Jazz artist Errol Dyers has a new album, which he says is about who he is and how he speaks to people
Thebe Mabanga
The Cape is renowned for its laid-back splendour. It provides a perfect setting for artistic inspiration. It also possesses a rich musical heritage honed by generations of Khoisan communities over a period of well over 100 years.
The fusion of these influences has inspired artists like Errol Dyers, who has just released his second album, Kou Kou Wa.
“This album is more representative of who I am and how I speak to people,” he says.
The music mirrors experiences from Dyers’s upbringing in Claremont, just outside Cape Town, which was abruptly interrupted by an enforced relocation of coloured communities to Hanover Park. “I actually still have links with people from that era,” he says.
“As an artist I would like to mirror people’s thoughts,” Dyers says and adds that his sound has a lot of traditional influence. The influences have helped Dyers to earn his status as a pioneer of what has come to be known as the Gouma sound.
“I would like to continue experimenting with traditional sounds and work with instruments like the mbira, and then pass the influences to a younger generation, [with whom] I already do a lot of work,” he continues. Some members of this generation are part of the band with which he was locked up in the SABC Radio Park studios to record Kou Kou Wa.
In between the albums, Dyers has taken time off to work with an older generation as part of the Sheer All Stars with pianist Paul Hamner and bass guitarist Sipho Gumede, among others. On Indibano – the All Stars’s debut album – his guitar grooves have helped create a mesmerising sound and allow him to demonstrate an ability to hold his own in the company of what some might consider to be more illustrious peers. Dyers concedes to being a bit sad that he could not work with his contemporaries, especially Cape- bred stars such as Zim Ngqawana, who might be more sensitive to the Cape sound that drives Kou Kou Wa.
The 12-track album kicks off with the title track, which is a nickname for a mobile shop that was an integral feature of the Cape township scenery. The opening half consists of what can be described as decent stage warmers, including Stick Around B, a tribute to the late saxophonist Basil Coetzee, Dyers’s playing partner of many years .The second half offers a turning point with Dindela, an Abdullah Ibrahim composition, which Dyers performed with the legendary pianist on a tour of London 12 years ago.
That tour included Coetzee, trombonist Johny Mekoa, Kobbie Jansen and exceptional bee-bop drummer Lulu Gonsana. On the last five tracks the tempo picks up superbly as Dyers dabbles with Latin flavoured sounds in Latin Night. Lily Tripping was written at six in the morning after a bike ride along the Liesbeeck river. The lush, flowing vibe gives subtle hints of the experience. The project climaxes with Sonesta, a title track of his last offering, which is bound to have a crowd on its feet.
Dyers has immense admiration for the Johannesburg jazz scene. “Jo’burg has an energy that gets things done [such as the All Stars project], whereas in Cape Town the intentions are sometimes hampered by a lack of resources.
“Also in Cape Town you can get away with things like playing cover versions whereas in Jo’burg [this might be frowned upon].” Dyers has been in the game for about 30 years, having picked up the guitar as a professional musician when he was 18. He exudes the energy and willingness to share that should rub off most artists who have worked with him.
Coetzee must be smiling.