Fallen Zimbabwean music icon, Oliver Mtukudzi will be honoured with song and dance at the Joburg Theatre on Tuesday, 5 February. The memorial service will run between 12pm to 5pm inside the Mandela theatre in Braamfontein.
Affectionately known as Tuku, the renowned musician succumbed to a long battle with Cancer on Wednesday, 23 January; he was 66. Mtukudzi was laid to rest in his rural hometown of Madziva, Harare, in Zimbabwe on Sunday, 27 January.
A multiple award winner, the late Zimbabwean cultural icon fused a local music style known as jiti, a combination of the traditional drum of his clan, the Katekwe, South African mbaqanga, the marimba and Afro-Pop styles to conjured-up an mbira sound with his acoustic guitar.
Mtukudzi began his musical career in 1977 with the Wagon Wheels, which featured Thomas Mapfumo and legendary Zimbabwean guitarist James Chimombe. Their first single Dzandimomotera was successful and precipitated the release of Tuku’s successful debut album, Shoko.
A collaborative soul, Mtukudzi became an integral member of the original incarnation of Southern African “supergroup” Mahube, which featured the likes of Louis Mhlanga, Steve Dyer, and the late Phinda Mtya.
With 67 albums under his belt, Mtukudzi pioneered his own signature sound popularly known as ‘Tuku Music’. He has bagged numerous accolades and awards, including a 1992 M-Net award for Best Soundtrack for Neria, a movie in which he also starred.
In 2003, the afro-soul legend received a pair of KORA awards, including a Lifetime Achievement and the Best Southern African Male Artist. He was also a recipient of a Channel O Reel Music Video Award for Best African Language and an Honorary Arts Degree from the University Of Zimbabwe.
A dedicated and inspiring African artist, he received the 2004 National Arts Merit Award for Best Group/Male vocalist, a 2006 Zimbabwe Music Award Ambassador, and a 2008 award for being an Outstanding Musician.
In 2009, Tuku was a recipient of an Honorary M.Sc. Degree in Fine Arts from the Women’s University of Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe. In the year, 2003 he featured on the cover of the influential Times Magazine as the champion of the plight of Zimbabweans and their cultural music.
Later on in 2011, Mtukudzi released Abi’angu (Duets of My Time) featuring amongst others Cesaria Evora, Ringo Madlingozi, Eric Wainaina, and The Jaziel Brothers; he later collaborated with his late mate and music giant, Hugh Masekela on Tapera. His music was known, listened to and loved worldwide, including in Southern Africa, the African continent and the diaspora as well as Europe.
Mtukudzi’s memorial service will be open to the public and will focus on his music, as directed by fellow traveller and compatriot Steve Dyer.
