There is an abundance of information on the web to provide context for The Elite Swingsters - one of the foundation South African jazz bands that released their first LP back in 1958 (see flat international for details). Steve Gordon's music.org.za has a full and detailed biography. The Watch Your Step album appeared in 1980 soon after which the band receded from public view until a turn of events in the late 1980s led to the recordings Woza (1990) and A Call for Peace (1993).
The Elite Swingsters - Watch Your Step (1980, Sonor, SHZ786001)
1. Bread and Butter
2. Easy Does It
3. Watch Your Step
4. Blues for Buggs
5. Twelve Minute Jam
Producer: Paul Rametsi
And from the liner notes with a nod to the political pressure of the time: "There is no instrument to measure talent and potential. An artist can't be a prisoner of himself, nor of style, nor of reputation. He has to be free. Listen and see how free the Elite Swingsters are and how free they make you feel!"
Today we depart from our usual historical review and feature some recent South African music that was performed five days ago here in Richmond, Virgina, USA. The occasion marked the visit by the UKZN Jazz Legacy Ensemble, a group of six students with their director and professor, Neil Gonsalves, from the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music at the University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban, South Africa who are participating in an ongoing exchange with students in Jazz Studies at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts Department of Music.
Performing a repertoire of mostly South African jazz the event took place at The Camel club in Richmond on Monday, September 24th, 2012, and included a final jam with students and alumni from the VCU Jazz Studies program. I happened to be at the concert and captured some of the perfomance on my iPhone.
UKZN is a partner school with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond and the exchange was organized through a grant written by Professor Tony Garcia, director of Jazz Studies at VCU. Earlier this year six students from the VCU program went to South Africa and were hosted by UKZN — performing in Durban and traveling around KwaZulu Natal. View more about this trip here. The exchange will include a number of future trips and was funded by a generous grant from the International Partnerships Major Initiatives Award (IPMI) with matching grants from VCU School of the Arts.
Richmond, Virginia is a place with a history that gives an exchange with South Africa a special significance. One of the centers of the global tobacco industry, Richmond was also the capital of the Confederate States during the American Civil War, a past memorialized in the famous avenue featuring monuments to Confederate military leaders. But the city is also home to artists such as Plunky Nkabinde aka James Branch of Oneness of Juju funk/jazz fame. Of course readers of Electric Jive will be familiar with one of his early spiritual jazz LPs, the very rare and much sought after Ndikho and the Natives, recorded with South African Ndikho Douglas Xaba in Oakland, CA in 1969.
from L to R: Prof. Neil Gonsalves, Ildo Nandja, Linda Sikhakhane, Sakhile Simani,
Sebastian Golswain, Sphelelo Mazibuko and Lungelo Ngcobo
The UKZN Jazz Legacy Ensemble was formed specifically for this Richmond tour and rehearsed for two months prior to the visit. Performing two sets of largely South African jazz material, two tracks in particular stood out for me: Ezra Ngcukana’s Sobukwe and Abdullah Ibrahim’s classic Manenberg. The line-up on Sobukwe included Sakhile Simani on trumpet, Linda Sikhakhane on tenor sax, Sebastian Goldswain on guitar, Lungelo Ngcobo on piano, Ildo Nandja on bass, and Sphelelo Mazibuko on drums.
Back in South Africa, director Neil Gonsalves had given the ensemble the score to rehearse Ngcukana’s Sobukwe and they responded to it immediately. Gonsalves mentioned that he also wanted the group to hear the original LP recording before coming to the US, but that unfortunately the copy in the UKZN music library, the very one where he had heard the music, was there no more. The use of a score to access the music rather than a recording seemed to a have a particular poetic irony in light of the fact that Ngcukana himself could not read music.
