Winston Monwabisi 'Mankunku' Ngozi (1943 - 2009 forever)

A legend of South African Jazz and music in general. A legendary saxophonist who gave us 'Yakhal'inkomo', a Jazz classic. His music, his soul makes him eternal.



Listen: http://www.last.fm/music/Winston+Mankunku+Ngozi
Buy Music: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/abantwane-be-afrika/id257001947

Gods and Godesses of Jazz since the 1950s

Picture: Dolly Rathebe, Drum Magazine circa 50s
Photographer: © Bailey's History Archives (B.A.H.A)www.baha.co.za

Even though Jazz in South Africa had been prominent before the 1950s especially swing, it was also very popular in the era that was the 50s when the Apartheid system was tightening its first grip. Cape Province was a hotbed for South African jazz bands at the time, home to great composers and legends, but Johannesburg became the capital and the promised City of Gold. The city boasted alumni like Jazz Maniacs and Harlem Swingsters, and musicians like Ellison Temba, Elijah Nkanyane, Ntemi Piliso, Wilson Silgee and Isaac Nkosi.

Female jazz vocalists were particularly popular in South Africa in the 40s and 50s, with Dolly Rathebe being the first star. She also starred in the first African feature film, 1948's Jim Comes to Jo'burg. Rathebe was followed by other singers, including Dorothy Masuka and, most famously, Miriam Makeba. Male singers were rarer, and included the Manhattan Brothers and the African Inkspots. Other leading female singers included Thandi Klaasen and Abigail Khubeka, two of the many underrated iconic symbols of South African music. 

*Contains extracts from Wikipedia

Kwela, the 50s streets' soundtrack and Pennywhistle Jive

Picture: Barney Rachabane, 10years old
Picture: Bailey's History Archives

The first major style of South African popular music to emerge was Pennywhistle jive . It later became known as Kwela music. This music was the pennywhistle sound that echoed in the streets of shantytowns, suburbia parks and the inner city. Pennywhistle or Kwela music is the offshoot of 'Marabi' music and is the genre that brought South African music international prominence in the 50s. The pennywhistle was used because of its handiness, readiness, portability and because it was cheap to acquire. The music was performed on street corners by soloists and in ensembles and formed part of a long lineage of panpipes and traditional flutes belonging especially to the Pedi and other northern tribes and clans in South Africa. Black cattle-herders had long played a three-holed reed flute, adopting a six-holed flute when they moved to the cities. Willard Cele is usually credited with creating the pennywhistle sound and music by placing the six-holed flute between his teeth at an angle. Cele spawned a legion of imitators and fans, especially after appearing in the 1951 film The Magic Garden.

Kwela music ensembles would feature a tea chest bass and the acoustic guitar or just an ensemble of rebellious musical youngsters . The term "kwela" means "get on", in Zulu, though in township slang it also refers to the old police vans- the "kwela-kwela" from the apartheid regime days. Thus it could be an invitation to join the dance as well as a warning, in Kwela’s performers’ instance, a signal to those enjoying themselves in illegal drinking dens to look out for the Kwela-Kwela. Pennywhistlers were enticed by record industry scouts to record backed by a full band for a small fee and most if not all of them not earning any royalties for their music.

Lemmy Mabaso and Barney Rachabane were two of South Africa's most famous pennywhistle stars; they were only 10 years old when they started performing on the streets. Stars such as Spokes Mashiyane had hits with kwela pennywhistle tunes. Groups of Flute players played on the streets of South African cities in the 1950s, many of them in white areas, where police would arrest them for creating a public disturbance. Some young whites were attracted to the music, and came to be known as ducktails, rebellious juvenile delinquents who called the flute music kwela. Pennywhistle jive also spread outside of South Africa, through migrant workers, to Lesotho, Swaziland and most importantly Malawi. 

South African Jazz in the 1930s. Re-legendising the Jazz Maniacs

Picture: Wilson 'Kingforce' Silgee
Photographer: © Bob Gosani. Baileys Archive

When it comes to trends and popular culture, the first cheeseburger (1934) and Zippo lights (1932) were amongst other things emerging around the world in the 30s. In South Africa, jazz bands were also growing in popularity. By the early 1930s jazz bands like the Jazz Maniacs and Merry Blackbirds were playing to wide acclaim. The Jazz Maniacs – who were probably the most popular band - developed an exciting synthesis of jazz, swing and local melody known as Marabi.

