US’s Birckhead relishes Zimbabwe’s stay

Langalakhe Mabena

United States of America Jazz band Birckhead Quartet who were in Zimbabwe for over a week have expressed pleasure and contentment courtesy of the hospitality they experienced in the country.

Birckhead Quartet was formed in 2015 and is uninhibited in its embrace of experimentation and its diversity of musical genres. 

The Lift Every Voice and Sing singers are made up of saxophonist Brent Birckhead, pianist Noble Jolley Jr, bassist Romeir Mendez, and drummer/percussionist Carroll V Dashiell III.

The group who are on tour in Africa with the American Music Abroad, a programme which aims to communicate America’s musical contributions to the global music scene, fostering cross-cultural communication and people-to-people connections to global audiences, performed on numerous gigs in the country.

Their first gig was at the Stanbic Jacaranda Music Festival (SJMF), which took place from 6 to 8 October at the Old Hararians Sports Club. After the SJMF, they performed at the Zimbabwe German Society and conducted a “Social Media Workshop” at the Music Crossroads Academy Zimbabwe in Harare. 

On 13 October, they crossed over to Bulawayo, where they collaborated for a performance at the Zimbabwe Academy of Music with local artistes including Vuyo Brown, Zarae, Thandy Dhlana, as well as with the legend Simbarashe Hudson.

On the sidelines of their Bulawayo gig, the leader of the band Brent Birckhead said they are elated to have set foot in Zimbabwe as the country has amazing artistes and jazz fanatics.

He described the Zimbabwean tour as one of their favourite experiences.

“We are really happy to be here in Zimbabwe, in the motherland, performing in front of this amazing crowd. In all the places we have performed on this tour — be it at the Jazz Fest in Harare and here in Bulawayo, we honestly didn’t expect to receive such love.

“Coming here, we had a 20-hour flight and that was the beginning of the experience, but, once we arrived, we were treated with so much respect. We met different artistes who are super talented and we are really happy to have collaborated with them.

“This is not the first time for us to be in Africa, but it’s our first to be on the eastern side of the continent. Previously, we have been to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Cameroon. 

“But the Zimbabwean experience is the best so far as it is unique and special to us. The country is a beautiful and peaceful place to be on earth,” said Brent Birckhead.

The collaborations and performance were made possible by the US Embassy in Zimbabwe.