Bulawayo Jazz

Bulawayo jazz is a style of Jazz that emerged from the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in the early 1950s. The lead is assumed by the alto sax in ensembles including tenor sax, trumpet, guitar, double bass, tuba, trombone, and banjo. Bulawayo jazz was brought to the Western world by Hugh Tracey, who recorded the material of Bulawayo Jazz: Southern Rhodesia Zimbabwe 1950, '51, '52 in the early 1950s. Along with Jazz manouche, it was the sole jazz scene existing outside of the USA in the late-1940s/early-1950s. A prominent Zimbabwean jazz player from the 1950s was August Msarurgwa. Msarurgwa was the leader of The African Dance Band of the Cold Storage Commission of Southern Rhodesia and composed the hit "Karekwangu / Skokiaan". This may be the most well-known Bulawayo jazz song and has been covered by such artists as Louis Armstrong, The Four Lads, Alma Cogan, Bill Haley and His Comets and Herb Alpert, among many others. The style is no longer leading the scene in Zimbabwe, replaced by modern popular genres like Kwaito. Nevertheless, some artists like The Cool Crooners are still playing Bulawayo jazz in clubs in Bulawayo and Harare.