with Zim “Zimology” Ngqawana
There is a web site called Africanjazz. I had never visited it because I didn’t know it was ‘out there.’ But, as often happens when I am in my emusic account and dealing with the chaotic sprawl of its offerings looking to bring some new music into my world, I leaned into Google, and, discovered a page of brand new recommendations at AfricanJazz about jazz from South Africa.
There I discovered bassist Herbie Tsoaeli‘s new recording African Time Quartet in Concert (Live.) Went back to emusic and downloaded it. It is a strong statement of the people’s music, as Abdullah Ibrahim would call it.
I had seen Tsoaeli’s name on recordings by SA greats Zim Ngqawana and Winston Mankunku Ngozi, but I had not noted a year ago that his debut recording African Time had been named the South African Jazz Record of the Year for 2013.
https://soundcloud.com/city-press/herbie-tsoaeli-quartet
Nduduzo Makhathini‘s new, superb recording of solo piano is titled Mother Tongue.
South African Jazz on the web;
music.org.za
jazzE Magazine
Legendary bassist Johnny Dyani, who notably played with The Blue Notes and Abdullah Ibrahim, was, stature-wise, his continent’s Charles Mingus. This post remembers with fondness the flame of Dyani fervor that inflected my musical friends during the Vermont years. You know who you are.