THE October International Jazz and World Music Festival organised by the Italian Embassy, has a strong focus on developing practical music skills among participants.
Report by Munya Simango
The comprehensive workshop programme runs on the festival’s sidelines. The music showcase will bring together over 20 musicians from Italy, Zimbabwe and South Africa and will be held at various venues in Harare from October 17-21. Besides performances with entertainment value to the fans, workshops will be held to provide platforms for interaction and exchange of cultural and creative ideas among participating artists from various backgrounds. A special aspect of the festival will be its aim of enhancing artistic development among school children and young musicians through artistic influence, education and cultural exchange. The programme will include master classes on practical instrumentation and voice skills, mentoring, film screenings, discussions and role modelling. In a statement, organisers of the festival said: “Such interactions have the effect of inspiring budding musicians at a young age while opening their eyes to the possibilities and career opportunities that music has to offer. “The workshops are also designed to motivate young participants to pursue further studies in music and its theory; a music industry capacity-building initiative that will produce a better quality of musician in the future.” The October International Jazz and World Music Festival programme will kick off on Tuesday October 16 at the Book Café. On the day, South Africa artist Bheki Khoza will facilitate a seminar entitled, “The Maskanda-Jazz Link”.
This will be followed by Italian jazz outfit Down Time Quintet travelling to Murehwa Cultural Centre for a workshop and performance on Thursday, October 18. On Friday, October 19, the festival will present a double bill of workshops with Down Time Quintet in co-operation with Zimbabwean jazz songstress Rute Mbangwa at Celebration Centre while Tumi and The Volume, a South African outfit, will host a workshop entitled “Towards a Meaningful African Hip-hop” at the Book Café. The October International Jazz and World Music Festival has expanded to include Italian artists as well as local and regional artists, who will showcase a variety of musical genres and fusions. These include Giovanni Falzone Quintet and Down Time Quintet (Italy) Victor Kunonga, Blaqberry Jazz, Dudu Manhenga, Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana, John Pfumojena, Rute Mbangwa, Hope Masike, and Cynergy. The Book Café will host performances from October 17-19. The bigger shows will take place at Celebration Centre on the evening of Friday 19 and at the Italian Club on Saturday October 20. The following day will have a performance featuring the Down Time Quintet and Blaqberry Jazz will play at the Sanganai Fair at Harare International Conference Centre. The curtain will come down on the festival with a concert at Mega 2 featuring the Giovanni Falzone Quintet.