Marabi music is one of the biggest musical influences for a generation of musicians like pianist Abdullah Ibrahim (former Dollar Brand), trumpeter Hugh Masekela, trombonist Jonas Gwangwa and saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi, who were prominent in the 50s and are still big acts the world over, except for the late Kippie. These four greats along with bassist John Gertze and drummer Makhaya Ntshoko were the Jazz Epistles in the 50s when Jazz was the new order of the day in the South African music scene. Kippie Moketsi’s was honored with a legendary Jazz venue in Joburg named after him, run by artist, Sipho Hotsitx Mabuze, who’s also a popular international South African name and has been on top of his game for the last three decades. The popular underdog jazz venue was a popular spot for years until its sad closure in 2007.

The Jazz Maniacs were formed in 1933 by pianist ‘Zulu boy’ Cele who had learnt piano from listening to Shebeen entertainers in the slums of Johannesburg. Wilson ‘King Force’ Siligee took over the leadership of the band 10 years later when Cele was murdered. The Merry Blackbirds, lead by saxophonist Peter Rezant – who was also known as ‘Mr Music’ and was M.C at big shows – played American covers such as Duke Ellington’s and was one of the most exalted and well-dressed bands. The Jazz Revellers were also some of the popular jazz bands of the 30s. This era is the roots of African jazz, a genre and culture that is still very live today and constantly evolving thanks to new talent and legendary artists who have been active for decades.

- Extract from the book ‘Contemporary African Music’: Buy the book here

The 1950s Vaudeville Stage

The 50s were an era whose actions affected the course of South African history greatly. This was the era before the full onslaught of apartheid, when the ANC became a mass movement and the Freedom Charter was drafted (1955) by political, religious and community leaders and their affected communities at a historical gathering, a document the congress and it’s movement stood by, a blueprint that would be the foundation of South Africa’s constitution and democracy. It was also in 1955 when women of all races took to the streets in a peaceful protest march to the president’s office in the Union Buildings to serve a memorandum against the pass laws.

Legislation in the 1950’s put some final touches to the consolidation of the apartheid state as well as the official violence that implemented it. Racially mixed communities such as Kofifi-Sophiatown and District Six were forcibly moved. ‘Destruction of these vibrant communities was a major factor in bringing the era of the large dance bands to an end by the late 1950’s. For a while smaller groups survived. Vaudeville troupes of the mid fifties that were prominent were mainly the Gay Gaeties . Led by James Tutie the Gay Gaeties provided initial training for young artists such as Thandie Klaasen who was then known as Thandie Mpambani.

Pre-Record Industry and still rocking

Indigenous Music of South Africa

The making of indigenous music in South Africa – like the rest of the continent – is not limited to a certain period in history. Indigenous music is probably the only style of music that has been playing ever since the very first time it was performed, both traditionally in ceremonies and modern in recordings. Southern African societies have exchanged cultural and musical features far back in the past. The most accurate term for referring to this music is indigenous. This term applies to, for example, groups in Southern Africa such as the Khoisan adopting and sharing musical traits with groups further North of the continent such as the Bantu.

The Bantu, according to Guthries classification are those groups which come from the Niger- Congo region. They migrated to the south some many thousands of years back, the south was originally habited by the Khoi or Maswara (word probably adapted from Borwa meaning South) . The Khoisan adopted the Bantu Lamellophones. Lamellophones are a group of instruments with a series of thin plates or tongues, each of which are fixed at one end and have the other end free. The musician presses the free end of a plate with a finger or fingernail, and then allows the finger to slip off, the released plate vibrates to make a sound. Most lamellopohones are from Africa. Other names for them are Mbira, Sanza, Kisanji, Likembe, Kalimba, Kongoma.

