The Drive - Zone 6 (1976)

The Drive ‘Zone 6’ (RCA, RCL1214, 1976)

Produced by the ubiquitous township soul impresario and infamously sharp operator David Thekwane, Zone 6 is a further piece of The Drive’s expanding discographic puzzle. Unlike 1975’s Can You Feel It, also produced by Thekwane, the Zone 6 release is bereft of any detailed information concerning the personnel, although we might assume continuity from the earlier sessions (check the earlier post here for details). The genesis and importance of The Drive was covered here at Matsuli and some more of their output, as well as some biographical info, is detailed here at flatinternational.

The Drive might be seen as providing an important sonic bridge between the fertile but often lo-fi township soul scene and the complexities of a jazz scene which was in a state of flux and transformation during the mid-1970s. Zone 6, with its deep, warm funk tones and the evident similarity of ‘Iphi Intombiyam’ to the title track of Moeketsi and Matshikiza’s classic Tshona! LP, adds another layer of detail to our still partial picture of this most progressive and prolific group.

MF

Davey Swingsters honour Msiza's Village (1975)

Three sixties saxophone stalwarts lead a cool collision of mellow mbaqanga and marabi jazz, echoing a phrasing and mood of what might be called the 'Manenburg from North of Pretoria'.

Albert Ralulimi and Chris Songxaka were key members of the Elite Swingsters in the 1960s, while Mario Daconceicao's sax featured regularly in the legendary Makhona Tsohle Band. Backed by "The Crunchies" with keyboards, base and drums, these fellas fled the city hype for a soothing sabbatical at Msiza's Village to record this album. Or so it seems.

"Somewhere, Somehow, there is a lonely road the leads to Msiza's Village - a place known for its Silence, Peace and Tranquility. The only thing that disturbed the Peace and Silence during our stay there was the sound of the old-fashioned gramophone.

"Thus, we decided to grab our horns to help the poor old gramophone - all in all that's how it started. At Msiza's Village. The undermentioned great musicians brought their heads together to make this album such a success. At Msiza's Village." (from the back cover).

The reference to Manenburg is not only about the mood and time of this music, but there are historical parallels. Msiza's Village is a rural settlement 50kms North of Pretoria holding a long history of dispossession, forced relocation and resilience. In 1953 these families were forcibly removed from the land that now is Wonderboom airport in Pretoria, and eventually re-located to what became known as Msiza's Village in the Odi district. The Msiza's, led by Chief Speelman Msiza resisted being moved to Mamelodi township and demanded to go where they could grow crops and keep livestock.

The Msiza family were traditionally known as the shield bearers to the King of the Ndebele people, and in 1882 defended their King against an attack on the Ndebele capital of Namashaxelo by a commando of 2000 Boers. The Boers took control of what is now the Middelburg-Grobblersdal district and the Msiza family and others were banished to become labour tenants on the farm which later became Wonderboom Airport. At the time of this recording Msiza's Village was part of the apartheid homeland known as Bophutatswana. Soon after, the village was closed by the Bophuthatswana government because the ``Ndebeles were non-Tswana promoting their tradition and culture on Batswana land''. For more see here

Today, Msiza's Village has been revived and given the honour of preserving an art-form that many say saw its origins in the village - Ndebele mural decoration. For more on this story, see here

Produced by Simon Nkosi
Engineer: Paul Wright
Backing: The Crunchies
Philips PKLP.706 (1975)
1. Msiza's Village (Albert Rululimi)
2. Old Shoes (Mario Da Conceicao)
3. Babe's Joint (Albert Rululimi)
4. Water Falls  (Mario Da Conceicao)

Rapidshare here
Mediafire here

Dancing Time with the Raiders

Over a relative short period of time The Raiders recorded five albums - The Raiders go Latin, Get Ready with the Raiders, Encore,
Dance 69 and Fuzz Face - for the independent Durban label RAJ Records. The music is primarily guitar-led instrumental pop livened up from time to time with the addition of a fuzz box. All clues seem to point to the Raiders being a working band, hired for private functions in the Indian, Coloured and African communities of Durban and its surrounds.

