Jonah Moyo Biography
Jonah Moyo is one of Zimbabwe’s legendary musicians whose career stretched from the late 1970s. Moyo, who leads the Devera Ngwena Jazz band rose to stardom in the early 1980s with hits such as ‘Soro naMutsai’ and ‘Barbra’ which topped the charts. He is also considered as the founder of Sungura music genre.
Jonah Moyo Family
He is a young brother to renowned author, Aaron Chiundura Moyo. Jonah’s wife passed away in 2008. He has 4 children, Shephard (musician), Cresencia, Jonah Junior and Jarelth.
Jonah Moyo Music Career
While many musicians are driven by money or fame, Moyo was driven by the desire to win girls’ hearts. That’s when he started playing the banjo. He only seriously considered doing music when he moved to Kwekwe at an early age in the late 1970s. Jonah had a passion for music that drove him to play at train stations with one of his friends. Moyo played at the stations for some time until another friend introduced him to a band which he used to play at Garandichauya bottle store in Mbizo Township. It was after he moved to Mashava when he thought of forming a band to make extra cash as his job did not pay well. This aided by the need to entertain the Mashaba Asbestos Mine dwellers saw the birth of the Deverangwena Jazz band (follow the crocodile). The group had their base at the mine near Masvingo where Moyo worked as the mine clerk.
Jonah started at M’sopero Hotel in Kwekwe in 1977. He went to record his first single, ‘Devera Ngwena Zhimozhi’ which went platinum in just a month after its release. The group music was a fusion of rhumba from Congo, benga from Kenya and mbaqanga from South Africa, blended with traditional mbira-influenced rhythms. This created a unique sound which was different from genres at that time. Moyo soon secured a recording deal with the Teal Recording Company now
Jonah Moyo
called Grammar Records. At independence, the band became one of the best and the hit ‘Solo na Mutsai’ made waves and propelled the group to national stardom. At their peak, the band had the likes of Oliver Mtukudzi and Leonard Dembo to curtain-raise for them.
Jonah Moyo Major Achievements
Devera Ngwena Jazz Band became the first group from Zimbabwe to sell music outside the across the boarders including in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, and Swaziland.
Jonah Moyo Death | Still Alive
Moyo is still believed to be alive and well as of this writing.
Jonah Moyo International Tours
The group had performed in different countries such as the United Kingdom, Holland, Belgium and Germany. They had shared the stage with international legends such as Ziggy Marley and UB40. Their popularity was not only confined to Zimbabwe, as evidenced by their invitation to perform at the Namibian independence day celebrations in 1990.
Jonah Moyo Albums
- Murikurasika papi
- Usam’bate
- Devera Ngwena VOL 13
- Wapusa Wapusa
- Devera Ngwena 7
- The Best of Jonah Moyo
- Sugar Bum Bum
- Sold Gold 2
- Devera Ngwena Vol 5
- Live in Musina
- Devera Ngwena Vol 4
- Shango ndilashu vol 6
- Ten Randa Zwikete
- Shango ndilashu
- Live at 2010 Center Thohoyandou
- Who ele but Jesus
- Makare
- Devera Ngwena VOL 1 & 2
- Sold Gold 2
- Solo naMutsai
- The Best Vol 2
- Best of Best
- Mutumbuliwa Zwingondo Vol 35
- Tsava Tsava Vol 26
- The best of Jonah Moyo
Jonah Moyo Songs
1. Dhiya waena
2. Mubvakure
3. Kapuracha
4. Ndatambura Newe
5. Taxi Driver
6. Svidhara ndosvidii
7. Mugere
8. Dzura Matongo
9. Kwauyiwa
10. Todzvo
11. Lufuno (Rudo)
12. Solo na Mutsai
13. Ndafunga Makare
14. Solo naMutsai
15. Sahwira mhishi
16. A Vha Shoni
17. Usamubate
18. Ndadzokazve
19. Amai Vapaul
20. Madiro
21. Kedu Kondo 12
22. Reginah Waenda
23. Ndoenda jerera
24. Ndoni Hangwela
25. Lusaka machipisa
26. Fullstop
27. Solo naMutsai
28. Love, Peace & Happiness
29. Barbra
30. Wakandicheka Nerakagomara
31. Hatimbonyara
32. Ndikundisei
33. Gladys
34. Tinoda ruponiso
35. Awu Lunghanga
36. Chisaraijonah moyo
37. Tiri vaviri
38. Sugar musauti
39. Mbilu Ya Wena
40. Mafuro manyoro
41. Khotsi A Mati
42. Victoria falls
43. Shango Ndi Lashu
44. Nyakuzvida
45. Sahwira wangu
46. Tateterera
47. Vakomana vaye
48. Los Tambores
49. Mamuona
50. wangu p
Jonah Moyo – Video
Jonah Moyo Interview
MM: How did you get to Mashava and become a member of Devera Ngwena Jazz Band?
