Josphat “Josh” Hozheri — long celebrated as “Big Josh” in Zimbabwe’s jazz circles — is back.
With the launch of The Moving Jazz Café next month, Hozheri is reigniting a beleaguered genre by reviving itinerant, high-quality jazz concerts from Bulawayo to Harare.
He first made his mark in 1999 by opening Jazz 105 at 105 Robert Mugabe Way in the capital — quickly becoming the local home of jazz.
Over more than a dozen years, this venue hosted the Winter Jazz Festival, bringing luminaries like Hugh Masekela, Jimmy Dludlu, Louis Mhlanga, Dorothy Masuka and many more to Zimbabwean audiences.
Through inclusive programming like Ladies in Jazz and school outreach, Jazz 105 nurtured a generation of local stars.
However, after closing Jazz 105 in 2015, followed by the shuttering of his Harare venue — Time & Jazz Café, Hozheri withdrew from public life, especially after the death of his long-time partner Thompson Dondo three years ago.
Hozheri — now resurgent — announced The Moving Jazz Café, a bold two-city festival.
“For the past 10 years, there hasn’t been a dedicated venue like the former Jazz 105… so we will take jazz to different parts of the country,” Hozheri told Standard Style.
- Deborah Fraser laid to rest
- Deborah Fraser laid to rest
- In the groove: The Zexie Manatsa obituary
- In the groove: The Zexie Manatsa obituary
Keep Reading
“Over the years no one has been promoting jazz music like what I used to do and most jazz lovers, a niche group of executives, had nowhere to go.
“I am happy to announce to jazz fans in the country that Jazz 105 Promotions is back and we will be doing jazz and more jazz.”
Hozheri said he was a dedicated and passionate jazz promoter and wouldn’t want to see the genre go into abyss.
He said The Moving Jazz Café was not only confined to Bulawayo and Harare, but it will spread across the breadth and length of the country.
“Yes, we are starting with Bulawayo and then Harare, but we are also exploring other avenues and we will be going to other towns like Zvishavane, Mutare, Chiredzi and other mining towns,” Hozheri said.
“We know that the executives in those towns are starved of jazz music and The Moving Jazz Café is going there to satiate their hunger.”
Big Josh said The Moving Jazz Café will kick start with a show at The Kings Kraal in Bradfield, Bulawayo, on August 8, which will feature performances by Bekezela, veteran Hudson, Vuyo Brown and international jazz maestro Louis Mhlanga.
Harare will host the show the following day at Centurion, where Louis Mhlanga will be supported by locals such as Sub-Sahara Tribe, Jabavu Drive, Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana and Victor Kunonga.
The concept directly addresses a gap left by genre neglect — the elderly, mature audience that once gravitated to jazz has had few options as sungura and Zimdancehall dominated the industry, said Hozheri.
He said he was happy that a number of people have endorsed the concept.
“Honourable Phillip Chiyangwa has been supportive of jazz music and, at some point, he was the guest of honour at a number of our Winter Jazz Festivals where he donated four residential stands to musicians,” Hozheri said.
“He is back and he is willing to support us again.”
Chiyangwa urged jazz enthusiasts to come on board and help Hozheri realises his dream.
“It will be a pleasure to associate myself with such a brilliant extravaganza in terms of music promotion, Josh Hozheri,” he said.
“I have heard a lot about Louis Mhlanga, whom I regard as an international jazz maestro and specialist.
“For those in Bulawayo come on August 8 at The Kings Kraal in your hundreds and support jazz music while for those in Harare on August 9 come to Centurion where I will also be part of the audience.”
Hozheri has also roped in youthful promoters — Roy Zuka, Mehluli “Taz” Moyo, and his brother Taka Hozheri — to ensure jazz’s continuity through mentorship and collaboration.
He said going forward, The Moving Jazz Café would be pitched not only as a nostalgic reunion, but a premium, curated experience.
“At the moment we are relying mainly on ticket sales revenue and we are expecting to get sponsorship along the way,” Hozheri said.
After years of silence post-Dondo’s death and closure of jazz venues, The Moving Jazz Café marks a dramatic reevaluation of Hozheri’s own legacy.
He has returned not just to revive jazz — but to redefine how it is presented.
According to Hozheri, The Moving Jazz Café is as much about spatial mobility as it is about musical revival, bringing jazz back into the public consciousness and doing so with style, mentorship and artistic integrity.
