Womad, the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Sama awards last week overloaded the aural senses of the nation
Nicky Blumenfeld
The term “pink noise” best describes the momentous series of events which took place in our land of plenty last weekend. It refers to the sound produced when combining all the frequencies of the audio spectrum and, significantly, it is used to test and calibrate systems. An evaluation of the South African Music Awards (Sama), Womad and the North Sea Festival borders on harmonic overload.
It began with the Sama ceremony, held at the Sun City Super Bowl. Despite the usual organisational hitches, the stars and their support systems turned up glamorous and expectant.
The show proceeded in the style predictable of award events, with dancers and witless presenters. The highlights of the evening were certainly the musical collaborations. Vusi Mahlasela performed alongside The Usual. Ex-rocker Mauritz Lotz began a tune which led through the gospel vocals of Rebecca Malope and Miriam Makeba’s grandaughter, Zenzi – ending with The Family Factory accompanying Hugh Masekela. These performances initiated the crossover tone of the weekend’s activities.
In overview, the major awards given to Jimmy Dludlu, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Themba Mkhize and Busi Mhlongo provide long-overdue acknowledgement. Finally it seems we have praised quality over commercialism. This strategic shift may prove critical in the promotion of our music on the international market.
South African music is globally, but not locally, referred to as “world music”. This controversial term ironically implies a separation of Western musical trends from the bulk of the world. It may therefore be more appropriate to approach world music as a concept or a consciousness.
At the World of Music, Arts and Dance (Womad) festival in the industrial heart of Benoni, our superb musicianship was perfunctorily endorsed as international. Tananas were the only local act featured on the main stage, with Blk Sonshine’s appearance on the smaller, Ruins stage. Gloria Bosman and Moses Molelekwa were assigned indoor status only.
Although this was an improvement over last year’s choice of amateur South African rock groups, one can’t help wondering about the lack of world music stalwarts in the Womad line-up. Amampondo, Zulu guitar greats Madala Kunene and Phuzekhemisi, or even Bongo Maffin represent only some of our cutting-edge world musicians who should have been included.
The calibre and depth of great performers did, however, establish a fundamental note. We were honored to have the founder of reggae and ska music, Ernest Ranglin, perform his humble and humorous jazz-guitar style, accompanied by the local talent of Barry van Zyl on drums, Mark Duby on double-bass and the relatively unknown Durbanite Neil Gonsalves on piano.
The raw honesty and potent vocals of the Argentinean Barbara Luna, struck a human chord. The once exiled Ugandan Geoffrey Oryema transfixed souls with a deep mix of the ancient and new. The Chinese Woo and Wang Duo delicately interwove the ehru (Asian cello) and yang-qin (hammer dulcimer).
Spirit may be constant, but culture is organic. Within the global melting pot, technology has enabled us to access previously unexplored sounds, and in turn these primal vibrations are returned to the computer.
The hard-core dance scene of the West appears to be adopting a more sensitive understanding of the concept of trance, and the growing trend of high-energy, crossover grooves is certainly easier on the ear. This new trend was represented at Womad 2000 by three United Kingdom- based outfits – Afro-Celt Sound System, Trans Global Underground and Joi – all trailblazers of the tribal groove style.
Those in Johannesburg may have missed the experience of Youssou N’dour’s kingliness or Ronny Jordan’s smooth groove at the North Sea Jazz Festival. Herbie Hancock’s greatness and Abbey Lincoln’s sweet melancholy may too be mourned as a lost opportunity. However, the sweet sounds of Tama, yet another cross-cultural celebration; the Mexican mariachi sounds of Chavan; and the showiness of the man who first electrified the kora, Mory Kante, will never be forgotten.
In expressing the intensity of these global events it’s interesting to note that the visual equivalent of pink noise is “white light” – symbolically, it too contains the full range of the colour spectrum.
There is, however, some dissonance amid the enlightenment and melodic harmony. The question of festival clashes remains. How is it possible that Womad and Cape Town’s North Sea Festival overlapped, precisely in the same week as the Sama ceremony? All organisers claim to have pre-booked their schedules well in advance, but in a country hungry throughout the year for international jazz and world events, surely collaboration between promoters is possible.
Perhaps a lesson should be drawn from the great performers who bless our soil and souls. Their abilities to work harmoniously, regardless of their essential diversity, should stand as an example. It may be jazz, funk or rhythm’n’blues – acoustic, electric, international or indigenous. But it is world – ours, and we’re in it together.
Ranglin has just completed an album with Nigerian musicians. Its title, he says, is New Answers to Old Questions. He’s right. That is what we’re entitled to!