Nomfundo Xaluva: Sharing Mama Africa’s musical legacy

It was immortalised in song by Victor Ndlazilwana and his Jazz Ministers. The late soulful crooner sang about the place’s vibrant and celebratory spirit in a song titled 'Ebhayi', a name the Xhosa people use to refer to Port Elizabeth.

The country’s greatest blues singer, Dolly Rathebe, was a resident of New Brighton after she left Johannesburg in the late 1950s and married Welcome Duru, a singer and composer whose tune, 'Wenyuk’ Umbombela' (the black train rising), achieved worldwide fame through Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte in their 1965 Grammy Award-winning album, An Evening With Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba. Duru’s house on Mendi Road was a stopover for international superstars like Percy Sledge and Stella Starr.

Nomfundo Xaluva is a contemporary sparkling vocal talent with a passion for African classics. Her love of New Brighton has inspired her second album, From.Now.On. It’s a tribute to the spirit of Miriam Makeba and the Skylarks, the vocal trio Makeba performed and recorded with in the late 1950s just before she went into exile. The group consisted of Mary Rabotapi, Mummy Girl Nketle and Abigail Kubheka, all remarkable singers in their own right.

“I had known Miriam Makeba as a great singer but I really got involved with her music when I decided to write a master’s thesis on her music at the University of Cape Town,” Xaluva recalls. “The topic was an analysis of the musical style of Miriam Makeba. I first became aware of the power of her music when I listened to her 1966 album titled Live at Bern’s Salonger, Stockholm, Sweden. Songs like 'Mayibuye', 'Mbube' and 'Oxam' left a lasting impression on my mind.”

Xaluva says the reason for making the album was about sharing Mama Africa’s musical legacy with contemporary audiences and hopefully to give them a taste of the ethos behind her music. “The DVD version of that album clearly illustrated her vocal power and stage presence. By the time I decided to write my masters, I knew exactly how I wanted to approach the tribute album.”

Xaluva says she was also interested in Makeba the jazz singer, although like most musicians the late vocalist distanced herself from the label. “She preferred to be known as a singer from South Africa whose music was mainly about life in her homeland. But I wanted to know how much jazz nuance she incorporated in her repertoire. My thesis was interrogating whether she was a jazz singer based on her repertoire or stylistically.”

Makeba died in November 2008 when Xaluva was waiting for answers to some of these questions. Another challenge Xaluva faced was the fact that the university archives didn’t have enough Makeba records, but the authorities were gracious enough to import the music on her behalf so that she could complete her research. She achieved her masters in 2009.

Her album opens with the self-penned 'Spirit', a beautiful jazzy number that poignantly captures her Xhosa roots. It features praise poet Jessica Mbangeni. She then gets to the essence of the album with 'Kutheni Sithandwa?' (what’s wrong, my love?), an arrangement of a Xhosa folk tune by Makeba and the Skylarks. Xaluva’s version is true to the original recording. It retains the authenticity of the 1957 tune.

'Ebhayi' was originally composed and recorded by Victor Ndlazilwana, an influential but woefully neglected figure in South African jazz. He was blessed with an amazing soulful voice and a gift for writing catchy songs that have since become jazz standards. “When I first heard this song, I was captivated by its vibey and easygoing style,” says Xaluva. “It reminded me of the famous Mendi Road in New Brighton, a neighbourhood I know very well because I was born and raised there. But it was not a Victor Ndlazilwana original. It was a cover version by Zamo Mbutho of Amaryoni, and it was important for me to confirm copyright of the song,” she recalls. "All that Mbutho knew about the song at the time was that it was taught to him by (the late bass player and arranger) Victor Ntoni.

"One day I was singing it during a live performance. I was sharing the stage with Gloria Bosman when she unwittingly confirmed that it was a Ndlazilwana song. I was truly relieved.”

'Amaxesha Osizi' (Sad Times) is an old Xhosa hymn that was composed by Gladson Sidyiyo and popularised by Blue Notes drummer Louis Moholo in his 1968 Spirit Rejoice album. 'Oxamu', 'Mayibuye' and the self-penned 'Medley (Mazi/The Heritage Blues)' underscore the essence of this album as a tribute recording for Makeba.

“The album title, From.Now.On, is loosely based on the concept of where I come from in terms of musical heritage paying tribute to the masters of South African jazz with some traditional standards reworked to fit a more modern context,” says Xaluva. “Then music that represents where I am now as a beneficiary and custodian of that rich heritage and how ‘old’ music continues to shape and inspire the way we write songs. Then finally how we carry and pass on the legacy. It’s an acknowledgement of identity through music and how one must always remember where they come from.”

Xaluva is clearly one of the gifted musicians of her generation and an artist with the creativity and imagination to take South African music to another level. But she is modest about her abilities. “My performances are basically about transferring the talent into a skill. The gift is the ability to touch the audiences and I’m grateful that I am able to achieve that.”

Born into a musical family, Xaluva was introduced to piano-playing by a maternal grandfather when she was 12. After completing matric, she enrolled at UCT for a bachelor of music in jazz studies in 2003. She completed her master’s degree based on the music of Mama Afrika (voice and dissertation) from the same institution in 2009, where she graduated with distinction.

Her interest in recording the music of South African pioneers was evident when she released her first album, Kusile (Universal Music, 2011), which featured South African saxophonist Winston Mankunku Ngozi’s jazz classic, 'Yakhal’inkomo'. It earned her an award for Best Urban Jazz Album at the 2012 Metro FM Music Awards. Xaluva regards the achievement as one of her highlights, particularly for a debutante.

Other highlights include sharing the stage with Sibongile Khumalo and opening for four-time Grammy Award-winning American jazz singer, Dianne Reeves, at Montecasino in 2011.

Her latest album has been nominated for a Metro Award.

* Originally published on 11 February 2016 in the African Independent.