Jazz in District Six: The Smart Street Sessions

District Six in Cape Town was once home to a number of the jazz musicians that Ian Bruce Huntley recorded and photographed – until this mixed and vibrant community of 60,000 people was bull-dozed by the apartheid regime.

While the community and buildings of District Six were destroyed, there have been important efforts by the District Six Museum and many others to preserve and honour the memory. In the coming months Electric Jive will be sharing two or three posts of Ian’s District Six photos and recordings as a small contribution to this important heritage.

District Six: Pic Ian Bruce Huntley

District Six was established in 1867 as a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans and labourers. In 1966 the apartheid government declared the area “white” leading to the forcible removal of all its people and the destruction by bull-dozers of their homes, businesses, and places of worship.

It is with great respect and joy that Electric Jive is able to share Ian Huntley’s images and music recorded in District Six.  Just click on any of the images to get an enlarged view of all the pics in this post.Today’s musical offering is of some private sessions that took place in the Smart Street home of Basil and Cliffie Moses. In addition to the Moses brothers, Chris, Philly and Jackie Schilder feature, along with Roy Petersen, Monty Weber and Billie Dollie.

Monty Weber and Basil Moses are perhaps most widely known, in the context of South Africa’s jazz history, as having recorded prolifically – including performing on seven or eight of Abdullah Ibrahim's 1970s recordings. Both artists also feature on Sathima Bea Benjamin’s “African Songbird”, due for re-release by Matsuli next month. Monty Weber’s “District Six” album can be found here. The 1959 musical "Shebeen", set in District Six can be found here.

Basil and Cliffie Moses (1974)
Pic: Ian Bruce Huntley

You can read or listen to Colin Miller’s 1998 life history interview of Monty Weber here. Colin did a great series of interviews in the late 1990s with amongst others, Cliffie Moses, Richard Schilder, Maurice Gawronsky, Cups and Saucers Nkanuka. These recordings and documents can be accessed through the Centre for Popular Memory at the University of Cape Town.

Guitarist Cliffie Moses, three years older than brother Basil, was another professional musician who also had a day job. Cliffie tells Colin Miller of his time: “I want to say in the 10 years that we played at the Three Cellars, ... Don’t forget it was six nights a week we played. Working during the day, playing at night.” Cliffie relates that he also produced an album of “jazz from District Six”. “.. this particular song came to mind and I saw a complete picture of me walking Hanover Street and sitting on the Seven Steps. It was then that I composed this tune called "Seven Step Lament.”

Seven Steps, District Six

Pic: Ian Bruce Huntley

In 1970 Basil, Cliffie, Roy Petersen and Monty Weber were all hired to tour the country as core of Percy Sledge’s backing band for a seventeen-week sell-out tour of South and southern Africa. The tour opened to a three-week sell-out season at the 1,300-seat Luxurama Theatre in Cape Town. Percy Sledge described it as the “greatest tour of my career”.

Drummer Billie Dollie was raised by Imam Dollie. Roy Petersen, like many other talents, cut his teeth in touring with the Golden City Dixies.

According to Cliffie Moses, Chris Schilder (now Ebrahim Kalil Shihab) spent some time living at the Smart Street House, playing the piano there non-stop.

The sessions recorded by Ian were private sessions played in the Moses' home. They are split into two separate downloads, the first comprising mostly quality renditions of jazz standards. Ian recalls the second session with Roy Petersen at the piano as an impromptu jam during which the compositions "Smart Street" and "Requiem for Reg" emerged.