I managed to track down an article by Yogan Naidoo lamenting today's obsession with Bollywood. This recollection provides wonderful context to the music of the Raiders and other forgotten bands of that era:
"Listen to some of the great dance bands of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s - such as the Crescendos and Dukes Combo - and you'll hear a sound that is still like no other in the world. It is inimitably and spectacularly South African-Indian. Other bands - with names like Sam's Latin Kings, Stepping Stones, the Jets, Kreme, Cheyennes, Blue Ricks, the Santiago Dance Band, Los Pepitos, El Remos and Raiders - also reigned over this era. I recall a sultry Saturday night in the 1970s, when knee-high to a grasshopper, I sat beside my father at a table bearing the heavyweights of the Southern Natal Soccer Board at a Soccer Awards Ceremony at the Himalaya Hotel. With the formalities over, a band called The Blue Jewels commandeered the stage. Like a powerful, orchestrating yet symbiotic organism it amplified, fed off and again replenished the enthusiasm of its audience. They were a tight unit of young South African Indian men who, in all likelihood, would return to exploitative day jobs the Monday after, but for that Saturday night, to Durban's assembled soccer elite, they were the undisputed gods of the dance floor. That night mirrored thousands of others featuring a variety of bands, audiences and occasions at other venues such as the Island Hotel in Isipingo Beach, The Railway Hotel in Isipingo Rail, The Butterworth Hotel in the Durban CBD, the Apollo Nightclub in Sea Cow Lake, the Admiral Hotel in Overport, the Pelican and Sol Namara in Chatsworth, and at the Goodwill Lounge in Victoria Street.

"Playing at rock concerts at Curries Fountain, the Durban City Hall's Battle of the Bands and community halls were rock bands such as Nirvana (well before Kurt Cobain's Nirvana), Atomic Ash, Shackles, a folk outfit called Silver Willow Sterling and many more of that ilk. Inspired by 1960s and 1970s groups such as the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, our bands composed a multitude of original songs with socially conscious lyrics. Because the major record companies of the time were white-owned and goaded by an apartheid mindset, they never considered the anomaly of a South African Indian rock band as a viable option. Our musicians received either no material reward or were paid a pittance for their musical undertakings. Yet, they were driven by an overwhelming passion for their vocation.

"Recently, I met a few of the remaining members of these bands. Their stories, while touched by nostalgia, are still underlined by the pathos of just how much more professionally rewarding their lives as musicians could have been. Decades later, it seems nothing has changed. We, the very community from which they originate, are ignoring their contributions to our musical canon. The Crescendos, for example, was established about 50 years ago in Cato Manor. How then are they not part of our heritage? How is it that not one single celebration commemorating our 150 years in this country ever considered inviting them or any of their peers to share the stage? Unlike Bollywood, we own this intellectual property. No other community in the world can lay claim to this legacy. This is our Buena Vista Social Club*. Along with our strugglistas, our writers and poets - these are my heroes.

"We owe them our respect, reverence, gratitude and recognition."

*I think the Buena Vista reference is pushing it when it comes to the Raiders material on the two LPs we are sharing. But check it out anyway.
Get Ready with the Raiders
MF/ RS

Encore (bonus share)
RS/ MF

Jive Smodern Jive! - classic instrumental jive from the '60s and '70s

JIVE SMODERN JIVE!
30 instrumental grooves from the Mavuthela Music Company
compiled from 78 and 45 rpm records from the 1960s and 1970s

The ball started rolling with Mavuthela – The Sound of the Sixties, shared at Matsuli in September 2009. This was followed up with a second installment, Classic South African Jive, shared here at ElectricJive in May 2010. We are only too happy to share whatever music we can; music that we feel deserves to be heard again… music that doesn’t deserve to be locked up in a dusty archive… music that stirs your emotions… the list goes on. That is precisely why we share what we share, and it is also why the third compilation focusing on the music of the Mavuthela Music Company is making its way to EJ readers today. Jive Smodern Jive! – a 30-track tribute to Mavuthela’s talented instrumental team.

