Vidima in town for winter jazz fiesta

 But the good news is that Max Vidima, an equally talented Zimbabwean guitarist based in SA, is in town and will be performing at Jazz 105 on Saturday, alongside other local jazz greats.
Vidima is no stranger to the international jazz circuit and has performed at private and public functions in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Europe and the USA. This is the first time that Vidima returns home as a guest artist at the acclaimed annual jazz festival. The 43-year old artist told Fingaz Weekend from his Cape Town base this week that jazz lovers should expect a show with a difference.
“It’s good to be back home and play with local artists who have developed an international flair. I believe Zimbabwe has some of the most gifted musicians in the world who are influenced by the fusion of many different music styles and instruments such as the mbira,” he explained.
This year’s Winter Jazz Festival in Harare is the 12th edition of the annual showpiece, and organisers are ecstatic about the event. The club’s manager Yasini Dhala told The Financial Gazette Weekend that Jazz 105 has been consistent with the festival each year even during the pre-2009 era. Dhala took the opportunity to thank LED Travel and Tours, Robertson Winery, Hopewinds Real Estate and Castle Milk Stout for being part of the sponsors.
“We have always held the show despite economic challenges and we have witnessed the growth of young and upcoming artists  such as Que Montana, Munya Mataruse, Josh Meck, Amara Brown (Andy Brown’s daughter), Jean Masters and Selmor Mtukudzi coming up to perform in front of a huge crowd. Jazz veterans such as Summer Breeze, Mbare Trio, Jazz Invitation, Cool Crooners and Jabavu Drive have also been with us for all these years,” says Dhala.
According to Dhala, the more established young artists, such as Dudu Manhenga, Victor Kunonga, Edith we Utonga, Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana and Too Open have found Jazz 105 as a plausible venue for their grooming and to this day, they are now international stars in their own right.
“We have acquired the best sound and lighting systems to complement the artists during the four-day event. Additionally, a mini jazz festival will be held in Chinhoyi on Saturday upon request by fans from Mash West, so some of the artists billed to perform in Harare will also perform at Chinhoyi Caves Motel.”
Dhala said there could be some surprise artists who had expressed interest to perform at the show as session musicians, and among them will be yours truly with the group, Summer Breeze and the legends of township jazz Tanga wekwa Sando, Friday Mbirimi, Moses Kabubi and who knows, the likes of clerk of Parliament, Austin Zvoma, Gibson Mandishona and other well known jazz fundis from different professions might also be the surprise shockers.
Dhala said the Zimbabwean public would equally be surprised by the abundant talent the country has, especially when the guest artist, Vi-dima performs.
Apart from pla-ying music,Vidima holds a masters degree in musicology and has written a book on African guitar styles. When he enrolled for the University of Cape Town’s jazz programme to get a masters degree in musicology, his thesis looked at the emergence of the mbira style of guitar playing in Zimbabwe in the`60s and `70s.
 His music can best be described as Afro fusion, influenced by cross-cultural rhythms from his upbringing between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
“I have been playing guitar all my life ever since I was 10. I am lucky to have a Zimbabwean father and a Zulu mother from Pietermaritzburg. I do a lot of workshops in guitar playing in New York, Ohio and many parts of the world. Cape Town has just been a base for me to launch my international music and academic career,” he says. 
Listening to the hit song, “Baba Vabaye Mombe” on his 2008 album, Sagiya, one might be tempted to think that they are listening to Al Jarreau on vocals, and a crossover between George Benson and Jimmy Dludlu on the guitar. This is the song that brought him into the South African limelight, having had played with such greats as Simba Morris, Selaelo Selota, Joe Nina and Jimmy Dludlu before.
Vidima’s second album, Friends and Strangers, released in 2010, did equally well in South African and abroad. On this album are such melodic jazzy tunes as Sunday Morning, Good Friends, Baba Vangu, Shangaan Doctor and Gororo, among others.
Vidima’s musical inclinations really began when, as a teenager,  his father started a hotel business in Gweru, incorporating the now legendary Midnight Club or kwaMusopero, as it was known then. There, he interacted with many musicians who inluenced him, among them, Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, Louis Mhlanga, David Manda, George Phiri and many others.
“Everybody passed through here man,” Vidima explains. All the musicians in Zimbabwe played this place; if you ask any of them about the Midnight Club they’ll smile and remember.”