In exile, he imagined a different Africa in his music, while being exposed to new realities abroad.
Articles on South African jazz
Displaying 1 - 20 of 44 articles
He embodied a special brand of multiple identities and belief systems, and took them to the world.
His life in music was a struggle against narrow definitions - of ‘race’, instrumental appropriateness and musical genre.
Kippie Moeketsi knew how to play the blues. But his blues was shaped by multiple musical influences.
With a story as harrowing as the times he lived in, he was a singular voice in the country’s rich jazz history.
His unique trumpet style and gentle professionalism is remembered by a former teacher and band member.
Exiled for much of his career, he was acknowledged universally as a pioneer and a leading light of the international free jazz scene.
He understood that the struggle for freedom extended beyond the political realm into the cultural, where jazz music thrived.
Morojele’s creative career was remarkable. He not only played the jazz changes, but lived and wrote the social and political ones.
Rashid Vally gave voice to the new Black jazz of the 1970s through his record label As-Shams, named by pianist Abdullah Ibrahim.
Wrapped in Rhythm powerfully uses the poems of Lebo Mashile as lyrics.
In his work Abdullah Ibrahim looked to the past to offer a vision of the future.
Not just a great jazz singer, Sylvia Mdunyelwa was also an activist, educator, broadcaster and actress.
The legendary As-Shams jazz label has released the first of several compilation albums recovered from its archive.
If you ever found yourself in the same room with Gloria Bosman, you were in for a lesson of a lifetime.
Her passing shocked the nation and drew praise for her unique vocal powers and musical mentorship.
Zulu spirituality and the legacy of the ancestors, personal and musical, are the concerns of the saxophonist and composer.
Group Theory: Black Music is the name of the new album from the composer, drummer and scholar. On it jazz meets political theory.
‘A camera is more powerful than an AK47,’ said the veteran photojournalist, who was also famous for his jazz photos.
The jazz star says he wants his piano to speak in his isiZulu language, and that his music is born from spiritual concerns.
Top contributors
-
Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria
-
Senior Lecturer, South African College of Music, University of Cape Town
-
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Stellenbosch University
-
Music lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand
-
Extraordinary Professor, Stellenbosch University
-
Senior Lecturer, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University
-
Professor, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University
-
Professor Emeritus, Social Anthropology, University of the Witwatersrand
-
Lecturer, University of Fort Hare
-
Associate professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal
-
Poet and lecturer in Creative Writing, University of the Witwatersrand
-
Lecturer in Musicology, University of South Africa
-
Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism, University of the Witwatersrand
-
Exhibitions
-
Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and African Studies, University of Pretoria