Zwai Bala, whose Christmas CD was released this month, has been to China for a holiday special show.
Zwai's eagerly awaited album realises his long-held desire to
produce a festive album for South Africans by a South African - which means Boney M can step down at last! Featuring 10 essential Christmas classics, it's a journey from
classical to jazz, dance to reggae, kwaito to pop.
It's also a pleasant return to the scene for Zwai, the front man of former kwaito group TKZee.
Zwai's classical training was always evident in the string harmonies of TKZee, but it is his own voice on which he relies on this album, reflecting the talent that secured him a full scholarship to the Royal School of Music in Britain to major in vocal studies.
Zwai arranged and produced all the songs, and it's likely a favourite will be Silent Night, which is given a modern jazz-soul feel. Wonderful was written by the artist when he was 16, putting to music Isaiah 9:6. But Zwai's favourite tune on the album is the old-fashioned Chestnuts.