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New Year's In Namibia

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"I'm going to have my baby in Namibia. I don't care how long of a drive it is."
- Britney Spears



When most people go on an African safari, they probably aren't looking for penguins and pianos. Then again, Namibia was something less than a Holy Grail among tourists before it became a pilgrimage of celebrity parenthood.



Music fans generally go south to Capetown, and leisure travelers generally don't bother with the barren community of Luderitz. Most get off turboprop planes when they stop at Walvis Bay, a scenic seaside town popular for German architecture, bakeries and other ties to its founding ancestors.



Given my inherent dislike of heat and deserts, most of the continent didn't have much appeal as a vacation destination. So when I learned about the penguins of Luderitz, it became my destination (two seasons of working among researchers in Antarctica also had something to do with it). Getting there meant a stop in the capital of Windhoek, where I decided to spend New Year's Eve since my quest for jazz was far more likely to succeed.



Luderitz would be my rustic venture after a relatively lively New Year's Eve celebration in Windhoek, a city that is hardly the center of Africa's massively rich jazz scene.



"Namibian music is not even in its baby shoes," said Clive Plaatjie, manager of Universal Sounds record store in Windhoek, where roughly 20 albums by in-country musicians among the thousands from elsewhere were by far the most I found. "I'm grabbing any straw I can to promote the local music."



A Wall Street Journal article in late 2005 details how Namibia has few recordings and live performances because what little industry exists is exploitive of musicians. Nevertheless, some airfare lunacy when I was in New York—making a spur-of-the- moment foreign trip cheaper than a domestic one—resulted in the trip becoming part of my 18-month quest to seek out jazz in the most unlikely and remote places on Earth.



There were some successes, but nothing from locals worthy of high praise, which even those trying to make a living from the scene acknowledged. Hilton Villet, owner of the Blu Note jazz club in Windhoek, was less than boastful of the guitar/bass/drum house trio playing New Year's Eve, saying the inexperienced players are "not that polished because they play anything and everything because they need the money. Finding the bands is the hardest part, he said. "The listeners are there. There has been a major education process going on since we opened.



Prospects beyond the city were obviously dim. Not enough reason to abandon a quest.

Flying south over sand desert for another 40 minutes brings one to Luderitz, a town described by Lonely Planet as "a surreal colonial relic huddling against the barren, windswept Namib Desert Coast...scarcely touched by the 21st century."



If anyone owns a saxophone, it's a well-kept secret. "You can't even buy guitar strings here, said Bianca, a university student who works occasionally at her mother's hotel and acted as my informal guide. "You have to go to (the capital city of Windhoek) for that.



Luderitz's first commercial success came during the early 1800s as a rich source of guano. An overflow of Dutch entrepreneurs threw penguin eggs at each other while competing for the right to harvest tons of seabird droppings, later escalating the battle to include firearms. More refined and lucrative pickings came with the discovery of diamonds during the early 1900s, but that collapsed following richer finds elsewhere after World War I.



Now more a stop than a destination for those exploring the west coast of Africa by road, the fledgeling tourist industry seems largely oriented toward has-been attractions like the nearby ghost town of Kolmanskop, although there is a golf course with a disproportionate number of sand traps.



And penguins.



"I'm pretty sure this is the only part of the trip where we're going to be cold and wet," said a father holding his toddler-age son, both wrapped in borrowed blankets and raincoats, as waves from the rough sea regularly splashed over the deck during the two-and-a-half hour voyage to and from the island where the birds flock.



The pair, along with several other members of the family, were there for the more typical Namibia tour involving all-terrain vehicles crossing endless sandscapes in search of rhinos, elephants, lions and other wildlife, with prices largely determined by the fanciness of the host's tent. My closest encounter with zebras and crocodiles was eating them at an air-conditioned restaurant for tourists (the latter is richer and more tender in a vaguely seafood to beef kind of way).



As it turns out, large numbers of Namibians also go on vacation in early January, meaning a significant percentage of music stores and musicians weren't in harmony with my plans, and nearly everyone was going places I wasn't. In short, I was in the wrong place, on the wrong quest, at the wrong time of year.



