Jazz in South Africa

The Roots of South African Jazz

The pre-democratic South African government had various methods of suppressing African culture, which in turn limited opportunities for cultural development. South African jazz emerged from harsh conditions, fusing a diverse array of influences into a budding genre that could give voice to an oppressed population. The 1940s and 1950s were a time when South African jazz culture became entrenched in township life, offering entertainment and an informal social hierarchy to train younger jazz artists. Early versions of South African jazz often mimicked the music and fashion trends emerging from the US. South African jazz performances occurred underground in shebeens (informal bars) and clubs that were often plagued by gangsters.

Sophiatown, a multiracial suburb in central Johannesburg, became the cultural epicentre for artists and musicians. The glamorous fashion of the day included zoot suits and dresses influenced by popular American movies. Tragically, the cultural possibilities of Sophiatown were cut short. The residents of Sophiatown were forcibly relocated from their land in 1956 so that the property could be rezoned as a whites-only neighbourhood.

The theatrical music production King Kong, written by Pat Matshikiza, was groundbreaking for the South African jazz scene. The stellar cast included Miriam Makeba in the leading role. The original recording included artists such as Thandi Klaasen, Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa and Kippie Moeketsi, effectively introducing them to the world stage. King Kong, a musical drama about a South African heavyweight boxer that falls from grace, had its international debut at Prince’s Theatre, London, in 1961. The South African jazz community had staged a major production that introduced township life and South African jazz to the world.

The written history and audio recordings of early jazz in South Africa is hazy at best, due to the constrictions of the government and the lack of corporate interest at the time. Consequently posterity has not favoured the innovative spirit of early South African jazz stars like The Manhattan Brothers, The Jazz Maniacs, The Jazz Epistles, The Harlem Swingsters and The Skylarks. These bands forged new genres like marabi and kwela, and later mbaqanga – effectively melding American jazz and big band sounds, African traditional music and soulful choral arrangements, to forge a distinctly South African sound.

The Apartheid Years

Though apartheid has officially begun with the rise of the National Party to power in 1948, the 1960s were marked by the reign of Hendrik Verwoerd as prime minister of South Africa, the beginning of dark times for the jazz community. On 21 March 1960, police in Sharpeville opened fire on a crowd, killing 69 people who were objecting to the pass laws used to enforce segregation. The apartheid laws of the 1960s further restricted the mobility of South African people through statutes that prevented inter racial socialising and travelling within South Africa. Public meetings were also restricted as a way of curbing the revolutionary activities of the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), who were both banned early in the decade. These political movements had a profound impact on the creative direction the genre would take through the apartheid years. The fact that South African musicians continued practicing their art during the apartheid years was an act of defiance against the Apartheid government. 

Many of South Africa’s most talented jazz musicians – like Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Letta Mbulu, Jonas Gwangwa, Dorothy Masuka and Abdullah Ibrahim – lived in exile during the apartheid years. These jazz icons cast out from South Africa acted as representatives of the struggle to an international audience, creating music that portrayed the beauty of South African culture. The music of this era also expressed the unspoken anger and sadness of the oppressed South Africans. For example, Miriam Makeba and American singer Harry Belafonte collaborated on the Grammy-winning recording An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (1965), comprised of songs from South Africa sung in Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho. International audiences who attended performances and bought albums recorded by South African musicians were thus able to learn about the struggle in South Africa through music. The South African government at the time banned many South African jazz albums recorded abroad, including Belafonte and Makeba’s album, although these albums were still available through unofficial channels. While artists in exile were able to continue developing South African jazz from afar, their work was always within a context of their forcible displacement from their homeland and families, and from the local music industry itself.

Over this period South African jazz took on a dual narrative, representing on the one hand the voices of jazz artists in exile and, on the other, those ‘trapped’ within the country. Talented artists living under the control of the apartheid government were often unable to perform in public or make a living from their art. The racist laws would also not allow people of different races to perform together.

