ONE shameful aspect of Zambian art is its limitation to allow artists break into the international market with many only succeeding on tottering on the brink of a regional or global breakthrough.
The few artists who have made it internationally or improved their art have to leave the country that is artistically limited.
Here I can cite several artists in several genres like Namwali Serpell (literature), Charles Sambono (visual arts), Ellen Aaku Banda (literature) and Dorothy Masuka (music) all who made it after leaving the country.
In short Zambia has no vibrant cultural landscape to nurture art to international standards.
However, I will limit myself to music since I have seen this frustration first hand especially from artists hailing from countries with an established music heritage like South Africa.
One such artist who got frustrated here is the late South African jazz pianist, composer and journalist Todd Matshikiza, who though being an established musician of international reputation got frustrated musically in Zambia.
Matshikiza became very popular on the Zambian airwaves as a broadcaster though he eventually left broadcasting to become music archivist for the Zambian Information Service in 1967, travelling extensively to collect traditional Zambian music.
However, he became frustrated by the lack of a creative musical environment in Zambia, a scenario that has deteriorated even further now.
Matshikiza had good cause to be frustrated here since he was an accomplished musician hailing from a family of renowned musicians; his mother Grace Ngqoyi Matshikiza.was a noted soprano while  his father Samuel Bokwe Matshikiza played the organ in the Anglican Church.
Todd’s earliest experience as a professional musician was in one of Meekly’s bands.
Matshikiza received his primary education in Queenstown and Kimberley, and then went on to St Peter’s College in Rosettenville, Johannesburg and took a diploma in music at Adams College in Natal, and a teacher’s diploma at Lovedale Institute in Alice (1941/42).
He stayed on as a teacher at Lovedale, where he taught English and Mathematics in the high school until 1947.
He was often referred to as the ‘Pied Piper’in his student and teaching days at Lovedale, as he would entertain friends and colleagues playing various instruments, particularly the piano accordion.
He composed various songs and choral works during this time, most notably Hamba Kahle, which has since become a standard work for choral groups throughout South Africa.
It was also performed for the arrival of the Queen of England at Bulawayo in 1946, and for the Johannesburg Music Festival in 1950.
In 1947 he accepted a teaching post at Ermelo High School in the Eastern Transvaal, but left after a short spell to establish himself in Johannesburg.
In the same year he met his future wife, Esme Sheila Mpama, a student social worker.
They were married in 1950. Matshikiza taught for a while at Moroka High School and later established a private music school (the Todd Matshikiza School of Music) to teach the piano.
But he was chiefly concerned with Johannesburg’s jazz world. In order to survive that precarious existence, he worked for Vanguard Booksellers, and later as a salesman for the Gillette Razor Blade Company.
In 1952 he became, along with Henry Nxumalo, one of the original writers of the new Drum magazine, then edited by Anthony Sampson.
His main creative energies always went into his music. His passion for classical music (particularly Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin) was reflected in his choral compositions – most notably Uxolo (‘peace’), which was commissioned for the 70th anniversary celebrations of the city of Johannesburg in 1956.
In an earlier choral piece, Makhaliphile (1953), dedicated to the late father Huddlestone, he merged classical, jazz and traditional influences to masterful effect.
The lyrics for his songs were written in a witty combination of Xhosa and English.
As a jazz musician his most notable work was as a pianist with the Manhattan Brothers and the Harlem Swingsters. He toured South Africa with both these groups, and also travelled to Lorenzo Marques (now Maputo) in neighbouring Mozambique.
In 1958 Matshikiza composed the music (and wrote some of the lyrics) for King Kong, the all-black musical that became a nation-wide hit in 1959.
He applied all his jazz and choral experience, as well as his intimate understanding of Sophiatown and black Johannesburg, to produce a compelling musical portrayal of the life and death of the heavyweight boxer Ezekiel Dlamini, known to his fans as ‘King Kong’.
In 1959 he worked closely with Alan Paton in Durban to create Mkhumbane, and a acapella musical play about the forced removals of black people from Cato Manor.
King Kong was the major success of his career, however, and was bought for a transfer to the West End of London in 1961.
Matshikiza took the opportunity to leave South Africa with his family in 1960 and to make a new life for himself in England.
Although King Kong was a success there, no great musical opportunities opened up for him though he occasionally played the piano in London nightclubs and resumed his career in journalism.
He freelanced for various British journals, writing a series called ‘Todd in London’ for Drum readers back home and broadcasting for the African Service of the BBC. In 1961 he published an autobiographical book, Chocolates for my wife.
In 1964 he took up an offer from the fledgling Zambian government to be a newscaster and producer for the Zambian Broadcasting Corporation.
Though he was relieved to be able to take his family back to the African continent, his musical dreams in Zambia could not be realised.
The only time he flexed his music muscles was in May 1965 when he became one of five South African Black artists to perform at the first Zambia Arts Festival held in  Luanshya.
He lived in Ridgeway and compared to other South African exiles like Lewis Nkosi who were known socialites in Lusaka, he was a reserved person.
He only socialised with the likes of the late folk legendary singer Alick Nkhata.
I met him fleetingly as a budding musician and marvelled at his talent which could not be nurtured in a musically-backward country like Zambia.
He died in 1968 in Zambia and was survived by his wife Esme, daughters Marian Linda, and a son John.
Last week, I stumbled on one of his classics Umsindo on YouTube and realised just how accomplished Matshikiza was as a musician.
As Zambia which is half a century old soldiers on with no clear direction in the arts, there is need to invest more in this industry to ensure artists compete favourably internationally.
I say this knowing that Matshikiza’s frustration can be felt by serious local artists now.