Tetemuka Jive (1969)

Welcome to December on Electric Jive! In my humble opinion, there can be no better way to kick off the festive season than with a seriously large dose of the greatest South African sax jive. Tetemuka Jive, released on the Inkonkoni label in 1969, collects 12 of the best mbaqanga instrumentals (originally released as singles) of the last 12 months.

At the time of this album’s release, Mavuthela Music – Gallo Africa’s black music production facility headed by Rupert Bopape – had successfully solidified its position as the most dominant African record label in the industry. This success was initially generated by a number of popular recordings from a line-up of female singers, later to be known as the Mahotella Queens, together with groaner Mahlathini and the Makgona Tsohle Band. The triumvirate recorded a frankly astonishing amount of hit singles during the 1960s in addition to extensive tours across the country to fulfil demand – so it was inevitable that the formidable and shrewd Bopape sought to replicate the success by forming a number of junior bands to follow in their footsteps.

Tetemuka Jive spotlights a couple of the more successful instrumental combos that Bopape formed to capitalise on the success of Marks Mankwane and company – Abafana Bemvunge (Boys of the grapevine) and Abafana Bama Big Bag (Boys of big bags). On this album, both teams provide the instrumental accompaniment to some of Mavuthela’s great sax jivers including Sipho Bhengu, Jack Lerole and Lemmy Mabaso. There are also two other numbers provided by the premier house band, Makgona Tsohle, in conjunction with premier sax jiver West Nkosi. This LP was the first issued on the Inkonkoni label, then the latest in a long line of Mavuthela labels (Motella, Gumba Gumba, C.T.C. Star Record, Smanje Manje… and so on). Though the term has since been adapted for other uses by the younger generation, ‘inkonkoni’ was at the time the straightforward Zulu term for 'wildebeest'.

It’s rare to come across an album of this style and vintage and find that every single track is nothing less than amazing. But I must admit to having a few personal favourites. “Tetemuka” (“Cruise along”) echoes some of the other sax jive singles of the decade including “Jive Mojikisa” and “Ice Cream and Suckers”, but this one must have been successful enough to warrant its appearance here as the title track and a follow-up recording, “Tetemuka No. 2”, from Izingane Zomgqashiyo (available on Indoda Mahlathini, Motella LMO 110). Big Voice Jack’s four numbers on Tetemuka Jive make remarkable use of other musical styles including tango, ska and soul. Marks Mankwane’s jive-tastic “Marks Special” started a huge craze and, with West Nkosi on alto sax and the rest of the Makgona Tsohle Band backing them up, he proceeded to record as many follow-up singles as possible over the next couple of years. But Marks’ “Pheladi” (“daughter-in-law”) is my absolute favourite and one can quite clearly hear the infectious beat eventually stir the band members up into a musical tizzy.

A huge, huge thanks to Manzo Khulu for providing the translations here.

Readers please stay tuned to Electric Jive this month for your usual end-of-year mixture of musical treats. I hope this one starts the party with an absolute bang! Enjoy!

TETEMUKA JIVE

VARIOUS

produced by Rupert Bopape

Inkonkoni LNKO 2000

1969

Sax Jive

MF

Superb sax jive: Thala Thala (1971)

Electric Jive returns today to the delightful and infectious sound of South African sax jive. Thala Thala is a 1971 compilation LP that gathers together some of the biggest selling instrumental 45 rpm singles of the past year or two. The songs featured on this album are short, sweet, peppy and catchy - and if this LP doesn't get you up from your chair and dancing around the room, nothing else will! Thala Thala features a grand selection of sax jives (plus three accordion jives) from some of the greatest names of the era: Marks Mankwane & His Shaluza Boys, Sipho Bhengu & His Alto Sax, Big Voice Jack, Zwino Zwino Boys, Marubini and His Hot Shots, Mtabhane Ndima, and Noah Nduweni & His Sax. This album was released on the Inkonkoni label - which, at the time of release, was the most popular of the numerous Gallo-Mavuthela imprints.

