Steve Gordon
South African musicians at home and abroad will be saddened to learn of the death last week of guitarist Russell Herman, who died in London, where he had been living since the early 1980s.
Born in Cape Town in 1953, Herman grew up in District Six, and was an integral part of the creative jazz scene, frequently working with saxophonists Robbie Jansen and Basil Coetzee.
Among the innovative groups of which he was a part were the legendary Spirits Rejoice – in which he worked with bassist Sipho Gumede, Jansen and others during the 1970s; Oswietie, with Coetzee, Jansen, Kader Kahn (flute) and Nazier Kapdi (drums); and Estudio, which included pianist Tony Cedras, bassist Pete Sklair, and violinist Louis Wald.
In the early Eighties, Herman moved to England, and with drummer Brian Abrahams founded the groups District Six and Kintone. He was a core member of the exiled South African community in London, and active in the cultural initiatives of the anti-apartheid struggle. Herman then chose to dedicate his energies to production and management of other artists, particularly pianist Bheki Mseleku, whom he knew from the Spirits Rejoice days.
Most recently, Herman had been engaged by the British B&W label, to assist with production of their South African catalogue. In this role, he was integral to the release of albums by Deepak Ram and Vusi Khumalo.
A “musicians’ musician” rather than jazz celebrity, Herman will be sadly missed in both hemispheres.