From the Jazz Epistles to Voëlvry, the South African musical landscape is littered with under-appreciated visionaries. African Jazz Pioneers’ bandleader Ntemi Piliso is one such innovator, who now, thanks to Gallo, is having his early work reappraised. Gallo’s three-disc reissue of Bra Ntemi’s recordings circa 1974 to 1976 are a welcome addition to the canon of South African jazz.
Born in Alexandra in 1925, Bra Ntemi fell in love with the sounds of American big bands, particularly Glen Miller, and cut his teeth playing with greats such as Kippie Moeketsi in the Harlem Swingers.
In 1953 he formed his own band, the Alexandra All Stars, touring and recording extensively.
A barren spell in the 1960s followed, but in 1974 Bra Ntemi was part of a band put together by the Gallo-Mavuthela label to record music that would compete with Dollar Brand’s Mannenberg and the hit Bump Jive by Lulu Masilela and The Movers.
This new band was dubbed The Members, and during 1975 released eight pieces across four records, the most popular of which was Way Back Riverside. The tracks averaged 12 minutes and are filled with some superb swing phrasing by Bra Ntemi on tenor saxophone. These recordings are collected on Bra Ntemi at Mavuthela volume one and volume two. The third disc in the series, Bra Ntemi & the Alexander All Stars, captures the sessions he recorded for Teal Records in 1976.
The first track was an updated version of his most famous song, Sip ‘n Fly, which he recorded with the Alexandra All Stars in the early 1950s.
Bra Ntemi recorded these sessions with a bunch of veterans, including some original All Star members, as well as a few younger, up-and-coming musicians. Just more than a month after recording, the country erupted with the June 16 uprising. The times had changed, and older jazz musicians found themselves suddenly out of fashion. Bra Ntemi would not record again for another 13 years, making these reissues a fascinating piece in the puzzle of South African jazz.
T-Bone Burnett
The True False Identity (Sony/BMG)
It has been 14 years since we saw a solo album from T-Bone Burnett, and many might have expected that his withdrawal into the world of album production and soundtrack compilation was a permanent one. His work on albums by Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison and Sam Phillips was greatly admired and his soundtracks for the Coen Brothers’ films, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou and The Ladykillers were great, but nothing beats an angry T-bone cutting loose. The True False Identity starts off with Zombieland, a song that would not have been out of place on the last Tom Waits album, Real Gone, which he refers to as his cubist funk album. It is followed by Palestine, Texas, a political blues stomper that is mildly reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine. ”This version of the world will not be here long / it is already gone, it is already gone,” sings T-Bone in a direct attack on George W Bush and his neo-cons. T-Bone is making a great statement with this album; not only is he angry about the Iraq war and the Bush administration, he is also stating clearly for all to hear, ”I am back and I’ll show all you upstarts a thing or two.” None more so than on Blinded by Darkness, where he teaches the White Stripes and the Black Keys about dirty, skuzzy rock’n’roll. ”Do we want to inject the concept of sin into the Constitution?” he asks the United States and he has a valid point. T-Bone Burnett has reinvented himself and in so doing recorded one of the greatest albums of the year. — Lloyd Gedye
Harris Tweed
The Younger (Just)
Cherilyn Macneil, lead singer of Harris Tweed, is magic. This impression lasts throughout the album The Younger — although the it delivers much more than just a pretty voice. This first CD by the South African group has a bit more around the waist than your average pop album, and edges towards soulful rock filled with interesting lyrics. The group’s first single, Superfly, has been well received on radio stations, steadily climbing the charts. Most of the songs on the album are radio friendly and we can expect to hear more from them than just one single. Apparently, the group spent quite a few months fine-tuning the recording and it definitely shows. The Younger is well-rounded, enjoyable and should find a wide audience among South Africans. — Yolandi Groenewald