The previous owner of this LP singled out Sipho Bhengu's "Tickey Dopies" and the Zwino Zwino Boys' "Tadima Tadima" as the two highlights with a black pen on the back cover. These two songs are certainly enjoyable (EJ readers may be aware that the former BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel had a 45 rpm copy of "Tickey Dopies" in his vinyl collection) but, to my ears, there are several other songs on this LP that stand out much more than those two. Sipho's excellent sax jiving can also be heard in the rhythmic "Isaluti" that opens Thala Thala with a bang. "Auwa-Auwa", performed by Marks Mankwane & His Shaluza Boys, is quite frankly excellent. West Nkosi opens up the tune with a quick play of his harmonica (or "mouth organ") and Marks plays his lead guitar in that distinctive Marks way - but with the help of a wah-wah pedal. The two take turns soloing in this number (West solos on both the harmonica and his usual alto sax) and are backed effortlessly by the rest of Mavuthela's superb house band, the Makgona Tsohle Band.

Marks, West and the Makgona Tsohle Band return to perform "Marks Special No. 4". The band released "Marks Special" - a tune that showcased Marks' undeniably brilliant guitar skills - on single in 1969 and it was so successful that they recorded a follow-up titled "Marks Special No. 2". The third installment can be found on another Mavuthela sax jive compilation LP, Game 1 - Game 2 (1970). The fourth Marks Special here on Thala Thala spotlights Joseph Makwela's bass as much as it does Marks' lead guitar - Makwela actually plays the same iconic bass line he performed on the Mahotella Queens' smash hit single "Lilizela" a year prior. Vivian Ngubane's iconic rhythm guitar is strangely lost in the mix on "Marks Special No. 4" but it shines very much so on Mtabhane Ndima's "Emahlanzini", a repetitive but enjoyable early accordion jive from one of the masters of the style.

Vivian Ngubane was the first to set a template that other rhythm guitarists innovated upon. Marubini  Sam Jagome, inspired by Ngubane's wonderfully elastic rhythm line, developed his own personal and recognisable style. Marubini played both rhythm and lead guitar, creating a uniquely beautiful and almost wistful sound that became a trademark of the Zwino Zwino Boys, the junior Mavuthela instrumental team. The Zwino Zwino Boys featured an almost-exclusively Venda line-up ("zwino zwino" is Venda for "now now" - as in "ultra modern"!). Aside from the late Marubini on lead guitar, the Zwino Zwino Boys also featured his brother Christian Piliso Nombewu on rhythm guitar, Eddie Ndzeru on drums and leader James Mukwevho on bass guitar. Words cannot describe the great melodic back-and-forth of the title track, "Thala Thala", played to perfection by these ultra modern lads. Just take a listen and you'll understand!

Aaron "Big Voice Jack" Lerole had long since given up the strained groaning that shredded his vocal chords by the time he recorded the sax jive hit "Space Age" for Mavuthela. The title was no doubt inspired by the 1969 moon landings but the melody itself actually sounds like sax jive with a slight dash of salsa to me. We previously shared this sublime tune on our compilation Sax Jive Special - Vol.  2 - check it out now if you haven't already done so.

Thala Thala... 12 amazing instrumentals from the heyday of mbaqanga. What's not to love? Download and enjoy!

VARIOUS

THALA THALA

compiled by Shadrack Piliso and Wilson Silgee

Inkonkoni LPBS 4

1971

Instrumental

MF

Sax Jive Special - Vol. 2

We're keeping this instrumental theme going for just a little bit longer here on Electric Jive. Why? Well, why not?! Sax jive happens to be one of the most peppy and sweet styles of instrumental dance music that has ever existed - and what better way of celebrating the genre than sharing with our readers another bumper collection of the very best sax jives? Following on from our last delve into the archives, we present to you Sax Jive Special - Vol. 2.

The Makgona Tsohle Band were the first guys on the scene in the 1960s to take the swing-style instrumental jive and reshape it into the more danceable, more electric and elastic mbaqanga beat which soared to amazing heights. If just one listen to real gems like "Umzinto", "Cowboy" or "Sithunyiwe Thokozile" doesn't at the very least get your foot tapping, then there's something truly wrong with your musical tastes. Under various recording pseudonyms, the men behind the Makgona Tsohle Band created the biggest instrumental hits of the day. That team - Marks Mankwane on lead guitar, Vivian Ngubane on rhythm guitar, Joseph Makwela on bass, Lucky Monama on drums and West Nkosi leading on alto saxophone - was the gold standard, the benchmark against which all other mbaqanga bands were measured.

The Makgona Tsohle Band didn't just back West - they were the Mavuthela house band who generally backed every one of the stable's saxophone players and vocal jive groups. Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso shot to fame as the child pennywhistler of the late 1950s - but by the 1960s, with kwela out and mbaqanga in, he turned to the alto sax and joined forces with Makgona Tsohle for a series of recordings that included "Sipho Special". You can clearly hear everyone in the studio feeding off each other's high spirits on this bouncy number.

