By Terrence Mapurisana
I was driving on my way out of Harare when I received a call from one of my friends, Jazz and Reggae musician, Master Pablo Nakappa, who informed me of the sad news and the passing on of a very good brother, friend, and colleague in music, especially Jazz and Reggae Mukoma Clancy Mbirimi.
I was shattered.
Sometimes, you wish it was just a bad dream so that you can pick up a phone and call him. I could not believe what I was hearing. I asked Pablo what had happened, but he said he had no details. I knew Clancy wasn’t too well because at one time he left the country and told me that he had been called by his daughter for some treatment. I thought he had recovered. I parked my car looked at my mobile phone and saw another message from musician Eyahra Mathazia informing me of the same.
I was heartbroken.
I then saw other messages from various musicians coming through informing me of the passing on of the legendary Clancy. I then said to myself, if big brother Friday Mbirimi was alive, I was going to still call him for confirmation, but the veteran vocalist, guitarist and elder brother to Clancy, passed on a couple of years ago.
They were both members of the Mbare Trio.
Clancy Mbirimi was one of those veteran musicians, legends who were never celebrated. He was a hard-working producer and yet very shy, not until you give him the guitar to strum. I last saw Clancy Mbirimi, a man who assisted and produced and played for a number of local musicians, from Harare Mambos, Mbare Trio, and Chioniso Maraire to Terrence Mapurisana on one of his debut recorded songs Wada Tora – The Steppers Mix.
He called me Stepa.
Yes, that was me in 2017 when I met Mukoma Clancy in his studio in Msasa and he heard my voice and my piano playing and encouraged me to do something about my talent. I complied and sat down with him. At the same time, Steve Makoni recorded the song Wada Tora, Wada Torwa, produced by Clancy Mbirimi and an album that also saw the late Bob Nyabinde and Oliver Mtukudzi participating. We co-wrote the track and I decided to turn it into a jazzy instrumental. Clancy encouraged me to add the lyrics but I said no, that will be on the next project. After we got permission from Mukoma Steve Nyati Makoni to remix or if you like to remake his song, we went ahead.
Clancy then assisted me with the production.
I paid nothing, not a cent.
That is how close we were.
We did it for fun, but the track came out as a gem.
I guess our job was simple though, to take a melody and turn it into a jazz tune, complete with appropriate harmony, minus voicing bass part, and notation for a track. We talked about melody, harmony, and piano playing which I did. The rest is now history.
I kept the song to myself and gave it to a few friends who played it on radio stations and in their cars and bedrooms.
I last saw Clancy Mbirimi at the funeral of veteran musician Ray Mupfumira, a few months ago. Ray worked with the Transit Crew and many other contemporary musicians and was buried at Zororo Cemetery.
When we met, Clancy was all smiles and he even got onto the stage with Mono Clive Mkundu, Master Pablo Nakappa, Cello Culture, Kessia Masona and Trust Simende for a few songs at the memorial concert at Gava’s Restaurant.
Very few producers of music would get down to singing or producing their debut album, but Clancy did and produced a number of tracks as a solo artist, playing all the instruments and doing the vocals too.
Some of the tracks include Kurauone, Easier Said Than Done, Alakata, and the rendition of Tinobva Mbare, among others. He also produced others including Rebel Woman, and Nhema Musasa by the late Chioniso Maraire.
The veteran bass player and vocalist Clancy Mbirimi was a warm character, very supportive and someone who knew what he wanted in life musically.
I remember him telling me that when the Bundu Boys first left Zimbabwe for Europe, he assisted with some of his kit for free.
This Sunday, the 29th of June 2025, I then decided to pay tribute to this dear brother on ZBC Classic263 Sunday Jazz between 11 am and 12 noon by playing some of his tracks off the album Kurauone. These included For You, Rufaro (his rendition), Move, Ego Trip, Usandidaro, among others. Genius as he was, in all these songs, Clancy played all the instruments and did the vocals, both lead and backing vocals.
Clancy Mbirimi’s musical career goes back to the days of the Harare Mambos in the 1980s when he joined Harare Mambo band to replace Green Jangano, who now preferred to play the keyboards. Clancy was also a member of the Mbare Trio, an Afro-jazz group that consisted of his brothers Friday and Lovejoy and played as a session musician for a number of bands. Other members also included William Kashiri, Austin Zvoma, Chris Kuruneri, Sam Mataure, Dr Gibson Mandishona and Hebert Murewa, who were invited to participate in Mbare Trio session shows.
Those who recall Clancy Mbirimi only as the country’s famous Afro-jazz artist will also know that he was a genial entertainer whose face, smile, and at times gravelly voice featured on some jazzy and Nyanja tracks. I know many of you just like me may find it hard to comprehend that this man was also into other musical genres like reggae, one of the handful of radical visionaries who changed the face of art from the 1980s.
Through his music, he made Afro-jazz a vehicle for unprecedented freedom of creative expression, for musical imagination within a uniquely balanced song framework. Clancy Mbirimi’s genius transformed what had been interesting, even fascinating, folk and township music into a genuine and vital art. I will miss you, my brother, keep flying high.
(For an in-depth view of a jazz artist and music, tune in to Terrence Mapurisana on ZBC Classic263 Sunday Jazz 11 am to 12 noon.)
