Cool Crooners bulawayo

Bio:

"In spite of war, poverty, disease, corruption, cynicism, and indifference, there is always a bit of blue sky somewhere." In the 1950s, deep in the heart of Africa, they were crazy about jazz to the point that all they dreamed about was to become singers. Their careers took off in the most promising manner, but the turmoil of a long fight for independence in Zimbabwe brought chaos and mayhem. Logically, their musical careers got put on the back burner. Today, the Cool Crooners are living a second life. The charm of their harmonizing voices has retained all of its strength. Their very first album, Blue Sky, is the tangible proof. During the current turmoil bubbling up in Zimbabwe, it's easy to forget that the music of today and days gone by that came out of the country. One such group is the Cool Crooners of Bulawayo. The group was formed by long time friends, Abel, Ben (late) & Lucky. Today the remaining group members Abel & Lucky are in their 60s and still going strong, but they began their careers in1950s Southern Rhodesia, and as a result have a foot in both the past and the present. It was during the 50s that southern Africa was bursting with creativity in the arts and music. It was then that township jazz was created and its name 'Mbaqanga' was coined. Its music tipped its hat to jazz and its tone and swing, but mixed the western music up with African rhythms and language - Ndebele, Zulu and KiSwahili in the case of the Crooners. The Cool Crooners of today are the surviving members of two rival bands that played in the 50s : The Cool Four and The Golden Delicious Rhythm Crooners. The two groups were witness to colonialism, the country's fight for independence, and the years as Zimbabwe emerged. During the years of conflict Abel joined the movement and was imprisoned and other members had died, Ben began selling furniture and Lucky worked for a record label. In the 90s Abel had the idea to form a new group and contacted his old musical rivals and friends Ben and Lucky. The Cool Crooners was born, joined by Abel's neighbour Eric Juba (late) who had had his own musical career in Botswana. They wowed audiences at the 1999 Jazz Festival in Harare and since then have released the album Blue Sky in 2001, followed by Bulugwe lami in 2002 and Isatilo in 2005 and toured internationally. The Crooners music is light, polished and old-time - things you don't often hear these days. The seamless vocals, jaunty brass section has the feel of music halls, synched waists and men in suits. But the language, rhythm, lilting electric guitar and laid back cool is pure African. They sing of prison walls in South Africa, the abandoning of tradition by the youth, the reality of the migrant workers, police raids, sorrow and political struggle. There are also lighter moments with songs that talk of a weekend in the township and how telephones changed communication. When Zimbabwe is filling the news with stories of abuse, sanctions, the abandonment of the rule of law, beatings and arrests, Cool Crooners makes you realise how easy it is to forget the potential of a country. The Cool Crooners are real entertainers but the stories they tell and their talent still resonates today. Review by Lydia Martin, SMP & Sources

Member Since:

June 16, 2009

Influences:

..   I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)

Sounds Like:

Cool Crooners of Bulawayo

Record Label:

Sabela Music Projects