Spokes Mashiyane, the man who brought sax jive to prominence, also joined forces with Mavuthela during the 1960s. It might be true to say that the great Mashiyane became sidelined and unappreciated as the style developed further and further into the more hard and bouncy mbaqanga, with the spotlight focusing instead on fresh young talent like West Nkosi, David Thekwane, Reggie Msomi, Boy Masaka and others. Mashiyane did continue to record sporadically though and did create some great sax jives with the Makgona Tsohle Band, such as "Kgwale". "Sediba" is also an enjoyable tune featuring Mashiyane on top form. The real star here though is Vivian Ngubane who bends the melody fantastically with his rhythm guitar. Ngubane, for some rather puzzling reason, seems to be generally forgotten compared to those he worked with such as Marks Mankwane and Joseph Makwela. This is all the more strange because Ngubane was nothing less than a trendsetter. His rhythm guitar, sandwiched between Mankwane's lead guitar and Makwela's bass, became the signature elastic bedrock of the music. Until Ngubane joined the Makgona Tsohle Band late in 1964, the rhythm guitar line was still being filled by an acoustic guitar player who strummed nothing more than simple chords. Ngubane's trademark sound opens "Umzinto", a good example of the staple instrumental mbaqanga that Makgona Tsohle pumped out of the Gallo studio every week.

Sipho Bhengu, before joining the famous Mango Groove and lending them his wonderful talents, was a supreme sax jive star of the 1970s. His "Welani Imifula" opens with a boisterous spoken word from Mavuthela's boss Rupert Bopape and then gives way to the musical backing of the Jets and Sipho's great sax rhythms. Another sax jive star was Selby Mmutung - better known to you and me as Bra Sello. Sello made his name playing with Abafana Bentuthuko and later joined Mavuthela, working with the late genius Mzwandile David to produce sax-accordion jives under the name Mathwalimbuzi. "Umsuzo" rather bizarrely refers to someone breaking wind and Sello certainly creates the right impression during the opening of the tune. Reggie Msomi was also a talented somebody. During the 1960s, Msomi and his Hollywood Jazz Band (usually comprising Reggie on sax backed by the talented Makgona Tsohle Band!) produced some rather adventurous instrumental hits - taking sax jive and mixing it with various other styles such as soul, ska or reggae. "Chumba" is a great tune with some hints of Congo rumba. Aaron Jack Lerole also turned and twisted sax jive and took it to newer heights. "Space Age" is simply amazing - just listen and hear for yourself.

The marvellous Zwino Zwino Boys, led by bass guitarist James Mukwevho, bring our compilation to a fitting close with the excellent "Thala Thala". This has to be one of my favourite sax jives of all time. Sam Jagome effortlessly kicks everything off with a few calm strums of his electric lead guitar. The rest of the band joins in and this combined force works up some truly magical rhythms. The late Sam has to be one of the forgotten geniuses of mbaqanga music. He followed Marks Mankwane's unique innovations and ended up creating a signature style all of his own. Sam's beautiful lead guitar strains could be heard not only in the Zwino Zwino Boys but also behind the spirited vocals of Izintombi Zomoya.

Our thanks to Laurent Dalmasso for contributing two wonderful tracks to this compilation from the original 78 rpm discs - "Sediba" and "Sipho Special". All you need to do now is download this mix and get yourself ready for some serious jiving until you drop.

ENJOY!

SAX JIVE SPECIAL - VOL. 2

01) PAKU PAKU - MAKHOLOKHOLO (1965)

02) SEDIBA - SPOKES AND HIS GOLDEN SAX (1966)

03) UMZINTO - LUCKY MONAMA AND HIS PARTNERS (1968)

04) CHUMBA - REGGIE MSOMI AND HIS HOLLYWOOD JAZZ BAND (1969)

05) SIPHO SPECIAL - LEMMY MABASO AND HIS SAX (1965)

06) JIVE SMODERN JIVE - MAKHOLOKHOLO (1965)

07) COWBOY - WEST NKOSI AND HIS SAX (1967)

08) TADIMA TADIMA - ZWINO ZWINO BOYS (1971)

09) WELANI IMIFULA - SIPHO BHENGU AND HIS JETS (1973)

10) MANYANE JIVE PART TWO - POPS AND SONS (1976)