Ngcukana speaks about this notion of ‘read’ music and ‘heard’ music in the collection of interviews Jazz People of Cape Town when he explains to Lars Rasmussen how “back in the day” he was invited to teach saxophone at the parent institution of UKZN, when it was then known as the University of Natal (UND):
Ezra Ngcukana by Lars Rasmussen
“Now, people ask me, Could you come and play this cocktail gig, I got to learn again something that I’ve never played before, so I have to put a score in front... I can't even read [music], for that matter, so I only insist people give me a programme, because of my limitations. And the joke, I can't read, eh? But Natal University, they needed a saxophone teacher and, because of the exchange rate with the Rand, they can't get overseas people. So they approached me to go and teach there, because I have two degrees, B.Sc. and B.Com., and I've worked for fifteen years at one company, so it qualifies me to teach at the university. To have the programme running, I was the only candidate available. I didn't apply for the job, they approached me. So I would teach students there, but I couldn't even read, so when they made mistakes, I told them, No, man, just repeat that bar [laughs]. Music is all about the ear anyway. That's what one of the first educationists in America would say, he said, 20 % of music is visual, 80 % is audial.”
In 1973, at eighteen, a very young Ngcukana, joined and toured with the Dashiki Poets raising funds for Steve Biko’s South African Student’s Organization (SASO) and of course he also recorded with Dick Khoza on his classic 1976 album Chapita (The Sun, GL 1873, reissued by Matsuli in 2010).
The son of jazz legend, Christopher Columbus Ngcukana (aka Mra), Ezra made very few recordings and according to the Rasmussen interview his first solo project was You Think You Know Me, (Jive, JAJ 003, 1989) which included the track Sobukwe. Of course the title track is a variation on Mongezi Feza’s beautiful tune You Ain’t Gonna Know Me Cause You Think You Know Me featured here at Electric Jive on our compilation of South African jazz In Exile. That version was from Louis Moholo’s 1978 album Spirits Rejoice and interestingly Ngcukana toured with Moholo’s group, Spirits Rejoice, when they came to South Africa (not to be confused with the other local South African group of the same name). Sadly Ngcukana died in 2010 at the age of 55.
Robert Sobukwe, a major anti-apartheid figure in South African history, joined the ANC Youth League in 1948, the same year the white National Party came to power. He gained notoriety in 1952 when he backed the Defiance Campaign and after leaving the ANC in 1957 he formed the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and became its leader in 1959. In March of 1960 the PAC led the campaign against the segregationist Pass Laws and in one protest in Sharpeville, 69 PAC supporters were killed after police opened fire. Sobukwe was subsequently arrested and jailed on Robben Island until 1969.
Sitting at the bar in the jazz club last week, I thought about the complexities of circumstance. Here I was listening to a song played by young South African musicians and dedicated to Robert Sobukwe in Richmond, Virginia, a city with its own complex racial past.
In the second set the group performed Abdullah Ibrahim’s classic Manenberg, and in a wonderful extended jam rotation was joined by students and alumni from VCU’s Jazz Studies program including: Justin Esposito on bass, Trey Sorrells on alto sax, Brendan Schnabel on tenor sax, Chris Ryan on guitar, Victor Haskins on trumpet, alumnus Mary Lawrence Hicks on trumpet and C.J. Wolfe on drums.
Starting with the UKZN group each performer then gradually substituted out for a VCU colleague who then took turns to solo. All rejoined toward the end of this 24 minute jam. In many ways the act of turning Manenberg into an international ‘jampot’ or meeting of common ground, itself confirmed the song’s global significance beyond South Africa. Of course there are still those rumblings over the exact authorship of this great track. While most would agree that Ibrahim is the author, some have claimed, namely Lulu Masilela via Rob Allingham, that the root of the tune lies in Zach’s Nkosi’s Jackpot!
Personally, I find hints of Elijah Nkwanyana’s Bops Special in the iconic track, but regardless, I would say that cultures build on their roots and this “appropriation,” if you want to call it that, does transform the original into a significant new animal that rightfully pays homage to its past.
In any event, whatever the song’s lineage, perhaps it was not such a bad thing to be sitting in a bar in Richmond, Virgina in 2012, channeling Zacks Nkosi and Elijah Nkwanyana via Dollar Brand through UKZN and VCU students that are now using the tune to start a new conversation.