Whereas the previous two compilations featured a healthy mix of vocal and instrumental jive, the attention has been put solely on the latter this time round. One can never underestimate the talents of the individuals who were contracted to Gallo’s Mavuthela stable, but the Mahotella Queens, Izintombi Zomoya, Mahlathini, Abafana Baseqhudeni and all the other Mavuthela vocal stars certainly owe a great deal to the men in the background. The guitar virtuosos and sax stars were responsible for a large part of their success.


















'The guys in the background'... three members of the Makhona Tsohle Band, Mavuthela's house band, 1967. L to r: Marks Mankwane (lead guitar), Lucky Monama (drums), Joseph Makwela (bass)

Marks Mankwane, the guitar wizard affectionately called “umthakathi” around the Gallo studios, features on almost every track. His astonishing skills are displayed to perfection in Bela Bela No. 2, with an all-too-brief (though perfect) guitar solo. Joseph Makwela’s thundering bass forms a solid and elastic foundation for many songs here including Pheladi and Matamato Jive Matamato, two tracks in which he unashamedly takes the spotlight. Mankwane’s lead and Makwela’s bass sit perfectly alongside Vivian Ngubane’s bouncing rhythm guitar (check out Jive Smodern Jive B 5 and Ndiza Mshini for great examples) and Lucky Monama’s precision drumming, gelling together the sound of the band. In addition to these guys who so vividly formed the core of the Makhona Tsohle Band, there is the clear presence of bassist James Mukwevho on various tracks in the ‘mabone’ series, guitarists Christian Nombewu and Marubini Jagome, accordionist Delford Ngcemu, violinist Noise Khanyile (on Two Mabone and Five Mabone) and sax jive stars West Nkosi, Christopher Songxaka, Reggie Msomi, Elias Lerole (Lerole under the group name Amaphikankani) and Shadrack Piliso (a harmony expert and assistant producer whose ear for detail proved a vital part of the backbone of Mavuthela). Last but by no means least, groaner extraordinaire Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde is a special guest vocalist on two tracks: Baya Biza Ekhaya and Sithunyiwe Thokozile. The latter was a tune originally recorded by himself and the Mahotella Queens in 1966. The version included in this compilation, recorded a year later, was a 'follow-up' to the original.

A moderate history of mbaqanga can be revealed from listening to these tracks. From the early, rough jive as heard in Unana No. 2, through to the tight-knitted sound of Ndiza Mshini, Marabi Sideways and the spotlight number of this collection, Jive Smodern Jive B 5. The growing influence of the USA is clearly heard in the soul-driven numbers The Rock, Hard Way Up and Evil Ways, while the bump jive fad makes its presence felt in Crazy Bump and Tsikiza Jive. Also not to be missed is the 'mabone' craze of '73 to '74 - represented here are Two, Four, Five and Six Mabone, all of them containing the hard driving beat that personified that craze.

All thirty tracks, digitised from several 78 and 45 rpm recordings, were originally released on the “Motella”, “Gumba Gumba”, “New Sound”, “Gallo-USA”, “Smanje Manje”, “C.T.C. Star Record”, “F.G.B.” and “Soul Jazz Pop” record labels between 1965 and 1975. A huge thank-you must go to fellow ElectricJivers Chris Albertyn, who contributed three tracks including Joseph Makwela's fantastic Matamato Jive Matamato, and Siemon Allen, who contributed six tunes including West Nkosi's classic Marabi Bell.

Load this compilation into iTunes or add it onto your iPod and get ready to listen to the real deal. In the words of the formidable Mavuthela boss Rupert Bopape in his intro to Two Mabone, this music definitely is “something wonderful”. This is Jive Smodern Jive! - enjoy!