Relatively indistinct Ethnic boundaries however make it difficult to identify distinct differences between different groups and their musical characteristics. The same is true of differences between musical traditions. This is because surveys regarding these topics are heavily dependant on literature and a problem in gaining an accurate view of the area is the extreme variability of sources. The varying ages of studies are also important, since the musical traits of societies studied 50 years ago may differ profoundly from the practices of those societies

The Khoisan People
At the end of the 1400s when the Europeans first found the Southern Tip of Africa, that area was already inhabited by several diverse groups. The pastoral groups in the area around the Cape of Good Hope were the Khoi  and were the referred to by the Europeans as the Hottentots. The Hunter gatherers farther north were the San but referred to by the Europeans as the Bushmen. Their languages explored clicking sounds and have been classified as Khoisan languages. The Bantu languages were  further to the north and east of the Cape and were interacting with some Khoisan peoples. Common musical traits of South African Indigenous music with other African peoples include the presence of polyrhythms, various degrees of influence of linguistic tones upon melody, numerous instruments, particularly drums, plucked lamellphones and xylophones. Other common features are rattling, buzzing arrangements on instruments as well as the use of cyclic form, with variations and extensive improvisation both in music and in text.

Many people in the Southern African region define music in terms of the presence of the metered rhythm. This means that drumming alone is considered music and chanting or speaking words is singing, so long as it is metrical. When the singing voice is used without rhythm, the resulting vocalization is not usually considered singing. Languages also play an important part in South African music. South African languages are tonal, so the nature of the languages tones restricts to some degree the freedom to move melodically. The languages of South Africa are not so dependant on tones as are the languages of West Africa. So the match of speech tone with melody is more a matter of aesthetics than comprehension.  

Music of the Khoikhoi
The musical practices of the Khoi as recorded in early documents are important because of their influence on later developments. Many of their songs were reportedly based on descending 4-note scale, equivalent to D-C-A-G. Among the major instruments of the Khoi were various types of musical bows. Men played braced mouth bow and women a longer bow. A woman would secure the instrument by one foot while sitting down and rest its center on a hollow object serving as a resonator. The woman would then hold the upper part of the bow near her face, touching it with her chin to get a different tone. The tone can also be modified by touching the center of the string. The Gora was the most notable bow as it was used to herd cattle. It consisted of a string that the player put into motion by forcefully inhaling and exhaling over a feather connecting the string to the end of the bow. The Gora was borrowed by neighboring Bantu speakers. Single tone flutes were also important to the Khoikhoi. They were made from reeds about 40centimetres long with all the nodes removed or from the bark of a particular root. The flutes were played in ensembles for dancing, with each man sounding his note as needed to create a melody. Drums were made by placing skins over cook pots. The Europeans called this instrument a rommelpot.

Music of the San
The San live around Namibia, Southern Angola, Botswana. The most common instrument used was the bow which was derived from the hunting bow. It is also possible that this bow was originally a Bantu instrument. Other instruments which the San began to adopt from other groups was the plucked Lamellophone (likembe or mbira). The use of hunting bows as instruments is shown by a San rock painting. The bow was played by putting one end of it at the players mouth and resting the other on the ground. The bows produced 2 tones, separated by intervals of a second, a minor third or a major third. The music that the San created dealt with everyday topics such as success of the hunt of the day, as they were hunter gatherers. Songs were also accompanied with dances and quivering trances. The musical bow produces multipart music. This means interplay between fundamental tones and overtones. Another way which the bow could be played was as a group bow which was referred to as kambulumbumba. Three musicians would lay it at the same time, but playing different rhythms. One would beat the string of the bow in steady triplets. The other would hold another part of the bow and play an irregular rhythm and the other musician would play duple rhythms.

A Kuma (raft zithers) and a Bavugu (stamping tube) were also used by the San as instruments. They were made with three gourds or mock oranges placed one above the other and held with wax with a hole cut through all three. The instrument was then beaten against the upper thigh with the top of the instrument struck with the hand. These instruments were mainly played by women. San Vocalists sing individual variants on a basic line, use canons and sing with few words. The soloists in a group interweave their singing without necessarily responding to each other as it is done elsewhere in Africa. When the players of a mouth- resonated bow begin to sing, they occasionally stop bringing out melodic overtones with their mouths so that the vocal section and the instrumental section can be alternated to make a two part form. Both the Khoikhoi and the San yodeled as they sang which is not a commonly found technique in Africa, other than among the Shona of Zimbabwe . Their style of dancing is identical to that of the Tswana people who are neighbours and some blood cousins of the San. The role of music in South Africa as well as rest of the African continent has been as a symbol of political power whereby kings would even sponsor royal musicians. Music also plays an important part in puberty-initiation rites, particularly where control of the rituals is a mark of political strength.

