Jonah Sithole
Encyclopedia
Jonah Sithole was a Zimbabwe
an guitar
ist, vocalist
and composer
, known particularly for the mbira
-inspired style known as mbira-guitar or chimurenga music
.
and grew up in the mining town of Zvishavane (formerly Shabani), where his older brother worked as a miner
as well as a musician for the mining camp band. Jonah first picked up the guitar as a twelve year old. When his brother was at work, he would play his guitar, imitating the sounds that his brother practiced around the house.
Jonah eventually moved to Bulawayo
, where he attended Mpopoma High School until he was expelled in 1969, when he was a form 2 student. By then he was a decent guitar and bass
player, so he followed his brother to Kwekwe
and convinced him to admit him to his band, the Jairosi Jiri Kwela Kings, as a bass player. A few months later, in 1970, the band got a bar contract in Mbare, Harare
and became known as the Delphans. Jonah became the band's rhythm guitarist.
, Jonah decided to remain in Harare
with the purpose of starting his own band. In 1971, just three months into his first stint as a bandleader, he was approached by Jackson Phiri, leader of the Lipopo Jazz Band, a Congolese
rumba
outfit, to be their guitarist. The Lipopo Jazz Band was anxious to break into the increasingly competitive bar music scene by having a band members who could sing in the local languages. While with the Lipopo Jazz Band, Jonah learned to play Congolese rumba guitar styles. He was particularly enthralled by the guitar stylings of rumba god Franco Luambo, but he also began developing the more traditional mbira inspired guitar sound for the Shona
songs. In 1974, the Lipopo Jazz Band recorded the song Ndozvireva, which was an adaptation of the mbira song Taireva. Together with the Hallelujah Chicken Run band's Ngoma Yarira (based on the traditional Karigamombe) and the M.D. Success's Kumntongo (based on the mbira song Kuzanga), the song was one of the first to transcribe mbira progressions onto guitar. Soon after that, the foreign members of the Lipopo Jazz Band were deported, and Jonah found himself playing with a slew of hotel bands with no names: “Most of these bands did not have names. They just had contracts. They belonged to that place. It's only now people realize it's important to have names.”
Jonah played a short stint with the Great Sounds, another outfit that specialized in Congolese rumba, before moving to Mutare
in 1974 to play with the Pepsi Combo. Jonah suggested a name change to Vibrations and then Drifters. They played at the Zimunya
Hotel, just outside Mutare for about a year before the band moved to Harare determined to land a performing contract. He approached the owner of the Jamaica Inn, located just outside Harare, but a vocalist without a band, Thomas Mapfumo
, recently fired from the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band, had talked his way into a contract and use of the hotel musical kit. Since Jonah had a band but no contract or equipment, the two decided to join forces. They performed together at the Jamaica Inn for about two months until they were approached by a Harare businessman to perform at the Mushandira Pamwe Nightclub in Highfield, Harare. At this time, Sithole and Mapfumo were playing an "afro-rock" rather than the mbira-based style for which they were to become famous. After about three months, Jonah was muscled out of the group, but a few months later he used his influence with a new nightclub owner to rejoin Thomas Mapfumo and form the Blacks Unlimited (1975).
Later that year, financial difficulties forced Jonah to part ways with the Blacks Unlimited, and after a second stint with the Great Sounds, he moved back to Mutare and formed a new band, The Storm. In 1977, with The Storm, Jonah released his first single Sabhuku, which showcased Jonah's unique approach to the mbira-guitar style. It was also during the period from 1976-77 that Jonah started specializing in mbira music (Turino, p.300). It was the authenticity of his chimurenga sound that prompted Thomas Mapfumo to disband his Acid Jazz (with the exception of guitarist Leonard Pickett Chiyangwa) and approach Jonah in 1978 to reform the Blacks Unlimited. It must be noted that Jonah Sithole also played guitar on Thomas Mapfumo's first album, Hokoyo! (recorded in 1977)although he was not officially part of the Acid Band. As Thomas and Jonah moved towards a more mbira-based repertoire, Thomas felt that Leonard Chiyangwa was not improving quickly enough in this new style, largely because his heavy drinking left him struggling with the hours of rehearsal. Leonard Chiyangwa was dismissed from the Blacks Unlimited as a consqequence. Jonah played with Thomas Mapfumo and The Blacks Unlimited until 1981, and during this period the two teamed up to craft some of the most inspired songs of the chimurenga genre, including such classics as Pfumvu Paruzevha, Kuyaura, Shumba, Chitima Cherusununguko, Bhutsu Mutandarika, Chauya Chiruzevha, Dangurangu and Chipatapata. It was also during this period that Thomas Mapfumo was incarcerated for three months by the Ian Smith
regime for his subversive lyrics. Jonah managed to keep the band going by taking over the lead vocal duties and recruiting a young guitar prodigy by the name of Ashton “Sugar” Chiweshe into the band.
