THE commander directed his troops — sons trailed their father while the hornbill led the way in an unfamiliar territory.
Entertainment Reporters
Jah Prayzah was the commander. In typical military style, the musician led his group, Third Generation, through an outstanding performance that was punctuated with drills similar to military sessions.
He called his group “soldiers” and they responded to this call by presenting an energetic performance.
The sons were Morgan and Tendai Dembo. They announced before starting their performance that they were on a mission to fill the gap left by their father, the late Leonard Dembo.
They said it had taken long for them to take over the mission because they were still young when he died. Of course, many people knew about it, but they had to mention it again, to make an emphasis on their mission.
The hornbill was Sulumani Chimbetu. Like any other dendera musician, the man-of–the-moment derives his beat from the sound of a hornbill (known as dendera in shona).
He came in as the main attraction on the night and delivered a spectacular performance. The musician did an outstanding job and performed extremely well.
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The unfamiliar territory was the Aquatic Complex in Chitungwiza where the groups performed on Friday night. It was the first time for such a youthful combination to venture into this territory.
For many years, it has been known as the home ground for Alick Macheso and the musicians had to take a daring move to challenge the self-proclaimed sungura king’s territory.
And it paid off; as the gigantic auditorium had way more than what was expected.
The highlight of the show was, as anticipated, the collaboration between Sulu and Jah Prayzah on the song Sean Timba. The song had the audience going haywire, singing along.
When Sulu came to the stage after Jah Prayzah, it was evident that the climax had come.
The Orchestra Dendera Kings outfit appeared to directly draw inspiration from the cheering crowds.
Joe Nyamungoma, Sulu’s publicist said the gig had surpassed their expectations.
“Despite the confidence we had shown in the run up to the show, I have to agree that we remained skeptical because it was a tough fixture,” he said.
“We are grateful that the fans turned out in their numbers and I have to say they can now expect us more often in Chitungwiza.”
Sunshine Electronics, who came in as the sponsors of the gig, said they were thrilled by the experience.
Thomas Mandinyanya, the managing director of the electronics concern, said he was surprised by the turn out.
“I thought since it was a January event there would not be so many people and worse still, things that people say about the venue being a Macheso stronghold,” said Mandinyanya.
“We are new in the business of sponsoring such events and I am happy to say we are here to stay.”
Sunshine Electronics gave away several mobile phones on the night with their draws enhancing the euphoria.
Organisers of the gig, Jazz 105, played their part and made sure that there was smooth operation from ticketing to entrance into the venue.
