I have my doubts about that, but it would be rude to say so to the grande dame of South African song.
Then again, why not stick to one’s opinions? As Khumalo herself says: “I was raised by somebody who encouraged us to have opinions. He was a liberal yet strict man … I grew up in an environment that encouraged one to be sensitive to the views of young people. To have opinions is not equated with being rude or disrespectful.”
With that I now feel inclined to believe that since her birthday coincides with the day of commemorating one of Africa’s greatest warrior kings — Shaka ka Senzangakhona — her destiny was written in the stars.
Khumalo is a nice person too. She lacks the airs that she could very well put on. She is, after all, a celebrated talent.
And just to show that she is a nice person, instead of her fans singing Happy Birthday to her, she will gladly sing for her fans. Indeed, her upcoming concert will be a showcase of South African composition, a glorious moment for those who will converge on Johannesburg’s Linder Auditorium on September 24.
The event, other than marking her birthday, will be the third Liberty African Classic Evening. This annual event seeks to bridge the gap between classical musicians and their counterparts steeped in the jazz tradition.
On the jazz front the gig presents two popular musicians: bassist Sipho Gumede and pianist Paul Hanmer.
In addition to these Khumalo will be joined on stage by a 35-piece orchestra. The former will also be accompanied by members of the talented jazz quartet Voice, whose previous two albums have appeared on the Sheer label.
No stranger to big outfits, trumpeter Bruce Cassidy — last seen in Big Band Blast — has arranged the music. The whole will fuse Khumalo’s rich heri-tage in a combination of jazz, classic and indigenous African sounds. This is, after all, what the artist does best.
Cassidy has previously arranged Khumalo’s songs, Thando’s Groove and Mountain Shade. “He did it when I performed at the opening of Kilimanjaro nightclub. I liked what he did, that is why I opted for him.”
Mountain Shade is a composition by the late Moses Molelekwa. Khumalo achieved the almost impossible by adding lyrics to the song without it losing any of its twinkle. “The first time I heard Mountain Shade,” she recalls, “we were in Namibia. Before the show, my band tends to play a song before I come on stage.
“I was backstage preparing to come on, they were playing this song and I moved from backstage to where I could listen, I was not even wearing shoes.
“Before I knew it the song was over and I had to rush on to the stage.”
And that is how Mountain Shade obtained its lyrics.
In the process Khumalo also had an opportunity to acknowledge another aspect of her heritage — this time the memory of her mother who died in 1987: “I asked Moses what he had in mind when he wrote the song. He told me a long story, but what he was saying was that [the song] was about the sense of a higher power; an entity larger than life that protects and guides, hence the title.
“To me Mountain Shade is a monument to my mother’s memory.”
Khumalo is eager to sing the songs of Letta Mbulu and Miriam Makeba whenever she gets an opportunity. She is also excited that the opera rendition of her father, Mzilikazi Khumalo’s, work uShaka KaSenzangakhona will be performed at the Rand Afrikaans University on the same afternoon. Mzililkazi Khumalo was honoured this year when he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Arts & Culture Trust Awards 2003.
“In this country when one sings old songs we are accused of doing covers. In other cultures [old songs] are called standards. We must be one of the very few countries that do not celebrate its artists,” says Khumalo.
Observing the musical contribution of young pathfinders, Khumalo says of her friend, the late Wendy Mseleku: “Celebrating anybody’s work is of interest to me. But it would be even more poignant if her work was done by her peers such as Vicky Vilakazi and Margaret Motsage.
“It is sad that we don’t hear Moses, Wendy or Basil Coetzee on radio or TV anymore. It is as if when they died, they went with their music.”
To correct this Khumalo, aided by her organisation Isililo: A Mother Cry, says plans are afoot to pay a tribute to six of the grand old ladies of song. But she’s reluctant to name them: “I can’t give names because not all of them have confirmed.” Watch this space.
The details
Sibongile Khumalo, accompanied by a 35-piece orchestra, performs on Wednesday September 24 from 8pm at the Linder Auditorium, College of Education at Wits, Parktown, in an African classic evening. Book at Computicket.