Nguni Peoples
Nguni is a term scholars use to identify the Southernmost Bantu-Speaking people in Africa. In South Africa, they were largely settled along the coastal land between the Drakensburg and the Indian Ocean.The two Nguni groups which constitute a large part of the indigenous population of South Africa are the Zulus and Xhosas. The Xhosas are the Southernmost Nguni peoples and the closest to the Cape of Good Hope. Some of them settled and mixed among Khoisan groups. This is shown by the fact that they have many clicks in their languages.  The Zulus are descendants of clans united into a nation by Chaka. These indigenous groups became involved in wars with the Boers, the English and with each other. Some groups separated themselves and fled from the Zulu kingdom to form other groups, namely the Ndebele of the Northern Transvaal and Zimbabwe, the Tsonga - also known by the deregatory term Shangaan - of Giyani along the border of South Africa and Mozambique. Music of the Nguni groups choral singing is the most common form of music practiced for the Nguni groups. This is especially done in communal musical events.

The Zulu language causes sung tones to be lowered in pitch when the vowels follow voiced spirants. Singing is done with an open voice and is polyphonic and responsorial, with the divergence of parts occurring as phrases begin and ending at different points.  The musical bow is also commonly used by the Nguni people. Scales are based on natural tones of the bow often omitting the seventh. Nguni musical structures are diverse but they often don’t have the seventh and perfect fourths and fifths are prominent. The use of semitones may be attributed To the traits of the bow. Musical bows used by the Zulus was the Ugubhu and the Umakhweyana. The Ugubhu was an unbraced gourd-resonated bow more than a meter long. The umakhweyana was braced near the center and gourd resonated. Braced bows have the main string divided in different ways, so the differences in the fundamental tones range from a whole tone to a minor third.

Sotho People
Three Sotho clusters appear regularily in the study of Southern African music. Those living in Botswana and the North West of South Africa - the Tswana, those living in South Africa- the Pedi, and those from Lesotho and also found in South Africa – the Southern Sotho. These peoples speak close language dialects that are different from Nguni languages. The Sotho people share many musical traits with the Nguni people. This includes choral singing (mahobelo) which was dominately seen amongst the Tswanas, reed flutes and one stringed chordophones. Reed-flute ensembles would occur, especially as the chiefs right. Flute dances that resembled those of the Nguni occurred amongst the Tswana groups. Pedi boys used a one-tone flute. When they play it they whistle with their lips while they inhale. The Southern Sothos, some of which also lived in South Africa adapted the Gora, from the Khoi. They called it Lisiba, from their word siba which means feather. The feather ideally comes from the cape vulture. The lesiba is connected with cattle herding, as it was among the Khoikhoi to control cattle. It is played by both inhaling and exhaling. The songs sung with the lesiba are called linon and unlike the Nguni peoples, Sotho response singing often do not overlap. Sotho peoples use rattles made from cocoons and animal skins. They are worn by women with their dance skirts and they rattle whilst they are dancing.

The Venda
The Venda live in the mountainous north eastern areas of South Africa. Their language resembles that of the Karanga branch of Shona. The national music of the Venda is the Tshikona, an esemble of one-pitch pipes played in hocket. Each chief had his tshikona which would perform on important occasions. Tshikona was music sponsored by chiefs. Traditonally, men played pipes and women played percussion but Venda men working in mines would perform the music there and the dancing and do their own drumming. Some of the performig groups were even competitive. The pipes used in Tshikona are ideally made from bamboo found in eastern Venda. They are heptatonic within a range of 3 octaves. Metal and plastic pipes are also used. The Venda also like the Sotho, played reed pipes pentatonically covering 2 octaves. Instruments used by the Venda include also a 21 key xylophone- the Mbila mutonodo, the 27 key Lamellphone, the Mbila dzamadeza and the Ngoma which is a huge pegged drum with 4 handls, played with Tshikona and in other ceremonies.