11) PULL MAN NO. 2 - MARKS AND THE SHALUZA BOYS (1976)

12) UMSUZO - MATHWALIMBUZI (1976)

13) BATHATHE GEORGE - ABAKHWENYANA (1973)

14) KIT BAG - MAMBAZA NABAFANA BOMSHOSHOLOZO (1971)

15) FOUR MABONE - WEST NKOSI NABASHOKOBEZI (1973)

16) AMANZI AMANCANE NO. 5 - LUCKY MONAMA AND HIS PARTNERS (1971)

17) SITHUNYIWE THOKOZILE - MAKGOLOKGOLO (1967)

18) KGWALE - SPOKES AND HIS GOLDEN SAX (1967)

19) SPACE AGE - BIG VOICE JACK (1971)

20) THALA THALA - ZWINO ZWINO BOYS (1971)

MF

A Mavuthela Christmas - Part One

Christmas is almost upon us, and it would be somewhat unusual for Electric Jive not to welcome in the festive season without providing our readers with a hefty dose of mbaqanga. Therefore, I am proud to present the first of a two-part compilation entitled A Mavuthela Christmas. This is the fifth volume in my series charting the music of the Mavuthela Music Company, a series that began back in 2009 with a post on the Matsuli Music blog.

A Mavuthela Christmas – Part One pays tribute to the glue that held everything together. That glue was a tight unit of instrumentalists who not only provided beautiful musical backing for the vocal stars, but also created their own wonderful melodic hits. This compilation traces not only some of the most rhythmic sax jive recordings of the company, but also some of the unusual ventures into others music styles such as ska, soul, the keyboard-led marabi, and the mid-1970s “African Jazz” revival. All in all, this mixture of recordings provides something of a peek into what made the Mavuthela instrumental section the supreme, creative and talented powerhouse it was.

At Mavuthela’s start, the musical backing was provided mostly by former pennywhistle jive stars who had been forced to learn newer instruments – these included Jerry Mlotshwa on electric lead guitar, Lucky Monama and Jerry Mthethwa on acoustic rhythm guitar, Ben Nkosi on string bass and Wilfred Mosebi on drums. Reggie Msomi, who had been pushed out of his Gallo producing role when Rupert Bopape was recruited to start up the Mavuthela division, also provided electric guitar and saxophone harmonies. The early Mavuthela sax jive material made for pleasant listening, but it was nothing revolutionary, rather it was Bopape carrying on at Gallo from where he had left off at EMI. Thankfully, the Mavuthela team was boosted by the arrivals of three key individuals. These were Marks Mankwane on electric lead guitar, Joseph Makwela on electric bass and Vivian Ngubane on electric rhythm guitar. With their appointments, the new harder-edged mbaqanga sound became a staple of the industry. Mankwane, Makwela, Ngubane and Monama (now on drums, replacing Wilfred Mosebi) formed the nucleus of the new Mavuthela house band, which was later named the Makgona Tsohle Band in about 1965. Makgona Tsohle backed the company’s top artists including Mahlathini, the Mahotella Queens, the Mthunzini Girls, and many others, as well as the saxophone stars such as West Nkosi, Reggie Msomi, Spokes Mashiyane, Lemmy ‘Special’ Mabaso, Mario Da Conceicao and many others.

The Makgona Tsohle Band – West Nkosi combination was a popular one. The combination of elastic guitar rhythm with the screaming alto sax was irresistible to audiences of the day. The material was released across a number of different pseudonyms, including Marks Mankwane and His Band, West Nkosi and His Sax, Joseph Makwela and His Comrades or Lucky Monama and His Partners – usually depending on which member had composed the tune, or led the music in the recording. The name that gained currency was, of course, the Makgona Tsohle Band, a Sesotho term loosely translating to “the band that can do anything”. It was a literal statement, for the team could easily move from sax jive to soul or ska, infused with that classic Makgona Tsohle sound. All of these examples are represented in the compilation.