Hitting sour notes from the start



Flights from the U.S. connect in Johannesburg, where there's a surprising lack of jazz clubs and performers. Only one show, featuring traditional Afro-jazz vocalist/guitarist Selaelo Selota, was mentioned for New Year's Eve. The Bass line Jazz Club, recommended by several people as the city's best, was closed for the holidays. A second club, Kippie's, a longtime establishment with a colorful history (Bill Clinton wanted to play there in 1998, but Hillary apparently didn't want to get out of the car) was also closed.



"Let's face it: Jo'burg pretty much closes down in December when the 'Vaalies hit the coastal resorts, declared a local newspaper article detailing events for New Year's Eve.



Still, Johannesburg hosts an annual summer jazz festival with a healthy lineup of famous players and a smaller one in mid-December emphasizing South African artists (although most seem to be from outside the city). The Bass line was a commercial and artistic success for nine years until 2003, when it closed in a landlord/tenant dispute, but club officials are hopeful for the future following its reopening as part of a large-scale cultural project resulting in the creation of the Newtown Music Centre.



"The re-opening of the Bass line will be one of the resolutions to the problem of lack of live music venues in South Africa, especially for the development of emerging artists, notes an essay by club owners detailing its history.



One troubling aspect is jazz and other club-related music has become more a diversion for the wealthy, with venues relocated to locations near hotels and redeveloped areas, said Rollems Tshepo, a driver and casual pianist I met at the airport. After learning about my quest, he spent a couple of days helping search for places where jazz might be performed, broadcast and recorded, but felt there was more potential in its future than current status. "In the '80s the music was by the city center, he said. "With the security (problems) and instability of the '80s with apartheid and fighting, that got suppressed.



Tshepo also provided a reality check about seeking out jazz in some of the lesser-known neighboring countries, which I was still considering. At some points there have been efforts to bring different cultural representatives from countries together, he said, but widespread calamity frequently means music is people's last priority. "In most worn-torn countries of Africa what you will not find is more than a struggle for survival, he added.



I had done little research about the music scene in Namibia beforehand and, in retrospect, regret the few details I absorbed. Travel literature focused largely on the dangers of robbery, disease and other problems for tourists, making me more wary and, sad to say, making me well aware of being one of the few skinny white guys there. I took the normal precautions for traveling in an unfamiliar area—such as avoiding empty streets after dark and not eating street-sold produce from I couldn't peel—and never felt in danger. Certainly as a whole the people were more welcoming and less menacing than what I, as a small-town dweller, had just experienced in New York City.



Whoopin' It Up In Windhoek



Notwithstanding some of the aforementioned disappointments, my time in Windhoek was not misspent. The century-old capital of 160,000 residents, located in the center of Namibia, is morepractical than scenic.



"While Windhoek provides about as much action as Namibia has to offer, "vibrant" probably isn't the best word to describe its surprisingly staid and orderly capital city," the Lonely Planet notes.



A front-page story in The Namibian daily newspaper revealed children in government-run schools were getting food illegally "doctored" with fillers by contractors seeking to increase their profit margin. On page three an article described an "uproar" about illegal booze/brothel establishments (shebeens) proliferating in Luberitz.



Visitors get accustomed to seeing lots of sand and low hills during the 25-mile ride from the international airport. Much of the city's architecture is German, reflecting that country's colonial occupation of Namibia during the late 19th and early 20th century, before falling under South African rule after World War I and gaining independence in 1990.



Windhoek has sights such as the sprawling outdoor Post Street Mall, various cathedrals and museums, the people and city-nurtured greenery in Zoo Park. But not being a huge fan of urbana, I was more amused by quirks such as the intersection of Castro Street and Independence Avenue next to Zoo Park.



Scoping out the local jazz scene meant a lot of walking in the stifling heat with few opportunities to escape into promising venues. A number of small music stores were selling mostly popular and South African albums, and much as the latter is full of intrigue they weren't Namibian or jazz.



"There are only four or five people I can think of who are interested in jazz, except for the tourists who are interested in African jazz," said Plaatjie, the manager of the record store where I found a handful of albums. The fledgling recording industry is still limited to small studios, although the professionalism of them is improving, Plaatjie said, adding that musicians are still paid too poorly to make a living, in part due to economic problems that go beyond the lack of political support. "When I started, it was just one or two albums that was on the shelf, he said. "The buying power of Namibia is so small, he continued. "It's because of our population. You cannot make money unless there is an international breakthrough.



