Returning Somewhat

Business school has ended for the year, so my schedule freed up a bit.

We're working on bringing some South African jazz artists to the US over the next year, so I am hoping it will go well.

In the meantime, it seems that Abdullah Ibrahim is earning honorary doctorates, winning music awards, and all sorts of good stuff these past few months.  I'd post the links, but I'm sleep-deprived and fairly certain you've seen them.

And, I have to say that, following Senzo, the awards may be fully deserved.  Senzo is an absolute masterpiece, beautifully played from beginning to end - particularly Blues for a Hip King.  Abdullah finds new depths of meaning in this piece, even after so many years.  It's stunning to hear.

Added great news is that he is now regularly touring with a reformed version of his ensemble Ekaya, so we may see a full revival of some of his most creative playing in the months and years to come.

Fingers crossed...

Rest in Peace, Bheki Mseleku

The great pianist Bheki Mseleku passed away today, following complications from diabates.  The full story may be found here.

This is a terrible tragedy, as many of you undoubtedly know.  For those of you who don't know Bheki's music, his style was heavily influenced by artists like Abdullah Ibrahim and McCoy Tyner, but his style was unquestionably his own.  Check out the magnum opus Meditations.  His almost stream-of-consciousness style and pianistic abilities combine for an absolutely breathtaking listening experience.

He will be deeply missed.

Minton's Playhouse and South Africa

[Editor's note 2009: Following some unfortunate issues with a now-former staff member of Minton's, much of this fell through.  We are working to redevelop partnerships, and we hope that we will soon position Minton's as a friend of and collaborator in international jazz.  We had some house cleaning to do first.]

I wanted to draw attention to this - Minton's Playhouse in Harlem (with whom I'm working on this project) announced this week a massive expansion in jazz programming and jazz education.

One of the major components is a partnership with Fort Hare University in South Africa, which will be led by Hotep Idris Galeta. This is a very exciting new project - I'm hoping that through it, we'll get South African musicians performing here more regularly, and also that we'll be able to increase the presence of South African jazz within the United States.

Here's the release.

You can download the full press kit here.

Sathima Bea Benjamin in AllAboutJazz

Sathima Bea Benjamin was interviewed by Maxwell Chandler at allaboutjazz.com.

I knew the interview was going on, but I didn't expect such a long, sweeping article. Needless to say, wonderful!

Read it here - it really gives a fantastic picture of Sathima.

Idiocy

Don't get me wrong. I like the Jazz Crusaders. I also like that they worked extensively with Hugh Masekela, and have ties to South Africa. I think it's all great.

What I am not clear on, is the artwork for this album.

Why, precisely, does an album entitled Live in South Africa feature what appears to be a Siberian Tiger on its cover? More generally why in the hell does any album related to Africa feature a Tiger?

It's bad enough, thanks to The Weavers' decision to steal/shit upon the fine song "Mbube" with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," that now a large portion of the population believes that lions are jungle creatures. But c'mon, at least they got the general CONTINENT right.

The music is pretty good though.

Returning

I'll be updating my blog more regularly now (long story), which makes me so darn happy.

Brief update - Sathima did a performance this past January at Sweet Rhythm, and her daughter Tsidi (a.k.a. Jean Grae) joined her onstage to rap on Sathima's tune "Africa." Someone caught this bit on camera (not the whole song, sadly), and it's worth having a look. Here it is:

I move that Buster Williams becomes the bassist for every hip hop album created here on out.

Might be some exciting news with an uptown jazz club, and a South African university. Not saying anything more until we have confirmation!

Closing out, I know I talk of this guy a lot, but he's just so fantastic. I'm speaking of Louis Mhlanga, the guitarist. On his marvellous album Tinganekwane, he opens with a bouncy, Mali-esque track called "Mari Hakuna." And, bonus, there is a music video! Have a look/listen!

A second blog

Hello random people who stumble upon this blog through means I cannot discern!

I have added a second blog to my profile - called "Musical Nerdery." You can find it at geekmytunes.blogspot.com. I'm keeping this blog too, but I also wanted to blog about non-South African stuff as well, and having safro-jazz in the URL and concept somewhat limits that.

Horribly self-indulgent, I know. Please don't stab me.

I'll have a new post on this blog shortly - in the meantime, amuse yourselves with this lovely music video starring the excellent guitarist Louis Mhlanga!

And here's a puppy. Please buy it for me.

Moses Molelekwa Review in The Citizen

The Citizen, which appears to be Joburg's answer to the New York Post (for better or worse), ran a lovely (and fitting) review of the late pianist Moses Taiwa Molelekwa's double CD album Darkness Pass. You can read it here.

Molelekwa might be the greatest pianist you have never heard. Hotep, while he was here, listened to Darkness Pass and described him as the "Sotho Keith Jarrett," which I thought was an interesting insight.

The album is solo piano, and filled with languid, slowly unfolding melodic masterworks. Some might feel the album lacks fire and power (a la Molelekwa's masterwork Genes and Spirits), but I find that point irrelevant. It is such rich music, so beautifully understated, that I don't find myself wanting for pianistic fireworks on this album.

You can buy it here.