Manenberg is named for the township outside of Cape Town where residents who were forcibly removed from District Six and other areas were sent by the apartheid government. The original title of Abdullah Ibrahim’s classic album is actually Mannenberg - ‘Is Where it is Happening’ (The Sun, SRK 786134, 1974) spelled with two n’s (a typo, I have read somewhere). In an interview with Sue Valentine for the Sunday Times Heritage Project, Ibrahim speaks about the origins of the title: “Because Basil [Coetzee, the saxophonist] was from Manenberg and for us Manenberg was just symbolic of the removal out of District Six, which is actually the removal of everybody from everywhere in the world, and Manenberg specifically because… it signifies, it’s our music, and it’s our culture…"
The Music Department at UKZN has a rich history. Post-apartheid it was built from the merger of a number of music programs in KwaZulu Natal combining those at the University of Natal, the Natal Technikon and the University of Durban-Westville when the provincial government chose to offer a degree in music at only one institution in the province. The location, perhaps aptly, was at the former University of Natal: Durban (UND). This seems appropriate because UND was the first University in South Africa (and in Africa) to offer a degree in Jazz Studies in 1983. The course was initiated by Darius Brubeck, then the Director of the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music. Certainly the UKZN Jazz Legacy Ensemble has followed the path of some very large footsteps made by their alumni at the former UND — notably the Jazzanians — the first group to come out of the new jazz program under Brubeck, and who also toured the United States, earlier in 1988.
The Jazzanians featured some future and past figures of South African jazz including the late Zim Ngqawana and Johnny Mekoa (of the Jazz Ministers). Recording a single album, We Have Waited Too Long (Umkhonto, UMKH 407, 1988), the Jazzanians, while on tour also performed at the National Association of Jazz Educators annual conference in Detroit and made television appearances on NBC and CBS.
It seems fitting to close this post with a YouTube video uploaded by gravystreet of the television footage of that 1988 Jazzanians US tour.
Many Thanks to Neil Gonsalves, Tony Garcia and of course all the UKZN and VCU students!
Today’s offering is from the mbaqanga-traditional group Usizwe Namatshitshi, one of the popular bands of the day and one of the groups at the forefront of producer Hamilton “Vala” Nzimande’s prolific production house Isibaya Esikhulu Music. Noma Ungayaphi Bakhala Ngathi, released on the CBS label, was released in 1971.
The South African black music market of the mid-1960s had been dominated by the infectious sounds of mbaqanga and mgqashiyo, with the most successful artists utilising the now-familiar elements of a girl group, a male groaner and a backing team. Gallo’s Mavuthela division, under producer Rupert Bopape, had mostly perfected this formula – but Hamilton Nzimande was the only rival producer to build up a strong roster of musicians that seriously challenged the crown. Mthunzi Malinga, Joseph Mthimkhulu and Saul Shabalala rivalled Mavuthela’s Simon “Mahlathini” Nkabinde, Boy Nze Magatole and Robert “Mbazo” Mkhize; Izintombi Zesi Manje Manje opponents were the Mahotella Queens; and Abafana Bentuthuko jived as hard as the Makgona Tsohle Band.
Another of Nzimande’s popular acts was Usizwe Namatshitshi, a combination of singer-groaner Sizwe Mazibuko and the five-strong female troupe Amatshitshi (The princesses), comprising Busi Dlamini, Nomusa Mathebula, Dudu Hlophe and others. The sound of Usizwe Namatshitshi was a pleasant and strong meld of traditional Zulu harmonies and rhythms with the melodic patterns of mbaqanga. Their stage outfits were strikingly custom, with beads, brassieres and battle shields, and their songs were of the appropriate material: “Mnikeleni Induku Yakhe” (“give them our fighting sticks”) is but one example. Much of their material was written by producer Nzimande (who is also credited as “musical director” on this LP) but several group members also contributed lyrics. The composer credits of Noma Ungayaphi Bakhala Ngathi rather interestingly reveal that both Meshack Mkhwanazi and Albert Motha had begun their musical careers in the backing band of Usizwe Namatshitshi – both Mkhwanazi (a rhythm guitarist, bassist and drummer) and Motha (a guitarist and vocalist) went on to become the founder members of the last successful band of mbaqanga’s heyday, Amaswazi Emvelo, in 1978. By that point, mbaqanga was faltering in popularity - but it is a testament to both members that Amaswazi was a group that was consistently popular and highly productive until the late 1980s.
The traditional rhythms on this LP are catchy indeed, and although our copy of the LP isn’t in the best of conditions, it’s something I felt we should share with you. Enjoy!
