On July 23rd, the legendary Oliver Mtukudzi and his group The Black Spirits were my invited guests on Music Time in Africa. They’re on tour promoting Sarawoga, Oliver’s 61st album to date. I met the whole band as it rolled into the VOA headquarters parking lot. But Oliver entered the building alone, just he and his guitar and a simple backpack. When I asked about the rest of the group, he laughed and said, “Oh, they’re out having fun somewhere!” I was looking forward to hearing the Black Spirits and getting to know them all, and I was not disappointed. On the contrary, as Oliver was settling into the studio, I realized with the thrill and excitement of a school girl meeting face to face with her first crush, that I was going to have him all to myself.

The next thirty minutes with Oliver opened my heart to Zimbabwe and opened my mind to the power of music to soothe the human soul. Tuku’s velvet raspy voice and mbira inspired guitar style are entrancing. In song and conversation, he speaks about things that matter to him as a father, as an artist, and as a living legend and doyen of Zimbabwean musical culture. Enjoy Oliver Mtukudzi as I did in this unplugged interview from Studio 4.