BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO
THE late music icon and national hero Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi would have enjoyed upcoming musician Tawanda Magunde’s rendition of his song Hear Me Lord, with such skill as would warm the hearts of those who had the fortune to witness it.
Magunde was performing as a guest artiste at the double album launch of Excellent and Perseverance by gospel music couple Reverend Togarepi Chivaviro and wife Juliet on Wednesday in Harare.
As Magunde flawlessly imitated Tuku’s husky voice and gestures during his performance, Tuku’s widow, Daisy, could be seen singing along with a beaming smile.
The captivated audience stood and started to sing along in unison.
“I don’t want to play much, but I just want to dedicate this performance to our late father and mentor, Tuku,” Magunde said before his performance.
In a later interview with NewsDay Life & Style, Magunde said he had composed a single dedicated to Tuku and would release it next week, Friday.
“I am going to release a single titled Ndozviudza Ani next week as tribute to the late Tuku. The song, which expresses the pain brought by Tuku’s passing on borrows its title from his track Mabasa, but carries different lyrics,” he said.
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“No one can fill the gap that Tuku left. He was the only musician who was ever ready to support emerging artistes. Before his death, he had asked me to come for professional advice. Unfortunately, he died before this meeting. I will upload the audio on Soundcloud and iTunes and the video on YouTube.”
Reverend Chivaviro’s Tinyaradzei, on the new album, also channels Tuku’s spirit. Chivaviro said he changed the album’s feel to honour Tuku, who he described as father and his first music mentor.
“Tinyaradzei was supposed to be my next album title, but I thought of including it here to console Mai Tuku. I wrote it a year ago and it’s dedicated to all those who lost their loved ones. We, however, changed its feel to honour my father (Tuku) and my very first music mentor,” he said.
Chivaviro’s wife said living with a musician (her husband) inspired her to join the music industry. She has urged wives of musicians to support their husbands’ dreams.
“When you live with a musician, you gradually learn a lot about music. Since 1999, I have learnt a lot from my husband. I roped in Mai Mtukudzi, Mai Mhere, Mai Ngolomi and Mai Manyeruke to encourage my fellows to support the visions of their husbands,” she said.
The six-track album, Excellent, features tracks Hamupererwe, Tora Zita Rake, Tinyaradzei, Mweya Wangu Une Muponisi, Mufudzi Ndiye Jesu and the title track Excellent, while Perseverance is an eight-track production that carries songs Perseverance, Chokwadi Zita raJesu, Wouya Wouya, Topembera, Today We Start, Pindai Jesu, Pindai Jesu (instrumental) and Tichanoimba Hosana.
