His bass guitar was a shaping sound of South African jazz and of the band Malopoets, whose huge influence has been poorly documented.
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Articles on African Jazz
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He did not so much play the drums, as become the drum. His influence was felt through his trailblazing percussive work and his many collaborations.
Despite devastating setbacks like his studio being vandalised, the saxophonist and teacher believed that music can heal - part of a vision that shaped a future generation of jazz artists.
She was the glue that bound younger artists together, helping them navigate the volatile terrain of the music industry.
Both choirs and classical music were childhood influences on a stellar career that would leave behind major new recordings in these areas.
She was a vocalist who sang in every style – from Carmen to UShaka – with equal mastery, popularising classical forms and epitomising ‘the new South Africa’.
The revered trombonist, composer and cultural activist never wished to be ‘the state composer’ but remained political until the end, in service of the people.
His talent took him across the world - he was Ray Charles’ regular drummer - and the music he was exposed to sparked innovation when he returned home.
The magazine grew to be the largest circulation publication for black readers in South Africa, and expanded to include East and West African editions.
The saxophonist and singer leaves a legacy spanning more than 60 years of musical production that will continue to echo in global sounds.
One of the greatest artists ever to emerge from Cameroon had a fraught relationship with his homeland – but because of it touched all corners of Africa and the world.
For a musician anywhere, surviving and prospering within the genre called jazz has never been easy, and it still isn’t.
For many of contemporary Congolese musicians the idea of authenticité was seen as a positive one at a certain level, even though Mobutu abused Congo culture to build his own personality cult.
Nigerian superstar Fela Kuti used his music as an art form that provoked. This wasn’t only through politics, but also sex.
It took ages for one of African jazz’s hidden masterpieces to be reissued. Still today, four decades later, 1976’s ‘African Songbird’ tells volumes about the politics of the time.
Top contributors
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Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria
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Musician, Academic, Consultant, University of Edinburgh
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Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor Emeritus, Social Anthropology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor of American History, University of California, Los Angeles
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Professor of Fine Arts, University of Pretoria
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Professor, Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town
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Music lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand
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Poet and lecturer in Creative Writing, University of the Witwatersrand
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Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Extraordinary Professor, Stellenbosch University
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Lecturer, University of Fort Hare
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Lecturer, South African College of Music, University of Cape Town