The Namibian Music Awards' best songwriter and reggae artist for 2006 was Ras Sheehama, a native of the northern Oshivambo people, whose traditional music has strong Cuban influences. He went into exile in Angola during the late 1970s at age 13, started playing the guitar and reggae during subsequent moves to Zambia and Nigeria, and returned to Namibia in 1990. His long list of international performances, rare enough for a Namibian, include the 2005 Montreaux Jazz Festival, an ideal showcase since the event has become known for featuring music styles well beyond its namesake.



"That is a real breakthrough for Namibian music, Plaatjie said.



A few other names came up in my search, most notably Sharon van Rooi, a "velvet- voiced singer who's performed and participated in a number of advocacy projects. She has a key role in the 2005 documentary Wrapped In Rain In Namibia which, according to the U.S. Embassy there, portrays "the April 2005 Namibian musical tour by Americans Celia Rose and Johannah Cantwell, who collaborated with Namibians to create music for youth on the theme of 'A Celebration of Life through Song.' Their performances and song writing workshops sent messages of self-esteem, good health, and HIV/AIDS prevention to Namibian youth.

A winner of several local and regional awards is Vocal Motion Six, an all-male acapella group consisting of Windhoek residents Pieter Chizyuka, Marc Chizyuka, Jones Mario, Vasco Mario and Thomas Mario (yes, only five). They started as the gospel group Breath Of Truth in 1999 before renaming themselves when they identified the group's genre as "contemporary gospel with a jazz nature.



"In 2000 our music changed drastically when we collaborated with Black Voices, a group of singers from America who performed in Namibia under the auspices of the British Council," said Chizyuka, the group's music coordinator, in a 2006 interview with New Era newspaper. The group was introduced to elements of the local music industry such as passion, pride, persistence and patience, according to the article, and "since we incorporated this methodology into our work, our structure and output have increased drastically for the better," Chizyuka said.



Another name that came up prominently was Morne van Biljon, a saxophonist who died in 2002 at age 29 after experiencing breathing problems. He performed regularly with a band called Minus Five Plus Seven and was considered by some to be the country's top jazz saxophonist. Van Rooi, who performed with him for years dating back to her teens, called his death "an utter shock. "He lived himself through music," she told the Namibian, which summarized her description of Van Biljon as "a versatile musician, well-grounded in classical music but with his heart truly in one style of music: jazz.



Plaatjie, during our talk at his store, got me in touch with the Blu Note jazz club, which opened about a year ago in an abandoned industrial building. After some back-and-forth chatter between him and the club in Namibian, owner Hilton Villet told me in English an New Year's Party was scheduled beginning around 10 p.m. and ending with breakfast at 7 a.m. He said there weren't likely to be problems getting in if I showed up without a reservation.



The club is close to downtown, but requires some navigating on industrial back streets which a longtime local cab driver struggled with. The subtly lit modern entrance is inviting after the drive; the climb up a few flights of stairs to get to the entrance less so.



Villet, a standards fan who describes himself as "a Nat King Cole freak, says the club is ongoing educational experience for himself, patrons he's trying to interest in jazz and the musicians. He assesses the talents and motives of the evening's trio with unusual candor. "They're not that polished because they play anything and everything because they need the money," he said. "They sort of became a house band because I decided they don't have anyplace else. I give them standards, I give them fusion, I give them contemporary—all of it.



Villet added that African jazz is their strength, but they're slowly improving in other areas. But the best player, guitarist Eckhart Volkscheak, moved to Capetown just as he seemed to be emerging as a skilled jazz performer. "That really broke my spirit, Villet said.



His wife, Charmaine, a Jonathan Butler fan, said her dad owned a similar club, so it seemed like a natural thing to pursue in a town lacking one. "If you come from Capetown that's what you hear, that's what you grow up with, she said, adding that it hasn't been easy, especially since she's also a teacher and consultant, and 80 percent of the work is grinding behind-the-scenes business tasks. "The first year was so tough, she said. "All we could think of was to close and get away as soon as possible.