The Tsonga
The Tsonga live in the south of Venda or are also interspersed with them. The Tsonga share musical traits with the Venda in south Africa and the Shona of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. They have a mouth- resonated braced bow that is played with a friction bow similar to that of the Tsonga called the Xizambe. Instead of a string for the bow, a palm leaf ribbon is used. It can be stopped at up to 4 places at a time with the players mouth bringing out tones from it. When two bows are played in duet, they are a fifth apart. The songs are rhythmically challenging. Music is played in religious ceremonies to free people of the tribe from evil spirits of other tribes. The music resembles musical styles of the Zulu people. The Tsonga have a variety of drums. The Xigubu, a double headed drum made of metal containers, Ndzumba, used for puberty school, the Ngoma, foe beer drinking, the Ncomane, for exorcism rituals. Others are the Xitiringo, a 3 hole transverse, Mqangala, a mouth resonated bow, a Xitende, a large guard-resonated braced bow, a Mohambi, a 10 slat xylophone.

The 1960s. Exiled South African Jazz stars on the international scene.

From the early days of colonisation western missionaries began to exert their influence on African culture. In 1960, Henry Weman, a scholar of Christian music overseas expressed with sadness the rapid intrusion of missionary music into Southern Africa. Weman details some stages of this process: ‘The replacement of African parallel melodies by a single European melody plus rudimentary harmony; the introduction of 4 part harmonies and standard 4-bar phrase in place of Africa’s freer musical phraseology; the substitution of western tonality, major and minor, from the traditional; African tones; plus the introduction of limited harmonic range, giving African choirs three basic chords, the tonic, dominant, subdominant’.

1960 is the year that saw the Cold Castle National Jazz Festival, which brought additional attention to South African jazz. Cold Castle became an annual event for a few years, and brought out more musicians, especially Dudu Pukwana, Gideon Nxumalo and Chris McGregor. The 1963 festival produced an LP called Jazz The African Sound, but government oppression soon ended the jazz scene. Again, many musicians emigrated to the UK or other countries.

50s. 60s. Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 - 10 November 2008)

The first African woman to win a Grammy Award in 1966, Miriam Makeba was a central figure in the African jazz scene throughout the 1950s, starring in South Africa’s legendary musical King Kong, a musical crossover called a "jazz opera" by the show's promoters. She also performed with top singers of her times such as Abigail Khubeka and Dolly Rathebe and was member of the popular all female vocal group Skylarks, the Cuban Brothers and the big Manhattan Brothers. By the early 1960s, she was an international star and brought attention to South Africa and apartheid. While abroad, the government revoked her right of return and she moved to the United States. There, she married Stokely Carmichael (later Sekou Toure) of the Black Panthers movement but was hounded by authorities and eventually left for Guinea where she lived for a years as a citizen of the west African country after acquiring its citizenship through the then president Sekou Toure. Makeba was among many politically active youth and musicians who fled South Africa; many stayed in the United States, the UK and other European countries following their appearances at major festivals, and never returned to South Africa.


This album Pata-Pata is one of her popular albums, named after the title song Pata-Pata, which was also a kind of dance in the 50s and 60s. One of her performance highlights includes the collaboration with Africa-American great singers Odetta and Nina Simone. She was also married to trumpeter Hugh Masekela and released an album with Harry Belafonte titled ‘A night with Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte where she sings one of her revolutionary songs ‘Aluta Continua’, about the former Mozambican freedom fighter and president Samora Machel. This is the Grammy winning album. Mama Afrika as she was known worldwide passed away on the 10 November 2008 after collapsing onstage at a concert in Italy, a concert that would be her last.