There was also a mushrooming collection of “junior” members who formed small bands and released some successful material. It was an active training ground to prepare them for the stardom they would encounter later in their careers at Mavuthela. Abafana Be Mvunge was a team of musicians that arose in the later 1960s, showcasing the best of the more second-tier members such as Nathaniel Mthembu on lead guitar (who later went to Hamilton Nzimande’s Isibaya Esikhulu team at CBS-GRC) and Sipho Bhengu on alto sax. It was an energetic session group, and their material was always extremely infectious and enjoyable. During the early 1970s, the Marabi Kings – who also recorded under the name Abafana Bamarabi – was another popular group comprised of more junior members like Marubini Jagome on lead guitar, Christian Nombewu on rhythm guitar, Sipho Mthethwa on bass and Eddie Ndzeru on drums. The Big Bag Boys, on the other hand, appeared to be a group that mixed musicians from right across the board. They were in fact named after a hugely successful 1967 single titled “Big Bag No. 1”, recorded by the Makgona Tsohle Band.

The Mavuthela instrumental team was lucky enough to be supported by Shadrack Piliso, a former trumpet player whose unique ear for music and talent for songwriting helped to create many, many pop hits for the company. He was the vocal arranger for most of the girl group material, and also came up with a lot of the melodies for sax jive songs. Piliso also contributed to recordings as a keyboard player when soul music became popular in South Africa, and his group – S. Piliso and His Super Seven – focused on creating indigenous cover recordings of American soul hits. He also worked up a brief “marabi revival” in the early 1970s, bringing the pedal organ into the Gallo studios and playing it alongside the guitar-led band. In 1975, when Mavuthela decided it needed to branch out into the bump jive sound already being made popular by the likes of producer David Thekwane over at Teal Records, Piliso became leader of the “African Jazz” group The Members, which also featured his younger brother Edmund ‘Ntemi’ Piliso on soprano/alto/tenor sax, Ellison Themba on tenor sax and Aaron Lebona on piano, alongside Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso on alto sax and Roger Xezu on tenor sax - all backed by younger blood such as Boxer Kheswa on rhythm guitar, Jerry Mlotshwa on bass guitar and Zeph Khoza on drums.

A Mavuthela Christmas – Part Two will be posted later in the week, and will focus on classic female and male vocal jive recordings. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this mixed bag of instrumental goodies. Many of them are simply beautiful pieces of works, and all are a complete joy to listen to.

Enjoy!

A MAVUTHELA CHRISTMAS – PART ONE

COMPILED BY NICK LOTAY

VOLUME 5.1

1. Compliments of the Season

Reggie Msomi and His Hollywood Jazz Band

Gallo-USA 282

1964

*Courtesy of Chris Albertyn

2. Molodi Wabadisa

Marks Mankwane and His Band

Gallotone GB 3664

1967

3. July Handicap

West Nkosi and His Sax

Gallo-USA 358

1967

4. Shintsha Zulu

Abafana Be Mvunge

Inkonkoni NKO 7-2

1968

5. Marks Reggi

Makgona Tsohle Band

Inkonkoni LNKO 2001

1969

FROM THE LP "MAKGONA TSOHLE REGGI" (1970)

6. Thula Umsindo

S. Piliso and His Super Seven

Mashalashala MSL 16

1971

7. Imbangi

Abafana Be Mvunge

Inkonkoni NKO 7-3

1968

8. Izonyosi

Big Voice Jack

Inkonkoni NKO 7-4

1968

9. Soul Track

Makgona Tsohle Band

Inkonkoni LNKO 2001

1969

FROM THE LP "MAKGONA TSOHLE REGGI" (1970)

10. Put It On

S. Piliso and His Super Seven

Mashalashala MSL 39

1972

11. Somewhere

Big Bag Boys

Inkonkoni LNKO 2001

1969

FROM THE LP "MAKGONA TSOHLE REGGI" (1970)

12. African Fingers

Sipho and His Jets

Soul Jazz Pop SOJ 91

1976

13. Tsikiza Jive

S. Piliso and His Super Seven

Soul Jazz Pop SOJ 74

1975

14. Mr. Big Face

Teaspoon Ndelu and His “T” Boys

Mashalashala MAS 2009

1973

15. Sweet Water

Sipho Mthethwa and His Friends

Up Mavuthela UPM 814

1973

16. Speedy Man

West Nkosi and His Mouth Organ

Inkonkoni NKO 68

1971

17. Inkalakatha

Makgona Tsohle Band

Inkonkoni LNKO 2001

1969

FROM THE LP "MAKGONA TSOHLE REGGI" (1970)

18. Esigodlweni

Marabi Kings

Polydor POL 305

1972

*Courtesy of Chris Albertyn

19. Veza Mvelase

Abafana Be Mvunge

Inkonkoni NKO 7-3

1968

20. Roll Away

Big Voice Jack

Inkonkoni NKO 7-4

1968

RS / MF