The legendary tale of saxophonist Winston ‘Mankunku’ Ngozi typifies this era. Ngozi played with a white orchestra but was made to stand behind a curtain so that the audience would not be aware of his colour. At a time when the apartheid government attempted to maintain a stranglehold on South African Jazz, Ngozi’s album Yakhal’ Nkomo (1968) proved one of the most popular jazz albums of the era. The title refers to the shriek of a bull and proved that South African Jazz was silenced but very much alive. Another important album recorded during this era was ‘Mannenberg (Is Where It’s Happening)’ (1974) by Abdullah Ibrahim, then still known as Dollar Brand. This album was an ode to District 6 in Cape Town, a culturally vibrant and diverse suburb that   was destroyed in the 1960s after being declared a white neighbourhood (similarly to Sophiatown and other areas) and its many non-white residents relocated to the Cape Flats.

Some of the notable South African musicians who reached their peak between 1960 and 1994 included Basil ‘Manenberg’ Coetzee, Lionel Pillay, Johnny Fourie, Victor Ntoni, Barney Rachabane, Sipho Gumede, Robbie Jansen, Duke Makasi and Lulu Gontsana. Many of the jazz musicians living in South Africa during apartheid assumed a low profile and did the best they could to keep playing the music they loved. It is hard to quantify the cultural loss that South Africa experienced during these years when so many of the musicians living in South Africa were muted.

Post Apartheid: 1994-Present

The release of Nelson Mandela and the end of Apartheid in the early 1990s signified the hope of new beginnings. The largely peaceful revolution that ushered in democracy brought with it the notion of the ‘Rainbow Nation’ – a new South Africa that offered equality and freedom for all. A creative boom ensued during the first years of freedom, with music embracing and celebrating the country’s newfound unity. Almost overnight, jazz had shifted from a revolutionary discourse to a commercial commodity. Consequently there was a drastic change in musicians’ motivations for creating and performing music in the newly democratic South Africa.

Local artists of today have the freedom to explore their art and offer commentary on a landscape characterized by newly emerging African identities, poverty, financial opportunities and alleged political corruption. They do this in venues and through creative treatments that range widely in cultural and creative contexts that are bound together by the complex common history of South Africa. For example, Simphiwe Dana is a contemporary South African jazz diva that has been vocal about her opinion on contemporary issues in her music and through social media platforms. Other younger artists who make reference to South African politics in their music and performances include drummer Kesivan Naidoo and singer Thandiswa Mazwai. Other important South African jazz musicians to have emerged in recent years include the late Moses Molelekwa, Judith Sephuma, Zim Ngqawana, Sibongile Khumalo, Feya Faku, Marcus Wyatt, Sydney Mnisi, Herbie Tsoaeli, Andile Yenana, McCoy Mrubata, Louis Mhlanga, Jimmy Dludlu, Paul Hanmer and Kyle Shepherd.

Jazz maintains a loyal audience, with venues such as The Bassline and The Orbit in  Johannesburg, The Rainbow in Durban and the Mahogany Room in Cape Town often hosting top jazz talent. Major music festivals also cater for local jazz lovers, most notably the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival in Johannesburg.

Local jazz, as well as jazz-influenced genres such as kwela and marabi, have made a mark on South African youth culture and their influence can be heard on today’s popular genres such as Afro-pop, kwaito or R&B. Artists like Mafikizolo, Bongo Muffin and The Soil appear to be seeking ways of linking contemporary South African music with the legacy of South African jazz from days gone by. Tumi and the Volume have done the same within the realm of hip-hop, forging their own blend of contemporary influences and traditional jazz idioms.  

South African jazz is simply an umbrella term for music that arose within the same country but during vastly different periods of time. The identity of South African jazz is fragmented as a result. Nevertheless, jazz has played a vital part in South African culture since its roots in the early part of the previous century, and continues to do so today.