Four world-renowned musicians, playing together for the first time at Arts Alive, discussed the merits of jazz with MESHACK MABOGOANE
GETTING four musicians from three continents together in a Braamfontein hotel and sounding them out on a range of views is like combining a classic jam session – – in which each player improvises on what has gone before — with a fusion session, synthesising a variety of statements.
This, at least, is what happened at the Mail & Guardian’s interview with Holland’s Jasper van’t Hof, American Bob Mintzer, Port Elizabeth’s Lulu Gontsana and Mmabatho-based Ernest Motlhe, hanging out together during Johannesburg’s Arts Alive festival and collaborating in a series of concerts titled World Jazzlink.
Together, they represent several generations and genres of jazz. Mintzer is a big- band leader and a member of the renowned YellowJackets. Motlhe, a music teacher, was bassist with the Early Mabuza Quartet, going on to win fame at the legendary Orlando and Jabavu jazz festivals in the early Sixties before becoming a music exile. Van’t Hof is a distinct voice in European jazz, while Gontsana is a rare young percussionist, with extensive playing experience — as a sideman of The Soul Jazzmen, Jazzanians and Mankuku Ngozi — here and abroad.
The first bar: are you jazz musicians? Pianist Van’t Hof’s quick response is discordant. “No, definitely, no. Of course, I am crazy about jazz, but strictly speaking I would not call myself a jazz musician. You see, I come from Europe with a classical background. It is largely harmonic with little improvisation — and that is the essence of jazz. Secondly, I did not do the club thing in the States, where you absorb all the rhythm and blues so crucial to jazz. But I have been heavily influenced by jazz. A black American musician once asked me: ‘How can you play so much jazz when you are not black?'”
Mintzer, a saxophonist, picks up the thread. “Jazz is a way of aproaching sound, not so much a style of music. It is a sensibility in which improvisation plays a dominant role. Though my own background is also classical, I have been widely exposed to all types of music: rhythm and blues, Latin American and, of course, jazz. I played in New York with the likes of Art Blakey, Mel Lewis, Thad Jones, and spent lots of time listening to the jazz greats. I also did the rounds of club gigs where, as Jasper said, you absorb a lot of jazz. However, from a purely artistic point, it is better just to call it music.”
Nomenclature, it seems, has become a problem in the music business. The insistence of many musicians that they are playing “music” hints at the crossovers and borrowings that abound in today’s global village. Says Mintzer, “It’s marketing that forces us to stick to labels.”
Motlhe, for his part, “would like to eliminate the word jazz. Categorisation puts you in a corner. I suffer from claustrophobia. I can only play music on a double bass as long as the music is good. What we are concerned with is quality, a higher level of musical expression that involves expertise, spirituality and interplay.”
Mintzer replies: “Yeah, musical knowledge, sensibility and spontaneity make possible that musical fusion that still retains the identity of its players.” These qualities enable Mintzer to move across musical frontiers “looking for sounds with lots of contrast”. It is his first trip to Africa, and he is here to learn and add yet another ingredient to his fusion menu.
What would they like to see happening musically in South Africa?
Van’t Hof: “The media have such an important role to play in influencing the quality and kind of music the public listens to. There is a need for radio and TV to give more air play to quality music. I am positive about South Africa — there is excitement here and it augurs well for creativity.”
Gontsana: ” There is so little jazz air play here, and it is confined to weekends and late at night. Radio stations should increase the hours of good, quality music like jazz even on weekdays.”
Mintzer: “Playing good music is such a great way to uplift people and bring them together. Good jazz makes people think and develop better sensibilities. Art does improve quality of life, and thus it is a worthwhile investment. It enables people to communicate better with one another without words.”
Motlhe: “Music has a healing effect and this country needs that. I wish to see many more jazz venues established and festivals promoted even in small towns. We have to educate the youth to reach the highest level of musical literacy and pass on the best traditions.”
Gontsana: “This Arts Alive festival must be spread to all the major cities. Music should be kept alive.”
On that note: long live good music, and those who make it happen.
World Jazzlink takes place at Mega Music Warehouse in Newtown tonight and tomorrow night at 8pm. Tickets from Computicket or at the door