The Smart Street Sessions

Recorded by Ian Huntley at Basil and Cliffie Moses’double-story house in Smart Street, District Six - 1964

Chris Schilder (piano), Basil Moses (bass), Roy Petersen (Drums) Clifford Moses (guitar) 

1.     Veet Blues (9:19)

2.     Straight No Chaser (8:42)

Eckhard Street, District Six
Pic Ian Bruce Huntley

Chris Schilder, Basil Moses, Monty Weber

3.     Sad John (8:26)

4.     It Aint Necessarily So (14:26)

Chris Schilder, Philly Schilder, Jackie Schilder

5.     Look Up (7:59)

Rapidshare here
Mediafire here

Roy Petersen (piano), Billy Dollie (drums) Basil Moses (bass)

1. Smart Street

Roy Petersen (piano), Monty Weber (drums) Basil Moses (bass)

1. Smart Street (2)
2. Requiem for Reg

Rapidshare here
Mediafire here

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE EARLIER POSTINGS OF THIS JAZZ ARCHIVE - USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION ON THE RIGHT AND SEARCH IBH JAZZ

Mankunku and Goldberg Go Free in Cape Town



Morris Goldberg, Chris Schilder and Midge Pike at the Art Centre, Cape Town  (1966).
Pic by Ian Bruce Huntley

Best wishes to you from us here at Electric Jive for 2013. Before sharing another previously unheard gem from the Ian Bruce Huntley jazz archive, an update on Electric Jive for the year ahead.
 

When comparing burn-out symptoms at the end of 2012, the four of us who run this blog agreed that something had to change. In addition to our own working lives we have other voluntary projects besides Electric Jive that we are also committed to. So, we plan to slow down and publish less frequently this year. We are also more likely to mix up the post format, length, and content. Each contributor will have a two-week slot in which at least one post will be shared. Sometimes we may post more often within that two-week slot than in other times. All of us are committed to keeping this blog going for as long as our energies enable us to.

We kick of this year with an eighth instalment from the Ian Huntley Jazz archive. Ian has often pointed out to me that ‘free jazz’ was a lot more popular amongst South Africa’s 1960s jazz musicians than we realise.

My friend Max Annas reckons that much of the written history of jazz in South Africa has been shaped largely by the evidence of relatively few studio recordings. He agrees with Ian in pointing out that the narrative of jazz history in South Africa has little to say of the enthusiastic embrace by  important musicians of the Free Jazz movement.

There is still quite a bit of ‘free jazz’ to share from Ian’s archive, including a number of private sessions of “Experiments in Selwyn’s Garage”, with Winston Mankunku Ngozi and Chris Schilder  mixing their own musical chemistry. There are also a number of sessions at the Art Centre in particular which are most certainly ‘free’ in character. Perhaps Cape Town audiences were more receptive and just as enthusiastic in wanting to break with convention at that time? 

Today’s session was recorded at The Art Centre on 20^th August 1966. While a bop idiom provides  lyrical foundation, and there is a meter that keeps the likes of me interested, huge spaces are created for the musicians to express their own voice in the moment. The opening track “Free Thing” features fairly frequently on Ian’s tapes. The second track “Ole” is the Coltrane composition that featured on the introductory post to this archive. The outstanding third track “Poor” was previously unknown to me and showcases Mankunku and Goldberg taking their instruments to new places. Does anyone recognise "Poor"? Can you tell us more about it?

 In addition to having Morris Goldberg and Winston Mankunku Ngozi to hand on saxophones, there is a double-up in having Midge Pike and Philly Schilder on double-bass. Chris Schilder’s brilliance shines through on piano, while Selwyn Lissack's drumming is clearly happy ‘out there’ in the experiment.

Please – if any of you has anything you could add by way of information or have a reaction to this music, we would very much welcome a few words in the comments section below.

 

Mankunku and Goldberg Go Free in Cape Town

Zippyshare here

Rapidshare here

 

If you have not yet listened to the earlier postings from Ian’s archive, you can find them here:

1. Winston Mankunku gem

2. Love for Free: Hidden South African Jazz Archive revealed

 

3. The Blue Notes: A Journey of Faith

4. Chris McGregor Quintet Live in Geneva

5. Becoming Free In Cape Town

6. Last Night at the Room At The Top: Dyani and Pukwana

7. Kippie Moeketsi: The album he never made

Mankunku with Cups and Saucers Nkanuka at Ambassadors Jazz Club, Cape Town (1965)

Ephraim 'Cups and Saucers' Nkanuka - Pic: Ian Bruce Huntley

South Africa’s jazz history makes reference to pioneering tenor saxophonist Cups and Saucers Nkanuka as having had a pivotal influence on a generation of emerging South African jazz musicans in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Along with Martin Mgijima on bass (also in today's recording), these two stalwarts were already professionally active as members of  Chris McGregor's 'Cape Town Five' early in 1961.

