Oliver Mtukudzi

Guitarist and singer-songwriter Oliver Mtukudzi blends the influences, percussive sounds, and language of his native Zimbabwe with modern instruments and jazz-inflected arrangements on Nhava. On “Izere Mhepo,” electric guitarist Philani “Mzala” Dube plays a beautiful set of riffs around Mtukudzi’s story of a family who “is split in numerous directions, in search of greener pastures.” Then he speaks of how modern society damages the environment, leaving “no more trees to shelter us from the sun,” on “Pindirai,” which is marked by a rock steady tempo. But he ends on a cheerful note with “Dzidziso,” thanking God while begging for forgiveness for the mistakes he has made.