Bob Nyabinde
Bob Nyabinde is an award-winning Zimbabwean Afro Jazz musician known mostly for his 2002 debut album Pane Nyaya which had the hits Chabuda Hapana and Mombe Yasamanyika. Nyabinde is popularly known as the Headmaster owing to his career as a teacher and then headmaster of primary schools before he went into music full-time. He is the leader of Savanna Band. Bob Nyabinde was born on 10 March 1955 in Mutare in the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. He trained in education at Mutare Teacher's College and later became a teacher who worked at different primary schools in the country, from Primary Schools in rural areas (Somala, St Judges, St Martin’s Zhombe) to urban Primary Schools (Chana Primary School, R. J Davies Primary School). Even as a teacher, Nyabinde had passion for music "The Headmaster" eventually rose through the ranks in education to be promoted to deputy headmaster and eventually to school head at a very young age. It was during this time that he would play as a solo guitarist to pupils at the school, private functions in Kwekwe and regular solo shows at a local hotel in Kwekwe. His debut titled Panenyaya — which had the famous song Chabuda Hapana — was done during the time he was a primary school head at R.J Davies Primary School and he featured his students on the video. Pane Nyaya topped sales for two consecutive years 2002-2004 and made him an icon in the Zimbabwean music industry. It earned him a ZIMA Award in 2003 for the best Afro Jazz Artist of the year 2003. His songs are mainly focused on social themes. After working as a solo artist, Nyabinde eventually formed the Savanna Drive Band. Initially the band was a trio band. The band played in Kwekwe every weekend. His music is classified loosely as "Afro Jazz" and he sings in his native language, Shona, as well as in Ndebele and English. His music has been described as a mixture between the styles that have a town-ship jazz flavor fused with a Zimbabwean traditional sound.
Afro Jazz
