Intwasa: Dudu’s second bite of the cherry

Jazz diva Dudu Manhenga will have another bite of the cherry at the Intwasa Festival KoBulawayo where she will perform with two other female jazz artistes.

BULAWAYO-BORN jazz diva Dudu Manhenga will have another bite of the cherry at the Intwasa Festival KoBulawayo where she is billed to perform with two other female jazz artistes. Luyanduhlobo Makwati Own Correspondent

Dudu, as she is affectionately known, will share the stage with her sibling Zanele Manhenga, aka Uza, and Clare Nyakujara on September 26 at Elite 400 on a night dubbed “Intwasa Spring Jazz Night”.

Last year, Dudu performed alone at the festival. Raisedon Baya, one of the organisers of Intwasa said the three artistes represented three generations and appearing together will be a feat never seen before since the event started in 2004.

She said their performance would be the main attraction of the night. “The three talented women represent three generations of music and promise a lively entertainment by electric performers in celebration with women all around the world. All I can say is that Bulawayo will be in for a treat and audiences will be treated to an assortment of fun as these artistes will deliver to them as they have never done before,” Baya said.

The three artistes — Dudu, Clare and Uza — are phenomenal jazz vocalists on the Zimbabwe music scene. Dudu, the veteran in the line-up, has been in the music business for 16 years.

As a talented jazz musician, she is one of the leading jazz singers in Zimbabwe today, inheriting Dorothy Masuka’s mantle as a singular jazz diva.

Dudu has released four albums and a DVD in her musical career and has worked with some of the best jazz musicians in Zimbabwe. She has also toured extensively in Denmark, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Swaziland.

Uza is perhaps the least known of the three, but the diminutive diva still packs a punch with her soaring vocals and professional delivery. Uza started performing as a background vocalist for Dudu, Ignatius Mabasa, Bob Nyabinde and The Cool Crooners and The Mbare Trio at the Harare International Festival of the Arts in 2007.

She started performing as a solo artiste at Sistaz Open Mic at the Book Café, using this important music platform to gain experience and exposure.

In 2013, she has released her first single from the album she is hoping will be released to the public soon. The single, titled Nginje, is about how everyone affects and influences an individual.