Sithole parted ways with Thomas most recently in 1988, and he went on to play with The Pied Pipers and then singer Dorothy Masuko, a veteran star often compared with her contemporary Miriam Makeba of South Africa. But in 1992, Sithole once again became a bandleader, reforming Deep Horizon, the group he had first created a decade before during an earlier falling out with Thomas. Deep Horizon\'s 1992 song \"Sabhuku\" established Sithole and his group as major players in Zimbabwe\'s burgeoning pop scene. The words tell a poignant tale of a village headman or Sabhuku, who proves unresponsive to his people, losing first their respect, and consequently his power and position. The song\'s music presents a skilled reworking of \"Nhemamusasa,\" one of the most beautiful and popular songs in the traditional mbira repertoire. In arranging the song for mbira, bass, guitar, keyboard, drums and percussion, Sithole shows his trademark sensitivity to the original mbira piece. \"Mbiras create confusion for other musicians,\" warns Sithole. \"You really have to rehearse each song independently or you wind up just filling in gaps rather than playing melodies.\"

Sithole rejoined the Blacks Unlimited in 1995, and alongside another veteran guitarist Joshua Dube, he thrilled Zimbabwean audiences with what would turn out to be his final performances. Hard times led this pioneer mbira guitarist back to the Blacks Unlimited, but for many fans, it was where he belonged all along. Sithole recorded two cassettes with Mapfumo and the band, and was the sole guitarist on the CD Chimurenga: African Spirit Music (Womad Select 1997), a classic by any measure. His health failing from the illness that has robbed Zimbabwe of too many great musicians--AIDS--Sithole died in August of 1997.">

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Jonah Sithole
Southern Africa
Zimbabwe
Jonah Sithole-l
One of the pioneers of Zimbabwe's mbira guitar style, the late Jonah Sithole was a genius of guitar lyricism. Read more on Jonah Sithole...
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