- Nick Lotay, May 2011





















Tracklist
1. TWO MABONE – WEST NKOSI NABASHOKOBEZI (1973)
2. MAKOMKOM – MARKS MANKWANE AND HIS SHALUZA BOYS (1974)**
3. BAYA BIZA EKHAYA – MAKGONA TSOHLE BAND (1972)
4. UNANA NO. 2 – GUITAR RHYTHM SESSION (1965)
5. MATAMATO JIVE MATAMATO – JOSEPH MAKWELA AND HIS COMRADES (1967)**
6. JIVE SMODERN JIVE B 5 – MAKGOLOKGOLO (1965)
7. KHULA NGWANE – MARKS MANKWANE AND HIS ALTO SAX (1967)
8. MARABI SIDEWAYS – CHRIS SONGXAKA AND HIS HOME TOWN UNIT (1967)
9. PHELADI – MARKS MANKWANE AND HIS SHALUZA BOYS (1969)
10. SITHUNYIWE THOKOZILE – MAKGOLOKGOLO (1967)
11. SEA WATER “800” – DELFORD NGCEM' & HIS ACCORDION (1973)*
12. FOUR MABONE – WEST NKOSI (1973)
13. THE ROCK – WEST NKOSI (1967)*
14. HARD WAY UP – THE STOKKERS (1973)
15. CRAZY BUMP – AMAPHIKANKANI (1975)
16. EVIL WAYS – THE BOOGALOOS (1972)
17. MARABI BELL – WEST NKOSI NABASHOKOBEZI (1973)*
18. FIVE MABONE – NOISE KHANYILE & VIOLIN (1973)
19. JUNE JULY SKA NO. 2 – WEST NKOSI (1966)*
20. MONO SARAH NO. 2 – REGGIE MSOMI AND HIS HOLLYWOOD JAZZ BAND (1967)
21. MULENDZE PHANDA – S. PILISO & HIS SAX (1967)*
22. BELA BELA NO. 2 – MARKS MANKWANE AND HIS ALTO SAX (1967)*
23. ITSHE LIWELA ESIZIBENI – WEST NKOSI & HIS ALTO SAX (1967)
24. MARKS SPECIAL NO. 7 – MARKS MANKWANE AND HIS SHALUZA BOYS (1971)
25. SIX MABONE – THE BIG BAG BOYS (1973)
26. UNKNOWN – AMAPHIKANKANI (1975)
27. TSIKIZA JIVE – S. PILISO’S SUPER SEVEN (1975)
28. TLAPA LE WELA BODIBENG – JOSEPH MAKWELA AND HIS COMRADES (1967)**
29. TWO GUN MAN – WEST NKOSI & HIS ALTO SAX (1967)
30. NDIZA MSHINI – WEST NKOSI & HIS ALTO SAX (1967)
*courtesy of Siemon Allen
**courtesy of Chris Albertyn

Download links
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Compilation no. 4 here!

Mkhumbane (1960)

Alan Paton’s play Mkhumbane with music by Todd Matshikiza opened in Durban on March 29th, 1960. It was a turbulent period in South African history and the play’s opening was framed by major events in what was a time of great political change.

On March 21st, one week before the opening 69 protesters demonstrating against the carrying of pass-books were gunned down by police in Sharpeville. On March 28th, Albert Luthuli burnt his passbook in protest at the shootings and declared a day of mourning. On March 30th, the day after the play opened, the Nationalist Government declared a State of Emergency, arresting more than 18,000 people, detaining Luthuli and confining him to his home in Stanger, KwaZulu Natal. On April 1st the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 134 condemning the Sharpeville massacre and by April 5th both the ANC and the PAC had been banned. On April 9th David Pratt, a white farmer, attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Verwoerd by shooting him twice in the face. The playwright, Alan Paton traveled to New York later that year to receive the 1960 Freedom Award from Freedom House, but on December 5th, upon his arrival at Johannesburg airport, his passport was withdrawn by the South African authorities. It was a status that would remain in effect for the next 10 years.

Mkhumbane refers to a settlement just 7 km from central Durban. Officially named Cato Manor, it was called Mkhumbane by its black residents after the Mkhumbane River, which ran through the area.
With an expanding post-World War II economy, Durban had seen a massive influx of rural black workers coming into the city seeking jobs and by 1952 Mkhumbane, with its close proximity to the city centre, had grown into a vast informal settlement of 90,000 people. Though vibrant, living conditions were poor and crowded and the settlement increasingly became the site of significant conflict between residents and governing authorities.

