JAZZ FROM SOUTH AFRICA
Heads Up Africa Series and Verve's Hugh Masekela Collection Demonstrate the Growth and Development of Jazz-Influenced Music in South Africa

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The Heads Up Record label has done a lot to bring contemporary African, particularly South African, jazz into the spotlight that it deserves. The music has flourished there for several decades, growing and producing a bevy of talented artists in spite of a long history of repression of black art and culture. As we saw in the United States, such repression often just leads to such music and culture moving ‘underground’ and developing in unforeseen ways despite efforts to keep it under wraps.

Following the success of its two Smooth Africa releases, Heads Up now brings us a series of recordings that are more straight forward and show us the fusion of straight ahead jazz and African folk styles that have become the hallmark of South African jazz-influenced music. Africa Straight Ahead is a great listen for fans of jazz, African popular music, and those looking for something a little exotic yet with a familiar musical grounding. Releases by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Miriam Makeeba are also excellent listens for those wanting to hear how jazz has fared on the African continent as well as how African artists have adapted and incorporated the music of their adopted Western homes into their musical background. And, of course, no discussion of African jazz would be complete without Hugh Masekela, the extraordinary trumpet player who has fused jazz and African folk elements to create a truly unique sound and style. A collection of his music, Still Grazing, has just been released by Verve Records, and it makes an excellent addition to any jazz listener’s collection.

Though the tunes on Africa Straight Ahead have different leaders and groups, a core group of musicians appear on many of the tracks, making this an excellent sampler. Trumpeter Marcus Wyatt and pianist Paul Hanmer are featured on many of the tracks here, and they are the leaders on the first two tracks of the CD. Wyatt’s “Owed to Bishop” is a modal blast of energy that recalls classic American jazz musicians such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and McCoy Tyner. A bubbling rhythm section featuring great work from pianist Andile Yenana keeps things exciting while the front line of Wyatt and saxophonist Sydney Mnisi offer up cool solos. Hanmer’s “Naivasha” is a driving number that combines African folk rhythms with a hard bop-style horn line. Though musicians such as Hanmer, Wyatt, McCoy Mrubata (tenor sax), Denis Laloutte (bass), and Kevin Gibson (drums) are little known outside their home country, these musicians are clearly first-class jazz players who could hold their own on any bandstand.

Some songs clearly draw from African folk motifs even as they manage to convey a hip, ultra-contemporary jazz sound. Tenor sax man Moses Khumalo, winner of a 2003 South African Music Award, offers “Celebrate Mzansi,” a piece that brims with enthusiasm and manages to sound smooth, yet never contrived or over-produced. Sylvester Manzinyane turns in a stellar piano solo on the number, and drummer Sello “Skholo” Montwedi drives the piece forward with constant commentary and punctuation. “Langery” by the Sheer All Stars, a group made up of McCoy Mrubata, Errol Dyers, Paul Hanmer, Frank Paco, and Sipho Gumede, offers the folky “Langery”as well.

A couple of tracks in a more introspective mode also fit well into the mix. Flautist Zim Nggawanta contributes the gorgeous “Beautiful Love.” Accompanied only by a jazz trio, Nggawanta offers one of the best jazz flute tracks I’ve heard in some time, recalling the late 1960s/early 1970s when the instrument found its jazz voice with the help of inventive players like Herbie Mann, Paul Horn, and Hubert Laws. The Sheer Allstars return for “Lovers on Empty Corners,” a haunting melody that conjures images of quiet late night streets. Guitarist Louis Mhlanga takes a nice solo turn, offering a mix of smooth rock guitar, blues inflection, and a touch of Pat Metheny as well.

Not every musician on Africa Straight Ahead is African. Darius Brubeck, son of famed jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, leads his band Afro-Cool Concept through “Tugela Rail,” a modern jazz composition that bristles with the rhythmic and melodic hallmarks of African music. Brubeck is hardly a ‘ringer’ though. His band is made up of African musicians and he is the Director of the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, and Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Natal, Durban. In 1983, he initiated the first degree course in Jazz Studies offered by an African University. Steel pan player Andy Narell is a native New Yorker, but he has become an expert on the instrument and has immersed himself in the music scene of Trinidad, home of the instrument. It’s only natural that this founder of the Carribean Jazz Project should also be interested in African-influenced jazz since the music of the Carribean owes so much to the music of Africa. His composition “Dee Mwa Wee” is a meditative piece that sets the listener’s mind free to roam across time and continents.

The other leaders and groups featured on Africa Straight Ahead are no less impressive. Bheki Mseleku, Hotep Idris Galeta, and the group Voice all offer interesting and fresh performances. In fact, there isn’t a single bad track on this compilation, making it an outstanding purchase for anyone interested in hearing what these innovative and talented African musicians are up to.

 

>>Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Miriam Mekeba