Following on from the sweet Baba Gaston track on Matt’s Zambia 64 post last week I was prompted to haul out one or two more of Gaston's singles. One thing leading to another, I started digitising a few more, and got to wondering again why Congolese-inspired Rumba did not catch on much in South Africa (except in the north near the Zimbabwe border).
There are one or two interesting “Congo Cha Cha” tracks recorded by South African artists in the early 60s on 78rpm, and then there is the East African adventure by South Africa’s Gallo Record Company. According to former Gallo archivist Rob Allingham, the company set up Gallo Nairobi in the early 1950s. Following Kenya’s independence in 1963 visible South African ownership of the company became a problem, so Associated Sounds (East Africa) Pty Ltd (ASL) was set up as a dummy company by Gallo in the United Kingdom. ASL had their own Kenyan pressing plant.
ASL certainly released a huge amount of Congolese and East African inspired Rumba and Soukous in the 70s and 80s, with the tracks easily stretching to five minutes each on the micro-groove format. Have a look at the impressive and growing ASL discography on Tim Clifford’s labour of love – Kentanzavinyl The Gallo ASL adventure represents one of many attempts made over the years to interest South Africans in the music of their brothers from the rest of the continent (largely unsuccessful except for a period in the 80s when Swahili music used to sell well in the northern regions of South Africa where Radio Zimbabwe's signal could be clearly heard.)
So, herewith another opportunity for those South African brothers and sisters not yet familiar with this wonderful music to give it a listen. The tracks I share today are all from ASL label in the early 70s. If these 'hit the spot' for you, leave a comment and let me know - it will help motivate me to digitise and share more from this ASL collection.
There are some fantastic blogsites dedicated to Congo music, and to the Congolese East African music explosion. Try these for starters: Dial Africa,World Service and Ambience Congo
Associated Sounds: Part One
1.Baba National: Batela Bana - ASL 7-1516 / AS 2581
2.Baba National: Noel Nakalimi - ASL 7-1516 / AS 2582
3.Stazo-Ya-Estha & L'Orchestre Baba Gaston: Ngai Muana Nazongo: ASL 7-1947 / FOL 15301
4.Stazo-Ya-Estha & L'Orchestre Baba Gaston: T.P. Englebert: ASL 7-1947 / FOL 15310
Max Dayimani - This picture taken by Ian Bruce Huntley at the Langa Stadium in 1972
This previously unreleased recording marks the very last time that Johnny Dyani and Dudu Pukwana performed in South Africa, days before going into exile with Chris McGregor and the Blue Notes via the Antibes Jazz Festival in July 1964. Captured at “The Room At The Top” in Cape Town by Ian Bruce Huntley, this live gig represents a poignant last union and “point of fracture” from which six very talented artists struck out to seek their respective musical fortunes.
I am hopeful that those jazz enthusiasts among you might want to share your thoughts on the arrangements and interpretation of these four tracks spanning just over seventy minutes. For all these musicians July 1964 in Cape Town was a big turning point, for some, a leap into unknown fragmented futures scattered across the globe. I cannot hear this music without this uncertain emergent context in mind. Read Tony McGregor describing the ‘journey of faith’ here.
On the opening track of the concert Ronnie Beer’s tenor sax leads into Dizzy Gillespie’s ‘Night in Tunisia’ with a strong upbeat performance. The introduction of Dennis Mpale’s trumpet in the fifth minute shakes it all up, setting the scene for a vibrant evening of musical conversations pivoting around the swinging Johnny Dyani bass and tight drumming from Max Dayimani, punctuated by Tete Mbambisa’s bubbling piano.
Before Dudu Pukwana joins in for the last two tracks, Ronnie Beer further demonstrates his class with the band rendering his own upbeat composition, ‘Immediately’. Bra Tete does his own bit of vocal scatting following his fingers in joyful moments of letting go.
The towering Dudu Pukwana summonses attention in the opening of ‘Green Dolphin Street’,(thanks Jonathan for the correction) before the conversation meanders comfortably along, providing spaces for exploratory solos. It is an historical sadness that a beautiful Pukwana solo is abruptly interrupted for what was the end of one side of Ian’s reel-to-reel tape.
