be an easy task for the affable young musician to rock the crowds like he normally does with the backing of the band, because he has proved to be a good guitarist, and is quite comfortable with the vocals. If anything, this will be an opportunity for Sulu to prove all dry and sundry that he has not been riding on people's sympathy as many people often said, but he is indeed his own man.

But, of course, there is no doubt that his novelty, performing as a solo artiste, would be met with mixed reactions from his legion of fans who have grown accustomed to his performances with Orchestra Dendera Kings. In an interview, Sulu revealed that he had a compilation of songs that he had prepared specifically for the solo act. "For a long time I have been planning to hold solo concerts and I feel the time is right to unleash some of the songs to my fans, who I know will be pleasantly surprised," he said.

Orchestra Dendera Kings manager Knowledge Nkoma said the show was a harbinger of similar other shows that Sulu would be holding during the festive season. "The Cresta Oasis show that we are having tonight is an introduction to similar shows he intends to hold throughout the festive season, and even after. "Of course, that does not mean that we are totally abandoning live shows with the rest of the band, but we are merely expanding our product and we want to reach out to other fans, who have not had an opportunity to attend our live shows," he said.

Nkoma added that while some fans may have the notion that Sulu was rebranded, that was not the case. "A lot of fans have been phoning me, trying to find out if Sulu was going to discard the band completely and pursue a solo act. That is not correct. He (Sulu) is merely reaching out to all his fans - in different ways, of course," said Nkoma. During his solo concert, Sulu will be joined on stage by one of Zimbabwe's upcoming jazz crooners, Jean Masters.

Sulu has featured on Sister Jean's album, "Africa", and the two did a collaboration of the song, "Chipo Changu", which has been receiving considerable airplay on local radio stations. Despite the different genres they play, the two artistes have been jointly holding shows since the beginning of the year, following the release of Sister Jean's album, where the diva has been a supporting act to Sulu. (Herald)