Winston Mankunku Ngozi
Pic: Ian Bruce Huntley

Until Ian Bruce Huntley produced this reel-to-reel tape from the recesses of his seemingly bottomless cupboard I did not know there were actual recordings of Nkanuka playing with one of the greats he mentored, Winston Mankunku Ngozi. 

Today’s previously unreleased recording from the Huntley archive reveals an historical saxophone duo treat, supported by a top-class and tight band. Themba Matole (piano), Phakamile  Joya (drums), Martin Mgijima (bass), Winston Mankunku Ngozi (second sax), Robert Sithole (flute).

Both Martin Mgijima and Phakamile Joya had stints with early formations of the Blue Notes, the band playing at 'The Naaz' in Salt River for a fee of  five pounds a week.

Cups and Saucers Nkanuka and Temba Matole were members of the Jazz Ambassadors who competed in the 1962 Cold Castle National Jazz Festival. Mankunku Ngozi played in the Jazz Giants, along with Martin Mgijima (and Tete Mbambisa, Dudu Pukwana, Nik Moyake and Makaya Ntshoko).

In the late 1950s the Ambassadors School of Dancing in Woodstock (its original name) was home to a group of jazz musicians who regularly jammed there - including Chris McGregor, Cups and Saucers Nkanuka, Christopher Columbus Ngcukana, Dave Galloway, and Martin Mgijima. A year after the departure of the Blue Notes, the Ambassadors was still hosting amazing jam sessions with the remaining stalwarts.

Captured live by Ian in 1965 at The Ambassador’s Jazz Club, located on Main Road in Woodstock, Cape Town, this stimulating yet laid-back ninety-minute gem of a set features seven tracks – two of which we would love some help in identifying.

Ian Huntley with Willie Nete, Themba Matola (hat)
Martin Mgijima (pipe), Chris Schilder (seated left)
Winston Mankunku Ngozi (seated right)

Cups and Saucers leads with a languid and sensitive sax which could be the Coleman Hawkins to a 22-year-old Mankunku’s Coltrane influence. Themba Matola’s versatile and bluesy piano steps in regularly and leads from the front, for example on unidentified track three, and then taking ‘Milestones’ on some entertaining tangents. Robert Sithole’s haunting flute features on “Bag’s Groove” and “Whisper Not” – playing solo and in harmony with muted saxophones.

For me, the really stand-out track on an all-round outstanding set is the rendition of “Summertime” – I just can’t get enough of it. It really is something special.
 

Ian and all at Electric Jive are hoping that these posts stimulate further interest, research and writing on these musicians, their legacy and the recordings. We welcome your thoughts and reactions.

Robert Sithole: Pic  Ian Bruce Huntley

If you have not yet listened to the earlier postings from Ian’s archive, you can find them here:

 

Winston Mankunku gem

Love for Free: Hidden South African Jazz Archive revealed

The Blue Notes: A Journey of Faith

Becoming Free In Cape Town

Last Night at the Room At The Top: Dyani and Pukwana

Recorded live on stage with a Tandberg 6 reel-to-reel by Ian Bruce Huntley.

Nkanuka and Mankunku At the Ambassadors Jazz Club (1965)

1.     Why Don't I (Sonny Rollins) 14:35

2.     On Green Dolphin Street – 16:43

3.     Unidentified track – (suggestions please) 13:59

4.     Summertime – 12:10

5.     Whisper Not – 11:16

6.     Bag’s Groove – 10:55

7.     Milestones – 10:43

Cups and Saucers Nkanuka – Tenor Saxophone
Winston Mankunku Ngozi – Tenor Saxophone
Themba Matola – Piano
Martin Mgijima – Bass
Parks Joya – Drums
Robert Sithole - Flute

Rapidshare download here
Mediafire download here