Each listening of Dudu Pukwana’s plaintive alto sax on the essentially gloomy final track, “Close Your Eyes” sparks my own imagining of emotional turmoil and uncertainty. Introduced by Dennis Mpale on trumpet over an ever-swinging Dyani-Dayimani rhythm, and preceded by Ronnie Beer on tenor sax, Pukwana enters in the seventh minute in muted protest, which unwinds over ten minutes of exquisite contemplation. But then, approaching seventeen minutes in, the ever playful Tete Mbambisa (piano) starts to swing with Dyani and Dayimani, letting out yelps and whoops of appreciation in the music’s moment. Following a brief Dyani solo, Ronnie Beer interjects on tenor sax in the 21st minute to ‘hayibo’ shouts of appreciation, followed by Dennis Mpale’s uplifting trumpet. Somehow, after that Pukwana’s final and brief closing re-entry sounds more resolute.
All the recordings by Ian Bruce Huntley were made with the explicit support and permission of the band members recorded. Ian has agreed to Electric Jive sharing these recordings freely on a non-commercial basis as a means of honouring the musicians and ensuring that this important legacy does not become lost.
There are four earlier postings from Ian Huntley's jazz archive on Electric Jive - if you have not yet downloaded them, follow these links:
Johnny Dyani - Bass; Dudu Pukwana - Alto Saxophone (tracks three and four only); Ronnie Beer - Tenor Saxophone; Dennis Mpale - Trumpet; Tete Mbambisa - Piano; Max Dayimani - Drums
Something a little different this week! An A-Z of Independence optimism in Zambia that features one track from Baba Gaston, the Congolese band leader who became very popular in East Africa. See more about him at MUZIKIFAN. The other tracks, whilst interesting, are of historic rather than musical interest.
The following text all from the original sleeve notes: "Zambia '64 is a new colour film made by the Anglo American Corporation of Central Africa as a contribution to the country's Independence Celebrations. The world premiere was held in Lusaka on October 23, 1964, at the 20th Century Cinema. The film is an essentially human impression of a country and its people. To recreate this impression on scene all scenes, from sophisticated hotel to remote village hut, were photographed in actuality. Acting, where called for, was achieved in all cases by local people. In a country the size of Zambia the making of a film of this type is something of an achievement. To obtain the filmic material the unit involved on this production traversed the country several times by road and air and logged up some 15, 000 miles. The music for Zambia '64 was written by Alick Nkhata. The Nkhata Band play the incidental music. Baba Gaston and his band composed and play "Yarroo" while Bartholomew Bwalya and his band are responsible for the political song.
Various Artists - Zambia '64: Original Soundtrack Recording (JCLP10044 1. Intro to Africa/Makishi Dancing 2. Birth/Angoni Dancing 3. Copper and Death - Alick Nkhata's Band 4. Education and Food - Alick Nkhata's Band 5. Game, Health, Independence, Josephine, Kaunda, Lusaka and Marriage - Alick Nkhata's Band 6. News, Overseas and Politics 7. Quartet - Bartholomew Bwalya 8. Relaxing/Yarroo - Baba Gaston's Band 9. Subsistance - Alick Nkhata's Band 10. Twist and Unemployment 11. Victoria Falls and Water - Alick Nkhata's Band 12. X-Roads, Youth and Zambia - Alick Nkhata's Band 13. Makishi Dancing, Zambia National Anthem
"Alick Nkhata who was born in 1922, hails from a musical family and became interested in music at an early stage. In 1948, Alick Nkhata received a government scholarship to study African Music in South Africa. A few years later he joined the Central African Broadcasting Service and established his well know Quartet. In 1962 he was assigned to the "Voice of America" to study external service broadcasting organisation and, whilst in the United States he appeared on television in Washington singing African songs. He returned to Lusaka in 1963 and now holds the position of Assistant Director of the Zambia Broadcasting Corporation. Baba Gaston aged 28 years, began his musical career at the age of 11 years with a church choir. His first professional job was in a night club in Elizabethville. In 1960 he moved to Lusaka, where he formed his own band playing mainly Congolese rhythm type of music. He has now formed a second band which plays at the sophisticated Ridgeway Hotel in Lusaka.Bartholomew Bwalya comes from the Luapula Province and decided to take up the guitar after seeing a film. He is renowned in Zambia for his vast knowledge of folk music.
