BY AGATHA CHUMA THE legacy of a teacher never fades away, a point proven by students, family, fans and friends of the late Chiwoniso Maraire who gathered at Ela the Garden in Harare on Sunday for a tribute show organised by her daughter Chengeto Brown.
The night, dubbed Night of Ancient Voices, undeniably had different voices that took turns to serenade together with the Maraires. The most interesting part was that everyone had a good story on Chiwoniso and how she touched their lives.
Death robbed Zimbabwe of the music icon nine years ago. She was a revolutionary who helped reimagine a whole culture’s relationship with the mbira, and fortunately before she left the world, she managed to impart mbira skills to a number of artistes and also her performances inspired other artistes to use the instrument in their genres.
On Sunday night, mbira players showed off in the most memorable and entertaining ways the skills they learnt from Chiwoniso.
Artistes who attended the gig included Tendex, a mbira musician who was taught by Maraire how to play the instrument. He gave a good act in honour of the late mbira guru.
Other artistes who performed were Gwevedzi, Ulenni Okandlovu, Mono Mukundu, Tendai Mavengeni, Tony Capone, Victor Kunonga and of course not forgetting The Cleff Music who dished out their own flavour of nyau traditional dance.
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Chengeto proved that, indeed, she learnt a lot from her mother through her performance and the saying “like mother like daughter” perfectly suited her as she reincarnated Chiwoniso’s voice with touching perfection. She gave a well-polished act performing her mother’s most loved sing along songs which included Mai, Wandirasa and Iwai Nesu.
Almost all races (whites, coloured and blacks) who attended the show enjoyed the all-round soothing mbira performances. The beautiful scenery of Ela the Garden complemented the good music that was dished out.
Indeed, if you do something good for people they will never forget you and they will forever cherish the good moments and share them down generations. The legend of Chiwoniso lives on and continues to motivate many people.
- Follow Agatha on Twitter @NewsDayZimbabwe