In 1981, Jonah Sithole left the Blacks Unlimited to pursue a career as band leader with Deep Horizon.. His highlight single during that time was Kana Ndaguta (he recorded this song a decade later, but the lyric about assaulting his mother when drunk was conspicuously missing from the newer and more readily available version). In May 1985, Thomas Mapfumo was preparing to embark on his first European tour, and he asked Jonah to rejoin the Blacks Unlimited. Jonah stayed with the Blacks Unlimited until 1989, and this period saw him evolving his mbira-guitar sound to unreached heights. This was in part necessitated by the use, for the first time, of real mbiras in the Blacks Unlimited sound. Some of the highlights of this period include the classic albums Zimbabwe-Mozambique (1987) and Varombo Kuvarombo (1989, known outside Zimbabwe as Corruption). Many consider these two albums to be the Blacks Unlimited's best, and Jonah's now mature guitar style plays a big role. Jonah's signature sound is also reflected in massive singles such as Kariba, Ngoma Yekwedu, Nyamutamba Nemombe and Tongosienda.
In 1989, Jonah Sithole left the Blacks Unlimited once more, and played as a session musician
, notably with the Pied Pipers as well as with the famed 50's era marabi
singer Dorothy Masuka
, who had recently returned to Zimbabwe. In 1992, Jonah formed a new band, the Deep Horizon. Sabhuku, a compilation album highlighting the signature tracks from their 1992 and 1993 releases was released internationally in 1996.
In 1995, Jonah Sithole rejoined the Blacks Unlimited and performed on three albums; , the afro-rock venture Afro Chimurenga, Roots Chimurenga and the live-in-studio album Chimurenga: African Spirit Music which was recorded during a UK tour. Jonah's health started rapidly failing him soon after. He appeared on only one song, Tipeiwo Mari, on the 1997 album Chimurenga Movement. He died of AIDS
complications in August of that year.
Nationalists,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, known particularly for the mbira
Mbira
In African music, the mbira is a musical instrument that consists of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached. It is often fitted into a resonator...
-inspired style known as mbira-guitar or chimurenga music
Chimurenga music
Chimurenga music is a Zimbabwean popular music genre coined and popularised by Thomas Mapfumo. Chimurenga is a Shona language word for struggle. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice...
.
Early life
Jonah Sithole was born in the province of MasvingoMasvingo
Masvingo is a town in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The town is close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name.- History :...
and grew up in the mining town of Zvishavane (formerly Shabani), where his older brother worked as a miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
as well as a musician for the mining camp band. Jonah first picked up the guitar as a twelve year old. When his brother was at work, he would play his guitar, imitating the sounds that his brother practiced around the house.
Jonah eventually moved to Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
, where he attended Mpopoma High School until he was expelled in 1969, when he was a form 2 student. By then he was a decent guitar and bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
player, so he followed his brother to Kwekwe
Kwekwe
Kwekwe or Kwe Kwe , formerly spelt Que Que, is a city in central Zimbabwe. It is located in the centre of the country —roughly equidistant from Harare to the northeast and Bulawayo to the southwest. Its population stood at 47,607 in 1982, 75,425 in 1992 and the preliminary result of the 2002...
and convinced him to admit him to his band, the Jairosi Jiri Kwela Kings, as a bass player. A few months later, in 1970, the band got a bar contract in Mbare, Harare
Mbare, Harare
Mbare is a high-density, southern suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe. It is home to one of the country's largest soccer team, Dynamos, also known to its fans as "Dembare." It was the first high-density suburb , being established in 1907. At that time, it was located near the city cemetery, sewage works,...
and became known as the Delphans. Jonah became the band's rhythm guitarist.