In 1909 the Durban City Council established a revenue system of selling alcohol to the black population exclusively through a series of Beerhalls. The acquiring of alcohol from sources other than these official Beerhalls was declared illegal for black South Africans and the residents of Mkhumbane resented such control over what had been regarded as a tradition. Illegal brewing developed as a result, and in response the South African authorities regularly raided what were considered to be illicit businesses and made numerous arrests. Protests at such police action resulted and often led to violent clashes.

By the mid 1950s Mkhumbane had also become a political hotbed with Albert Luthuli gaining support for the ANC by linking the settlement’s problems to the greater struggle against apartheid. In response to the increasing political action in the area and anxieties over the large numbers of non-white residents living in close proximity to the city, a nervous Durban City Council issued a proclamation in June 1958. Inhabitants from Cato Manor were to be moved to the more distant regions of Umlazi, Chatsworth and the newly developed township of Kwa Mashu. In 1959 the City Council declared Cato Manor a white zone under the Group Areas Act and in June began the process of forcibly moving Mkhumbane residents to Kwa Mashu.

At this time a response to the increased liquor raids in Mkhumbane put into play a series of actions that soon spiraled into significant violence. It began on July 17, 1959 when a group of women gathered at the Cato Manor beerhall, threatening the men drinking there with sticks. This same group of women then proceeded to attack the central beerhall in Durban and a boycott of the beerhalls began. On July 18th, the following day, 3000 women gathered around the Mkhumbane Beerhall, and while clashing with police, set it on fire. It is significant to point out that these grievances were not over moral issues around the use of liquor, but rather the control of its production and sale. By some accounts it is these grassroots activities by women that contributed to the strengthening of the ANC’s Women’s League at the time. After more raids on January 23rd (some have it in early February) of 1960, an angry mob killed nine policemen at the Cato Manor Police Station.

It is not insignificant that this event, which occurred just six weeks before the infamous Sharpeville shootings, was fresh in the minds of the inexperienced Sharpeville policemen who opened fire on protestors, killing 69 people.

Within this politically charged context the play Mkhumbane opened in Durban with a cast made up almost entirely of residents from the Cato Manor area. Produced by The South African Institute of Race Relations the production featured a multi-racial collaboration with Paton as playwright and librettist, Matshikiza as music director and writer and Malcolm Woolfson as director.

Mkhumbane was Paton’s first attempt at a musical, while Matshikiza had already proven his talents with the hugely successful King Kong, performed for the first time the previous year in 1959. While Paton’s lyrics in English give some of the songs an awkward formality, they are not without deep political significance verging at times on the satirical. The track Bantustan features an ironic conversation between men wooing women that sets up a dichotomy between the negatives of city life and the benefits of life in the newly formed “Bantustans”:

“For city slickers I don’t care,
I want a man who will and can
I want a man from Bantustan…
A nice little house Kwa Mashu way,
Perhaps a nice little car one day.”

This strategy is very reminiscent of that in the song Meadowlands popularized by Nancy Jacobs and her Sisters five years before. Strike Vilikazi’s lyrics in that song appear to praise the benefits of moving to the new township of Meadowlands, but in reality were understood by listeners as a critique of the government’s forced removals of residents from Sophiatown.

The souvenir programme that accompanied the play features a text by Dennis Hurly, the Archbishop of Durban, as well as a range of images of the cast and period advertising. A PDF of this document as well as the accompanying lyric sheet can be downloaded from the flatinternational archive.

Interestingly, Alfred Nokwe, legendary actor, director and father of singer Tu Nokwe, makes a cameo appearance, his first, in Mkumbane as one of the tsotsi’s. He would much later stage his own production of the play.

Unlike the success of King Kong, which made its way to London, Mkhumbane closed only after a few months in Durban. Of the play, David Coplan in In Township Tonight says: "Though production difficulties, police harassment and mixed reviews combined to allow Mkhumbane only a short run, its particular uses of theme and musical dramatics made it an important forerunner of the popular working-class township theatre of the 1970s.”

MKHUMBANE

1960

Gallotone

GALP 1103