JM: It’s quite a long story. One day a friend brought to me a newspaper with an advert from Gaths Mine in Mashava which was looking for four musicians to join the company’s music group.
I applied for the job and I was invited for an interview. When I arrived at the company office, a white welfare officer took me to a room where he showed me musical instruments, before he asked me to connect them.
I successfully did that, but I told him that I was a lead guitarist. However, he told me that they already had one, Innocent Bitu and he insisted that I try the rhythm guitar, which I played to his satisfaction. I was given the job and after two weeks, two more new members — a bass guitarist and drummer — joined us.
During our practice sessions, we agreed that I would play the lead guitar while Innocent would play the rhythm and so it was myself on the lead guitar, Davy on the bass guitar, Moses on the drums while Innocent played the rhythm guitar.
MM: Can you shed light on your contract with Shabanie Mashava Mines who were your employers?
JM: The deal was that we would work at Gaths Mine Stadium for five hours during the day and in the evening, we would perform for three hours. Unfortunately, the instruments constantly broke down, which prompted the mine management to reassign us to underground jobs where we worked for eight hours a day.
However, two band members left because they could not handle it and we replaced them with two new faces, who included Jonisai Machinya. We realized that Jonisai had an amazing voice, so we made him one of our vocalists and I also roped in Robson Banda.
MM: When did you start recording your music?
JM: In September 1979, I took a three-week break from work and visited a brother — Joshua — who was staying in Chitungwiza. My brother was a lead guitarist at Thomas Mapfumo’s band, so he took me to Teal Record Company, now Gramma Records, where he introduced me to AK Mapfumo who was the producer.
Mapfumo asked me the number of songs that I had composed and were ready for production, to which I said 20. Honestly, I did not have a song that was ready for recording and our band did not even have a name.
People only referred to us as Welfare Band, so when he asked me about the name of the group, I quickly remembered a friend who used to follow our live shows back at the mine.
We used to call him Zidevera Ngwena (follow crocodile), so I told Mapfumo that our group was called Devera Ngwena Jazz Band, and the rest is history.
We were asked to come for recording at Teal Record Company after two weeks, so I had to cut short my vacation and went back to Mashava to compose new songs and practice.
While in Harare, I met Patrick Kabanda who was playing drums for a band that was based in Mhangura and I convinced him to join us for recording.
MM: Which members of your group did you record with your first project?
JM: It was myself on the lead guitar and vocals, Jonisai on the backing vocals, Patrick on the drums, Innocent on the rhythm guitar and Robson Banda on the bass. These are the original members of Devera Ngwena Jazz Band. Our first recorded single was Devera Ngwena Zhimozhi which was a hit
MM: Was Robson Banda part of the Devera Ngwena Jazz Band’s success story of the 1980s?
JM: No, Robson left to form his own group, the New Black Eagles and we brought in Hilliot Vhiyazhi to play the rhythm guitar. Innocent switched to the bass guitar. When we got our royalties Hilliot went AWOL and never came back so we replaced him with Jabulani who was Innocent’s young brother. By then the band was very popular.
MM: How many albums and singles did you record during your stay in Mashava?
JM: We recorded eight albums, two maxi-singles and I can’t recall the number of singles we recorded during that time.
MM: Why did you end your marriage with Shabanie Mashava Mines and moved to Masvingo?
JM: I left Mashava after we had an accident while on duty on our way from a gig in Zvishavane.
The mine management refused to compensate us after members sustained injuries, which did not go down well with us.
I decided to leave mine and moved to Masvingo where I had bought a house. However, some members remained at the mine and I took Patrick with me and we incorporated new members into the new-look Devera Ngwena Jazz Band. The guys who were left at the mine chose to call themselves Zhimozhi Jazz Band.
source: www.thestandard.co.zw