MUTARE - The music sounded very recognisable. Revellers were busy trouncing the dance floor to the popular song that was being played. (Pictured: Tryson Chimbetu - I want to make a very significant contribution to the legacy of Dendera music)
The song was the famous Samatenga (Lord). Many fans know that the singer of the popular song, the legendary Simon Chimbetu, is dead. But, on this night, it was Tryson Chimbetu the son of Simons young brother Naison who was taking the revellers down the memory trail.
Tryson whose voice is similar to his late fathers brother Simon was on lead vocals while popular sungura music guru Alick Macheso played the bass on some songs including Samatenga and Dr Nero among others. The youthful Tryson (22) backed by the Marxist Brothers performed with confidence and left many screaming for more.
Macheso, a pronounced musician well known for assisting other upcoming musicians has put on board Tryson by holding joint shows with the group, a move that is set to further familiarize Dendera Music. Naison and Simon Chimbetu are the co-founders of the popular Marxist Brothers, a sungura music ensemble that hogged the limelight in the 1980s.
Simon died on Sunday 14th August 2005 while Naison died in March 2006.
Simon left behind his son Sulumani who has taken the Dendera music to another level while Naison left behind his son Tryson who is contributing immensely to the legacy of the music genre. I am prepared to take both my music and the Dendera beat popularised by my father (Naison) and my uncle (Simon) to another greater level, said the talented singer who also plays all the rhythm guitars (main and sub-rhythm guitars) in a recent interview.
I want to make a very significant contribution to the legacy of Dendera music. Playing music naturally runs in the Chimbetu family and it is my sincere wish of contributing to the continuity of the Dendera music, he said. He added: Our fathers (Simon and Naison) left us a legacy. They left us a music heritage. I am happy that we as their children we are doing something to ensure that Dendera music never dies. I hope that we will reach an extra mile. The increasingly popular soft-spoken artist has two albums under his belt.
In 2008 he released his debut album, Marxist Revival that received some rave reviews. He made a follow up album this year called Bvamroad (Out of The Way), which has the plug track Ambie that is doing well in the Radio Zimbabwe Top 20 charts.
I am currently working on the videos of my old and new songs. I hope that they will be out next month, he said.
Asked why he was using the old Marxist Brothers name that was used by the late Simon and Naison during the 1980s, Tryson responded: Although my father played with G7 Commandos and my uncle (Simon) played with Orchestra Dendera Kings, I have decided to go down memory lane and I want to rekindle the Marxist Brothers that used to be the family formation.
The Chimbetu family that is involved in music has been left with Allan (Younger brother to the late Simon and Naison), Sulumani and Tryson. We are not at any competition at all. Our aim is to see the Dendera music going strong. I am glad that we have all realized that we should play complementary roles in order to see to it that the continuity of Dendera music is maintained, said Tryson.
He expressed his gratitude to the fans who were giving him support. I am very overwhelmed by the support I am receiving from the Dendera music fans. I would also want to thank radio presenters for playing my songs. The music journalists have been wonderful to me, I really appreciate their good stories they are writing about me and the Dendera music, he said.
His late father, Naison taught Tryson to play the instruments. He performed live shows with him countrywide before his death. He said he is embarking on nationwide shows where he is familiarizing the Dendera beat.
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