Professional career
When the Delphans got a contract to play in GweruGweru
Gweru is a city near the centre of Zimbabwe at . It has a population of about 146,073 , making it the third largest city in the nation. Gweru is the capital of Midlands Province. Gweru was founded in 1894 by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson. The first bank opened in Gweru in 1896, and the stock exchange...
, Jonah decided to remain in Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
with the purpose of starting his own band. In 1971, just three months into his first stint as a bandleader, he was approached by Jackson Phiri, leader of the Lipopo Jazz Band, a Congolese
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...
outfit, to be their guitarist. The Lipopo Jazz Band was anxious to break into the increasingly competitive bar music scene by having a band members who could sing in the local languages. While with the Lipopo Jazz Band, Jonah learned to play Congolese rumba guitar styles. He was particularly enthralled by the guitar stylings of rumba god Franco Luambo, but he also began developing the more traditional mbira inspired guitar sound for the Shona
Shona language
Shona is a Bantu language, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe and southern Zambia; the term is also used to identify peoples who speak one of the Shona language dialects: Zezuru, Karanga, Manyika, Ndau and Korekore...
songs. In 1974, the Lipopo Jazz Band recorded the song Ndozvireva, which was an adaptation of the mbira song Taireva. Together with the Hallelujah Chicken Run band's Ngoma Yarira (based on the traditional Karigamombe) and the M.D. Success's Kumntongo (based on the mbira song Kuzanga), the song was one of the first to transcribe mbira progressions onto guitar. Soon after that, the foreign members of the Lipopo Jazz Band were deported, and Jonah found himself playing with a slew of hotel bands with no names: “Most of these bands did not have names. They just had contracts. They belonged to that place. It's only now people realize it's important to have names.”
Jonah played a short stint with the Great Sounds, another outfit that specialized in Congolese rumba, before moving to Mutare
Mutare
Mutare is the fourth largest city in Zimbabwe, with a population of around 170,000. It is the capital of Manicaland province.-History:...
in 1974 to play with the Pepsi Combo. Jonah suggested a name change to Vibrations and then Drifters. They played at the Zimunya
Zimunya
Zimunya is a village in the province of Manicaland, Zimbabwe located 15 km south of Mutare in the Zimunya communal land. According to the 1982 Population Census, the village had a population of 1,381....
Hotel, just outside Mutare for about a year before the band moved to Harare determined to land a performing contract. He approached the owner of the Jamaica Inn, located just outside Harare, but a vocalist without a band, Thomas Mapfumo
Thomas Mapfumo
Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo is a Zimbabwean musician known as "The Lion of Zimbabwe" and "Mukanya" for his immense popularity and for the political influence he wields through his music, including his sharp criticism of the government of President Robert Mugabe...
, recently fired from the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band, had talked his way into a contract and use of the hotel musical kit. Since Jonah had a band but no contract or equipment, the two decided to join forces. They performed together at the Jamaica Inn for about two months until they were approached by a Harare businessman to perform at the Mushandira Pamwe Nightclub in Highfield, Harare. At this time, Sithole and Mapfumo were playing an "afro-rock" rather than the mbira-based style for which they were to become famous. After about three months, Jonah was muscled out of the group, but a few months later he used his influence with a new nightclub owner to rejoin Thomas Mapfumo and form the Blacks Unlimited (1975).
