On May 10, the luxurious hallways of the five-star Royal Garden Hotel in London’s Kensington district will reverberate to the sumptuous voice of Zimbabwe’s queen of Jazz, Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana, who headlines this year’s Zimbabwe Achievers Awards (ZAA) ceremony.
Prudence, who needs no introduction to the legion of music lovers in the Zimbabwean community in the UK, having virtually grown up in the public limelight, will join a stellar cast of performers that are billed to perform at the premium red carpet event, which is now its fourth year.
This will be Prudence’s maiden live performance in the UK, and the “Baba Abhoyi” hitmaker is excited to be travelling to share her art and her passion with her compatriots. She will play music from her long and fruitful musical journey, including her eponymous album “Prudence”.
The Herald Entertainment (HE) caught up with the much-travelled songbird for a quick chat before her departure for the UK next week.
HE: You’ve been in the national spotlight as a singer and actress ever since you were virtually a child. What drove you to become a performer?
Prudence (PM): I have sung for as long as I can remember and even when I did major movie gigs in my youth like ‘More Time’ or recording with Albert Nyathi, I never took music very seriously. But I can say events that followed after meeting (husband, jazz DJ and broadcaster) Comfort and words he said got me thinking that I could actually take this as a profession.
HE: What were your musical influences growing up, and who do you credit for the decision to settle for your favoured genre of jazz?
PM : I grew up in a musical family. My aunts on my maternal side sang a lot in church; my dad as well, he loved his music! He had an amazing collection on genres ranging from Rock, R&B, Soul, and Reggae. But during a school holiday in high school (Prudence attended Girl’s High in Harare) I was listening to Radio 3 back then and at lunch time the Hit Man played Ella Fitzgerald live in Berlin. I loved her, I loved her music. She inspired me, and the rest is history!
HE: You’ve worked with some big names in the Jazz fraternity, from Jazz Invitation to The Cool Crooners; what was that like?
PM: When I recorded with Jazz Invitation I found it hard to try and communicate my creative contributions towards the project. So when I got the opportunity to record and travel with the Cool Crooners I often observed how the musicians worked and asked questions where I did not understand. From that journey, I made the decision to get formal education in music. (In 2009 Prudence graduated from the Zimbabwe College of Music with a BA in Jazz Music).
Credit: Zimbabwe Herald Entertainment
Prudence, who needs no introduction to the legion of music lovers in the Zimbabwean community in the UK, having virtually grown up in the public limelight, will join a stellar cast of performers that are billed to perform at the premium red carpet event, which is now its fourth year.
This will be Prudence’s maiden live performance in the UK, and the “Baba Abhoyi” hitmaker is excited to be travelling to share her art and her passion with her compatriots. She will play music from her long and fruitful musical journey, including her eponymous album “Prudence”.
The Herald Entertainment (HE) caught up with the much-travelled songbird for a quick chat before her departure for the UK next week.
HE: You’ve been in the national spotlight as a singer and actress ever since you were virtually a child. What drove you to become a performer?
Prudence (PM): I have sung for as long as I can remember and even when I did major movie gigs in my youth like ‘More Time’ or recording with Albert Nyathi, I never took music very seriously. But I can say events that followed after meeting (husband, jazz DJ and broadcaster) Comfort and words he said got me thinking that I could actually take this as a profession.
HE: What were your musical influences growing up, and who do you credit for the decision to settle for your favoured genre of jazz?
PM : I grew up in a musical family. My aunts on my maternal side sang a lot in church; my dad as well, he loved his music! He had an amazing collection on genres ranging from Rock, R&B, Soul, and Reggae. But during a school holiday in high school (Prudence attended Girl’s High in Harare) I was listening to Radio 3 back then and at lunch time the Hit Man played Ella Fitzgerald live in Berlin. I loved her, I loved her music. She inspired me, and the rest is history!
HE: You’ve worked with some big names in the Jazz fraternity, from Jazz Invitation to The Cool Crooners; what was that like?
PM: When I recorded with Jazz Invitation I found it hard to try and communicate my creative contributions towards the project. So when I got the opportunity to record and travel with the Cool Crooners I often observed how the musicians worked and asked questions where I did not understand. From that journey, I made the decision to get formal education in music. (In 2009 Prudence graduated from the Zimbabwe College of Music with a BA in Jazz Music).
Credit: Zimbabwe Herald Entertainment
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