Oliver Mtukudzi was widely known in Southern Africa long before he was popular in the west. But with the proliferation of international music in the early to mid-1990’s, under the rubric of “World music,” Mtukudzi has earned a loyal international following and constant presence on his international tour circuit. On June 11, 2005 Mtukudzi and his band, the Black Disciples, will perform at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, Massachusetts. Judging from Mtukudzi’s past performances in the area, tomorrow’s will be to a sold-out crowd.

Mtukudzi’s Boston date is the third stop in a North American tour of twenty-two dates in the US and Canada to promote his latest release, Nhava (Headsup 2005). A close listening to Nhava reveals a deeply spiritual and innovative singer at the top of his game, giving voice to real social, economic and spiritual travails experienced by many in the world.

Oliver Mtukudzi began his musical career playing alongside Thomas Mapfumo in the Wagon Wheels, a pre-independence sensation in what was then Rhodesia. The group’s first single, an overnight success tiled “Dzandimomoreta,” secured the band local fame. Mtukudzi broke from the group in 1979 to form the Black Disciples. A song composed by Mtukudzi and the Black Disciples in 1980, Africa, brilliantly captured the euphoria leading up to Rhodesia’s independence and was instrumental in cementing Mtukudzi’s reputation as a contending voice in the national consciousness. Although he is better known for his music, Mtukudzi has made several appearances in documentaries about African music in the 1980’s and in the early 1990’s. He also played the lead role in of Jit, in a feature film made in Zimbabwe. Jit’s success at home and abroad opened new avenues for Tuku’s music, and a starring role in a second feature film, Neria, for which Mtukudzi wrote the musical score.

Tuku Music, a term used by Mtukudzi’s fans to denote his unique style, revolves around the fusion of local and regional sounds such as the jit and mbaquanga, tethered loosely to the mbira music of the Shona people in Zimbabwe. Although the mbira itself is not in the line-up of instruments used on Nhava , this instrument which Shona lore ascribes mystical powers is well represented in the tunings of Mtukudzi’s acoustic guitar. The cadence of Tuku Music is equally influenced by the themes that Mtukudzi explores. Nhava , his hunter’s bag, is loaded with vital lessons for the tough ascend on the steep slope of life that he alludes to in track 7, Tiregerereiwo. These delicacies and more rank Nhava right next to Tuku Music (Putumayo, 1999) in the pantheon of Mtukudzi albums.

A soulful and deeply introspective album, Nhava opens with Ninipa, a song that espouses the virtues of humility. Ninipa’s call- and-response patterns, and adaptations of mbira chords on acoustic guitar, are a good stylistic summation of what is to follow on the rest of the album. Mtukudzi makes the call in the first two verses, and then retreats by way of a keyboard-led segue into the chorus. Kenny Mashamba and one of Mtukuzi’s two female vocalists take turns leading.

From track two, Izhere Mhepo, comes the title of the album. The track, arranged by Sam Mtukudzi, uses the allegory of the hunter’s bag, Nhava , to shed light on the uncertainties of migrant labor. Like the hunter’s bag, which is always assumed to contain prey (although at times it is empty) the lure of greener pastures elsewhere often turn out to be a myth that perpetuates a cycle of dependency and unmet expectations. The grass, pardon the old cliché, is not always green on other side; a reality that the immigrant will realize at a great cost sooner or later.

Pindirai, an upbeat rhythm punctuated by funky riffs, tackles the crisis of environmental degradation. Mtukudzi laments that the felling of trees have left humanity without a shelter from the scorching sun, and polluted rivers have left populations wanting for a place to bathe and fish. Mtukudzi calls on leaders and the elders to take charge of the situation.

A lilting guitar riff interspersed with call-and-response patterns runs the length of Menzva Kudzimba, behind a convivial and playful melody. Sang in the Kore Kore dialect of the Shona language, according to the liner notes, this track heralds the power of unity and calls on all to avoid petty. The mood is more serious on track 5, Hazivere, in which a father addresses a son who, for various reasons, he has never met. The rich timbre of Mtukudzi’s voice extracts every drop of pathos to which this rollicking narrative lends itself.

Tiregerereiwo is a supplication for divine intervention in a world where hope has succumbed to recurrent hardship, challenging the resolve of many to stay the course. This track opens with the acoustic guitar, followed closely by the piano, in a sparse arrangement which allows Mutkudzi’s voice to come through; it does, almost to a breaking point, in the last few seconds of the song. The chorus is as uplifting as the throbbing bass line rolling alongside a lively exchange of mbira notes by the acoustic and electric guitars. The same is true for Handiro Dambudziko, track 8, which asks that we address the root cause of problems, not their manifestation, the disease, or its symptoms.

Mtukudzi pays homage to the Blues on track 9, Tiri Mubindu, a slow number in which he pays respect to the loved ones who have gone to join the ancestors. Mtukudzi compares life to a carefully tended garden, with blooming flowers. Like the flowers that are harvested at the apex of their beauty, death claims the lives of the good in their prime.

In Tozeza, track 11, we are let into the world of a tormented child who has mustered enough courage to confront father, an alcoholic who abuses his wife. It is a painful tale made lighter by an easy-going melody and eclectic guitar play that invokes sadness and outbursts of joy simultaneously.

Nhava is certain to join Tuku Music in the pantheon of Mtukudzi’s works. Mtukudzi can be seen and heard at the Somerville in Somerville, Massachusetts on Saturday, June 11, 2005.

-Muna Kangsen