Later that year, financial difficulties forced Jonah to part ways with the Blacks Unlimited, and after a second stint with the Great Sounds, he moved back to Mutare and formed a new band, The Storm. In 1977, with The Storm, Jonah released his first single Sabhuku, which showcased Jonah's unique approach to the mbira-guitar style. It was also during the period from 1976-77 that Jonah started specializing in mbira music (Turino, p.300). It was the authenticity of his chimurenga sound that prompted Thomas Mapfumo to disband his Acid Jazz (with the exception of guitarist Leonard Pickett Chiyangwa) and approach Jonah in 1978 to reform the Blacks Unlimited. It must be noted that Jonah Sithole also played guitar on Thomas Mapfumo's first album, Hokoyo! (recorded in 1977)although he was not officially part of the Acid Band. As Thomas and Jonah moved towards a more mbira-based repertoire, Thomas felt that Leonard Chiyangwa was not improving quickly enough in this new style, largely because his heavy drinking left him struggling with the hours of rehearsal. Leonard Chiyangwa was dismissed from the Blacks Unlimited as a consqequence. Jonah played with Thomas Mapfumo and The Blacks Unlimited until 1981, and during this period the two teamed up to craft some of the most inspired songs of the chimurenga genre, including such classics as Pfumvu Paruzevha, Kuyaura, Shumba, Chitima Cherusununguko, Bhutsu Mutandarika, Chauya Chiruzevha, Dangurangu and Chipatapata. It was also during this period that Thomas Mapfumo was incarcerated for three months by the Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
regime for his subversive lyrics. Jonah managed to keep the band going by taking over the lead vocal duties and recruiting a young guitar prodigy by the name of Ashton “Sugar” Chiweshe into the band.
In 1981, Jonah Sithole left the Blacks Unlimited to pursue a career as band leader with Deep Horizon.. His highlight single during that time was Kana Ndaguta (he recorded this song a decade later, but the lyric about assaulting his mother when drunk was conspicuously missing from the newer and more readily available version). In May 1985, Thomas Mapfumo was preparing to embark on his first European tour, and he asked Jonah to rejoin the Blacks Unlimited. Jonah stayed with the Blacks Unlimited until 1989, and this period saw him evolving his mbira-guitar sound to unreached heights. This was in part necessitated by the use, for the first time, of real mbiras in the Blacks Unlimited sound. Some of the highlights of this period include the classic albums Zimbabwe-Mozambique (1987) and Varombo Kuvarombo (1989, known outside Zimbabwe as Corruption). Many consider these two albums to be the Blacks Unlimited's best, and Jonah's now mature guitar style plays a big role. Jonah's signature sound is also reflected in massive singles such as Kariba, Ngoma Yekwedu, Nyamutamba Nemombe and Tongosienda.
In 1989, Jonah Sithole left the Blacks Unlimited once more, and played as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, notably with the Pied Pipers as well as with the famed 50's era marabi
Marabi
Marabi is an indigenous music that evolved in South Africa over the last century.The early part of the 20th century saw the increasing urbanisation of black South Africans in mining centres such as the gold mining area around Johannesburg - the Witwatersrand...
singer Dorothy Masuka
Dorothy Masuka
Dorothy Masuka is a jazz singer who was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1935, then called Southern Rhodesia. She was the fourth of seven children and her mother was Zulu while her father was a Zambian hotel chef. Still, she attended a Catholic school deemed good by the standards of education allowed...
, who had recently returned to Zimbabwe. In 1992, Jonah formed a new band, the Deep Horizon. Sabhuku, a compilation album highlighting the signature tracks from their 1992 and 1993 releases was released internationally in 1996.
In 1995, Jonah Sithole rejoined the Blacks Unlimited and performed on three albums; , the afro-rock venture Afro Chimurenga, Roots Chimurenga and the live-in-studio album Chimurenga: African Spirit Music which was recorded during a UK tour. Jonah's health started rapidly failing him soon after. He appeared on only one song, Tipeiwo Mari, on the 1997 album Chimurenga Movement. He died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
complications in August of that year.
Guitar Style
While Jonah was fluent in many guitar styles, including rumba and afro-jazz, he is best known for his chimurenga guitar style, where he excelled in the “art of combining three- and four-beat rhythms in lyrical, flowing melodic lines.” Jonah set himself apart from other mbira-guitarists by the emotional expressiveness of his playing, which he achieved by using the mbira or vocalists to develop his guitar melodies rather that by merely accompanying the mbira or “filling in the gaps.” His album Sabhuku is filled with tracks that highlight his style (Sabhuku, Kusasana, Kana Ndaguta, Ereniya). With the Blacks Unlimited, Jonah's evolution can be tracked by listening to the albums Gwindingwi Rine Shumba(1980), Chimurenga For Justice (1985), Zimbabwe-Mozambique (1987), Varombo Kuvarombo (Corruption, 1989), Chimurenga:African Spirit Music (1995) and Roots Chimurenga (1996). Various singles compilations also feature Jonah Sithole's work from the mid-seventies until 1986.Nationalists,