Discography of more than 40 years:

Studio albums:

· Miriam Makeba: 1960 - RCA LSP2267
· The Many Voices Of Miriam Makeba: 1960 - Kapp KL1274
· The World Of Miriam Makeba: 1963 - RCA LSP2750
· Makeba: 1964 - RCA LSP2845
· Makeba Sings: 1965 - RCA LSP3321
· An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba (with Harry Belafonte): 1965 - RCA LSP3420
· The Magic of Makeba: 1965 - RCA LSP3512
· The Magnificent Miriam Makeba: 1966 - Mercury 134016
· All About Miriam: 1966 - Mercury 134029
· Miriam Makeba In Concert!: 1967 - Reprise RS6253
· Pata Pata: 1967 - Reprise RS6274
· Makeba!: 1968 - Reprise RS6310
· Live in Tokyo: 1968 - Reprise SJET8082
· Keep Me In Mind: 1970 - Reprise RS6381
· A Promise: 1974 - RCA YSPL1-544
· Live In Conakry - Appel A L'Afriqu: 1974 - Sonodisc SLP22
· Miriam Makeba & Bongi: 1975 - Sonodisc SLP48
· Live in Paris: 1977 - CD6508
· Country Girl: 1978 - Sonodisc ESP165518
· Comme Une Symphonie d'Amour: 1979
· Sangoma: 1988 - WB 925673-1
· Welela: 1989 - Gallo CDGSP3084
· Eyes On Tomorrow: 1991 - Gallo CDGSP3086
· Sing Me A Song: 1993 - CDS12702
· Homeland, 2000 - Putumayo PUTU1642
· The Definitive Collection, Wrasse Records - 2002
· Best of The Early Years, Wrasse Records - 2002
· Live at Berns Salonger, Stockholm, Sweden, 1966: 2003 - Gallo Music GWVCD-49
· Reflecting, 2004 - Gallo Music GWVCD-51
· Makeba Forever, 2006, Gallo Music CDGURB-082

Compilations:
· The Queen Of African Music - 17 Great Songs, 1987
· Africa 1960-65 recordings, 1991
· Eyes On Tomorrow, 1991
· The Best Of Miriam Makeba & The Skylarks: 1956 - 1959 recordings, 1998
· Mama Africa: The Very Best Of Miriam Makeba, 2000
· The Guinea Years, 2001
· The Definitive Collection, 2002
· The Best Of The Early Years, 2003

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1930s: Solomon Linda, Imbube and the birth of the South African recording industry

The South African recording industry was born in the 1930s with the establishment of the long running Gallo records formed by Eric Gallo. The company included subsidiaries such as Trek, Unika, GRC, Meteor, Teal and Trutone. The National Party was the ruling party during the 30’s and they very much favored separation of races, residential segregation and control of Africans' entry into urban areas. After the Wall Street crash in America the world suffered great economic depression. South African farmers were badly hit by the great depression and many other white South Africans- predominantly Afrikaners were reduced to poverty. South Africa then abandoned the Gold Standard in 1933 in order to curb the economic effects of the depression. This restored the higher price for gold, which in turn restored the prosperity of the mines which led to economic improvements in the country. This era also saw the rise of Afrikaner nationalism. In 1938, the centenary of the voortrekkers victory over the Zulu offered an opportunity for the Broederbond and FAK to organise a symbolic ox wagon trek across the country to Pretoria to win the support of fellow Afrikaners in created unity among all Afrikaners and to contribte funds to a deed to save the nation.

Solomon Linda and The Evening Birds

Solomon Linda used to be an employee of Gallo records before rising to stardom and in 1939, brought wide attention to this style of singing founded in the Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) province and had spread throughout South Africa during the 1930s. The song ‘Imbube’ is the original melody for the theme song of the Disney blockbuster ‘The Lion King’. Outstanding American hits adapted from this song include “Wimoweh” by The Weavers circa 1951, “The Lion sleeps tonight” by The Tokens and even R.E.M has made their own version. Some of these artists claimed copyright to the song and have raked in millions of dollars while the original composer died a pauper.

Mbube

While the rest of the world was making a big woo-ha about the first helicopter, Bonny & Clyde, air-conditioning and the Nazi’s launching their first concentration camp, the U.S. singing its first national anthem officially, South Africa was singing a new tune of ‘Mbube’: Zulu for Lion. This Zulu Accapella style of singing with its antiphonal harmonies is the early roots of Isqathamiya and was popularized by Solomon Linda and the Original Evening Birds. Mbube was developed from singing and dancing competitions that used to be staged at all-male hostels where migrant workers were impounded. The genre’s performance formation – which would become its basic structure – included an upper register vocal lead backed by a bass-dominated four-part harmony. Linda’s composition ‘Imbube’ is one of the most sampled and remade songs in the world and the first African recording to sell double platinum (100,000 units).