Zambia '64 Film Production Written and Directed by Richard Taylor Director of Photography Peter Jessop Assisted by David Gleason Production manager Clive Serrarier Editor Rod Barber Sound Engineer Tom Hodgkinson Second Unit Cameramen Ian McMillan, Glyn Harris Assistance Cameraman Nelson Chisala Continuity Diana Dehrman Production Assistants Peter Young, Jane Martin
Today we feature a great transitional LP that sits somewhere between the late majuba jazz sounds of the 1950s and the very early mbaqanga perfected by the team at Mavuthela in the mid 1960s. Many of the key architects of that Mavuthela sound — West Nkosi, Reggie Msomi — are featured on this album and in some respects this album could be viewed as a precursor to the coming stylistic phenomenon.
Certainly the debt to the swing-based majuba(African Jazz) big band sounds of the 1950s is undeniable on this record. With hints of ska and swing, I would define the bulk of the tunes as "sax jives" though also included are four flute-based kwelas. The two styles are historically linked and had been ever since Spokes Mashiyane exchanged his flute for a saxophone in 1958 and began playing sax-based kwelas. Missing from the album though is that elastic electric baseline that so typified the mbaqanga sound... and that can be heard on two slightly later compilations featured here at Electric Jive: Lets Move with Makhona Tsohle Band (1967) and Taxi Jive (c1965)
Issued in 1964, The Top 14 does appear to be GRC's first LP release on the Tempo label. The album, like many others during this time, comprised of tracks previously issued as 78 rpms with recording dates probably ranging from 1960 to 1964.
David Thekwane
This compilation includes six tunes by, saxophonist, David Thekwane — aka Velile the King — who would go on to become a major producer for Teal records in the 1970s. As a young penny whistler in Pimville, Johannesburg, Thekwane came to the attention of talent-scout Strike Vilikazi who brought him on as an assistant and salesman at Trutone Records in 1955. Thekwane's first group was the Mofolo North Stone Breakers but after taking up the alto-sax continued recording under a number of different pseudonyms including Mr. Dube, Velile the King, Baby Face, etc. On this album he performs with or as Velile the King of the Tap Steps, the TV Septet and the Black Night Hammers. According to Yvonne Huskisson, Thekwane moved to Teal as a producer in February, 1969 though Rob Allingham has it as 1972. Nevertheless one of his biggest selling groups at Teal were the iconic Movers and he was producing their records as early as 1970. Allingham also suggests that Thewane intimidated many of his musicians with physical violence — an interesting detail enhanced by Huskisson's last note that his favorite hobby was boxing.
West Nkosi also performs here under two pseudonyms — "West and Sax Boy" and Western Boys — featuring amongst others, himself and Lazarus 'Kid' Moncho.
The album also includes the track Walk to Dube by the Snqamu Jazz Band which was later reissued on the compilation: Township Swing Jazz Vol. 2 compiled by Rob Allingham. Allingham’s notes on the CD set the recording date for this particular tune as September 27, 1960 and the band personal as: Thami Madi on 1st alto, Christopher Songxaka on 2nd alto, Paul Rametsi on tenor, Jordan Bangazi on trumpet, Reggie Msomi on guitar, Saul Manikela on banjo, Johannes 'Chooks' Tshukudu on bass and Louis Molubi on drums. (With solos by Jordan Bangazi and Paul Rametsi.) Remarkably the line-up here comes closes to Spokes’ Mashiyane’s Big Five at Gallo which is not unusual considering that GRC was a subsidiary of Gallo's.
GRC itself, though initially a separate company, had a relationship with Gallo where they shared the same recording studios hence the common ABC matrix numbers. At some point the two companies would eventually merge to become Gallo - GRC.
As with issues on 78 and 45 rpm, the Tempo label on The Top 14 LP is consistent with the first design showing a trumpet on yellow and blue. In 1966 the label was sold to Trutone where the design remained the same for some issues, but was eventually redesigned with the familiar black and green pictured above.
To read the liner notes or view the track listing, check out the album here at flatinternational.
Various Artists The Top 14
Tempo
LKT 701
issued 1964
