JAZZ: Meshack Mabogoane
A MONTH after his appointment as co-director of the=20 State Theatre, the appearance of Hugh Masekela at=20 Kippie’s in downtown Johannesburg last week was a=20 fitting reminder that he is both the supreme embodiment=20 of a cultural stream that has been exiled from stately=20 consideration, and a musical establishment in his own=20
For his followers — a rainbow lot who crammed the tiny=20 Kippie’s every session of his four-day sojourn — this=20 was an occasion to celebrate the acknowledgment of his=20 contribution to South African music. But it was also a=20 moment for Masekela himself to acknowledge their kudos.
He did so by taking his music back to its roots,=20 demonstrating his indebtedness to the moving spirit and=20 best tradition of jazz. Masekela is as consummate a=20 jazz musician as he has been an exponent and developer=20 of local music. This synthesis is personified in what=20 can be called Masekelia, just as the musical phenomenon=20 personified by Duke Ellington has been called=20
Masekela drew heavily from his classic repertoire:=20 Stimela, Grazing in the Grass, Ntjilo Ntjilo, Free=20 Mandela, Nomali, and so on. This was expected, and=20 enthusiastically received. But there ended Masekela the=20 predictable. The pieces served only as a canvas on=20 which the musicians were to demonstrate their craft and=20 colours. The tunes became vehicles for extensive and=20 elaborate improvisations which gave the music a sublime=20 depth and density.
Jimmy Dludlu on bass guitar played energetically, yet=20 maintained a cool restraint that prevented possible=20 excesses that could have turned his staccato strumming=20 to Jimi Hendrix-like crescendos. Kwasi Shange on drums,=20 though rowdy on occasion, managed to return to well- measured time-keeping, and was complemented by the=20 evasive and finely supportive percussionist, John=20
Khaya Mahlangu, on flute and tenor, the group’s musical=20 director and “philosopher”, seemed content to bolster=20 the deeper coherence and organic substance that the=20 group produced so well. Mahlangu was the main anchor=20 and stimulus that enabled Masekela to elaborate on the=20 customary Masekelian statements.
The potential for this group to be the best that=20 Masekela has put together so far is enormous. In=20 effect, it could reduce his dominance while injecting=20 his substance to produce an organic sound that would be=20 greater than the sum of its individual parts. The=20 over-towering Masekela would not be so much subdued as=20
On average, the group played six tunes over one-and-a- half hours — 10 to 15 minutes a tune. This made=20 improvisation the main course, and the concert a jazz=20 event par excellence. And the tunes were liberated from=20 a dance trance even though the rhythm was dense and=20 strong. This was intentional, to convey the message=20 that Masekela needs to be listened to seriously. When a=20 rowdy group shouted “Go, Hugh, go”, he stopped playing=20 and threatened to go home if they did not stop. At the=20 end of the session, he pleaded that the “gods of=20 Africa” should help people appreciate music. You gotta=20 dig, really.
Masekela at Kippie’s put paid to the view that he is no=20 longer creative, but just resting on his reputation.=20 It’s a perception that seems credible, given both his=20 immense success — which often spawns complacency –=20 and middle-age. Bra Hugh ain’t that young no more, and=20 the elder statesman status has fallen on him with ease.=20 But, at Kippie’s, his format and on-stage playing were=20 fresh and inspiring, pointing at things still to come.
It is no paradox that Masekela, who for three decades=20 abroad played an Africentric or home-brewed music,=20 should now return to jazz-based explorations. He is at=20 the vanguard of a new musical development that is=20 emerging. =20
Masekela senses this. In closing the concerts, he=20 revealed great expectations when he said: “After 30=20 years of exile, I am pleased that South Africa can=20 produce good musicians in spite of isolation.” He seems=20 determined to add his stately weight to their=20
The Sunday afternoon concert at Kippie’s by the Soweto=20 Youth Jazz Orchestra vindicated this hope. The=20 orchestra, made up of students of the Mano Technical=20 College in Dobsonville, performed an array of classic=20 jazz pieces. Tunes by Joe Zawinul (Mercy, Mercy, Mercy=20 and Birdland), Charlie Parker (Billy’s Bounce, Now’s=20 the Time) and Thelonious Monk (Well, You Needn’t) were=20 played with vigour and technical finesse. The group’s=20 solid jazz and overall musical grounding are beyond=20 doubt; so, too, is their rootedness in local music.=20
With trumpet virtuoso Prince Lengoasa as one of their=20 tutors, the orchestra could become a powerhouse in=20 producing solid jazz musicians, much as Fuba has done.=20 By the way, Lengoasa’s solo on Some Day My Prince Will=20 Come, a tune made a classic jazz vehicle by Davis, was=20 remarkable for its self-conscious effort to avoid=20 Milesian licks and cliches. That he succeeded is a=20 tribute to the urge to sound original; should this=20 spirit take root among his students, it will contribute=20 to the search for an authentic jazz sound.
Truly, jazz is alive and set to live long in this=20 country. Kippie’s should continue its safari.=20