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1960/70s: Grammy Award winning Iscathamiya and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

In the 60s, a smooth form of mbube called Cothoza mfana developed, led by the King Star Brothers, who invented the Iscathamiya style by the end of the decade. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, headed by the sweet soprano of Joseph Shabalala, arose in the 1960s, and became perhaps the biggest Iscathamiya stars in South Africa's history. Their first album was 1973's Amabutho, which was also the first gold record by black musicians; it sold over 25,000 copies. Ladysmith Black Mambazo remained popular throughout the next few decades, especially after 1986, when Paul Simon, an American musician, included Ladysmith Black Mambazo on his extremely popular Graceland album and its subsequent tour of 1987. L.B.M are also three times Grammy Award winners.

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Inter-racial and cross-cultural collaboration during apartheid

'Ladies and Gentlemen, The Jazz Epistles!' - 1950s

Marabi music is one of the biggest musical influences for the generations of musicians like Abdullah Ibrahim (former Dollar Brand), Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Kippie Moeketsi etc, who were prominent in the 50s and are still big acts the world over, except for the late Kippie. These four greats were together known as Jazz Epistles in the 50s together with drummer ?. The first South African Jazz band to ever record a professional album when Jazz was the order of the day in the South African and American music scene. The influence of American Jazz was also evident in the many bands that were formed following the American format.

Kippie Moketsi’s was honored with a legendary Jazz venue in Joburg named after him, run by artist, Sipho Hotsitx Mabuze, who’s also a popular international South African name and has been on top of his game for the last three decades. The popular underdog jazz venue was a popular spot for years until its sad closure in 2007.

LISTEN TO JAZZ EPISTLES ON HERITAGE RADIO

BUY JAZZ EPISTLES, ABDULLAH IBRAHIM, JONAS GWANGWA, HUGH MASEKELA,

KIPPIE MOEKETSI

Hugh Masekela 70 years Birthday Celebrations (2009)

The legend of Dollar Brand aka Abdullah Ibrahim

What do the 1960s have in common with Mahlathini and Mahotella Queens? Mbaqanga and the Evolution of Modern Dance.

Mahotella Queens are still performing internationally even today and are excellent, colourful and energetic as ever and one of the most underrated acts in their own country. Their name Mahotella is Zulu for ‘Hotels’ (borrowed word) and they got it from touring and hotel hopping before they hit big time. Go to a lot of countries worldwide, if they don’t asked you about Lucky Dube, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba or Brenda Fassie they will ask you about Mahotella Queens.

By the 1960s, the saxophone was commonplace in jive music. This meant that white fans were unable to see their favorite musicians perform, because they were restricted to playing in the townships. The genre was called sax jive and later mbaqanga. A bass and vocal driven dance genre Mbaqanga literally means dumpling but implies home-made and was coined by Michael Xaba, a jazz saxophonist who did not like the new style. The early 1960s also saw performers like bassist Joseph Makwela and guitarist Marks Mankwane add electric instruments and marabi and kwela influences to the mbaqanga style, leading to a funkier and more African sound. Mbaqanga developed vocal harmonies during the very early 1960s when groups like The Skylarks and the Manhattan Brothers began copying American vocal bands, mostly doo wop

On The David Letterman Show, 1990

Simon 'Mahlathini' Nkabinde is perhaps the most influential and well-known South African "groaner" of the twentieth century who became the leading voice and the thorn amongst roses in Mahlathini and Mahotella Queens. Marks Mankwane and Joseph Makwela's mbaqanga innovations evolved into the more danceable mgqashiyo sound when the two joined forces with Mahlathini and the then new female group Mahotella Queens, in Mankwane's backing group Makhona Tsohle Band (also featuring Makwela along with saxophonist-turned-producer West Nkosi, rhythm guitarist Vivian Ngubane, and drummer Lucky Monama). The Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens/Makhona Tsohle outfit recorded as a studio unit for Gallo Record Company, to great national success, pioneering mgqashiyo music all over the country to equal success.

1967 saw the arrival of Izintombi Zesi Manje Manje, an mgqashiyo female group that provided intense competition for Mahotella Queens. Both groups were massive competitors in the jive field, though the Queens usually came out on top.