Oliver 'Tuku' Mutukudzi was born 1952.Sep.22 in Highfield, a poor neighborhood in Harare, then called Salisbury in the British colony called Southern Rhodesia.
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| Oliver Mtukudzi 2001.Feb.28 at the Barbican London - gettyimages |
'Tuku' scored his first hit in 1977 with a group called the Wagon Wheels. Soon, he was fronting his own band, the Black Spirits, with whom he has recorded and performed ever since. His music is an innovative blend of Shona mbira pop, South African township jive, rumba, and soul. Always keen to experiment, Tuku is known for switching from mbaqanga and jazz fusion in one album to 'ancient deep traditions beats' in the next. Despite that openness, he remains a strong traditionalist.
Tuku's swinging renditions of the rootsiest beats, accompanied by his soulful voice and husky laugh, are irresistible. Tall, slim and handsome, with a big stage presence, an easy manner and a slick line in dance moves, his performances with the Black Spirits are captivating. He is also a highly socially conscious and moral artist, intensely aware of the importance of his lyrics (which are important to all Zimbabwean music). He sang the first AIDS song in Zimbabwe, and his lyrics place an emphasis on discipline.
Earlier this year, on 2019.Jan.23, Oliver Mtukudzi died at the age of 66 at Avenues Clinic in his hometown Harare, now capital of Zimbabwe, after a long battle with Diabetes.
'Tuku music' was among the most accessible and delightful African pop around. He also was a terrific songwriter, who during his carreer has released some 65 albums, so putting together a full discography I won't start now and leave for a future post.
above biography based on information from: Rough Guide to World Music, wikipedia and biography at piranha
Listen to Neria from this concert
MTUKUDZI-OLIVER 1998.Nov.06 - Music Meeting Nijmegen RNW-PRX
setlist: 1.What's Going On / 2.Dzoka Uyamwe / 3.Hear Me Lord / 4.Cheka Ukama / 5.Neria
source: Hear the World on PRX with recordings from Radio Netherlands Worldwide [RNW]
tracks 1-4: broadcasted 2010.Apr.27 / track 5: broadcasted 2012.June
note: more of this concerts [tot.tecording 68:30min] seems to have been broadcasted by NPS on Dutch radio, I'm very interested in hearing more, so if anybody has, please let it be known in the comments under this post.
Tributes and related news about Oliver Mtukudzi
- 2019.Jan.23: Oliver Mtukudzi Dies at 66 [updated] - news on Afropop
- 2019.Jan.24: Oliver Mtukudzi dies - Newsday [Zimbabwe]
- 2019.Jan.24: Remembering Oliver Mtukudzi - tribute by Banning Eyre on Afropop
- 2019.Jan.24: Oliver Mtukudzi - Key to the Promised Land [2003, The Beat] - republished on Afropop "Best of the Beat"
- 2019.Jan.29: Oliver Mtukudzi, Renowned Zimbabwean Musician, Is Dead at 66 - New York Times [US]
- 2019.Feb.02: The other side of Oliver Mtukudzi - The Herald [Zimbabwe]
- 2019.Feb.05: Oliver Mtukudzi obituary - The Guardian [UK]
- 2019.Jun.27: Oliver Mtukudzi in Photos - by Banning Eyre on Afropop
- 2019.Sep.22: Daisy [Oliver's widow] reveals Tuku secret - The Standard [Zimbabwe]
- 2019.Nov.07: Remembering Oliver Mtukudzi - Afropop radio program
direct link to extended program on Afropop's Soundcloud
Thanks for the Tuku snippet. Incidentally, last thursday I went to see energetic zimbabwean youth band Mokoomba at a small club in zuerich. They played an excellent set, one of their last shows of the current tour. After the encore the lights went up and the fun seemed over. So I started chatting to a couple of zimbabweans who were beside me in the audience. I told them I thought it was a great show, shame they didn't play any Tuku song...after a while this woman comes back and tells me she's talked to them about my wish...sure enough the lights go down again, the group goes on stage and performs a very nice version of "Todii". Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat story!
DeleteThese sort of things can only happen with people and musicians who truly love their music!
Found a 2017 concert recording of Mokoomba, you can listen to it at https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/concertzender_live_432697/
thanks for the link to the Rotterdam show!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the radio presenter on the Tuku show keeps mentioning 2002 as the year of recording/performance. I wonder if she'd messed up the date and/or if the year she mentions is correct.
Only in the introduction she mentioned the correct year, later on she messed up the dates [like some track titles in previously posted recordings].
DeleteBTW in 2002 Olier Mtukudzi didn't play at the Music Meeting, see https://musicmeeting.nl/en/informatie/programmaarchief/
Such fantastic article.. Good job !!
ReplyDeletebusiness cards uk
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