But both say they believe the club has an optimistic future, with an adequate crowd of people in Windhoek already interested in jazz and plenty more who will appreciate if it given the chance.



About 50 or 60 people were at the club during the early part of the evening. The general sound of the trio (which on my first-name-only knowledge consists of Roderick on electric guitar, Jean-Pierre on bass and Tomix on drums) was light contemporary, with Roderick somewhere between Lee Ritenour and Bill Frisell's more accessible moments. Jean-Pierre, when he stepped it up, imitated a Stanley Clarke slap bass tone reasonably well.



My notes during the gig were concise: The opener was "sort of Frisell at a contemporary, slow pace; simple, but not puffery. The follow-up was a bluesy light fusion with a slight twist to the chorus and non-stop slap bass riff; the "stepping up more in volume than a progression of variety, although Roderick ended the song with a decent series of embellishments on the main theme. The rest of the approximately 10-song set had a few songs that could have been instrumentals on Graceland, a couple of light reggae instrumentals, something with the cadence and overall chord resemblance of "Summertime and a George Benson tune from the 1980s whose name escapes me.



The crowd gave the players scant applause and only once, during one of the reggae tunes, did a couple of people reach the dance floor. Most of the revelers arrived near midnight and it appeared plenty more were on their way, as a DJ took over and began spinning beat-driven dance tunes. He cued "Celebration" as sparklers were passed around a minute or so before the New Year, followed by the count, cheer and exchange of embraces that may or may not have coincided with the actual beginning of 2006.



The Jackson 5 began playing at full volume and I left shortly afterward, unable to communicate in limited English with the band members in any meaningful way thanks to the din. In the parking lot I encountered a taxi driver who wanted 80 Namibian dollars for the two-mile trip back to my room - about four to five times the going rate. He quickly dropped the price after learning I wasn't drunk or gullible, then spent much of the ride talking about his "respect" for the tourists so vital to his livelihood.



Penguins of the desert



Even music-deprived Luderitz was, in retrospect, not a dismissable chapter in my quest, routing it into some fascinating history about the place. The first humans to set foot in Luderitz apparently didn't stay long, due to the inhospitable climate. Next, an ancient African tribe known as the Khoi-Khoi apparently did little more than pass through. A brief expedition by a Portuguese navigator during the late 1400s was the only notable European presence until the Dutch guano hunters began their feud more than 300 years later.



The town's namesake, Bremon merchant Adolf Luderitz, arranged the purchase of a large section of region during the 1880s after looking at map of Africa, seeing an empty space and taking it since "nothing better (was) left." A couple of years later he was near bankruptcy and vanished at sea while seeking new business prospects.



Getting there from Windhoek, as noted earlier, requires some patience and savvy. It involves either a two-hour flight on an Air Namibia commuter plane that drops most visitors off at Walvis Bay or a five-to eight-hour drive across a mostly featureless desert, with the last stretch made hazardous by drifting sand dunes notorious for blocking the road when winds pick up. Paying the $350 airfare seemed like a reasonable alternative to a rental car, gas costing nearly $5 a gallon and two days of driving with the constant fear of being stranded in the desert.



From the airport it's ten miles to town, and arranging transportation in advance is advisable since finding public transportation, a cab or a rental car is far from certain. I got a ride with the town's Avis representative, there by chance to pick up a lone renter whose car was stashed in a vacant lot behind a crumbling building. Had I wanted to rent one on the spur of the moment, I'd have been out of luck. "I have to bring them in from Windhoek when I get the bookings, he said.



The Avis rep had plenty of information about most of the area's usual attractions, little of which was going to help me. "Most of the live music we have is gospel, he said, adding he was pretty sure a local choir recorded an album sometime recently.



Fortunately, accommodations from cheap to moderate are plentiful, given the area's population. I picked the $30-a-night Bay View lodge, described as a historic courtyard setting owned by the Luderitz family, figuring it might be a good way to get some in- depth insight about the town. I got less historical insight than I might have liked—hooking up with the matronly owner proved maddeningly elusive—but plenty of modern-day insight from her daughter, Bianca, working there during a break in her college studies.



Before I had set my backpack down, the phone in my room rang, letting me know an afternoon penguin tour was being hastily arranged due to a large family that had expressed interest. Tours are generally in the morning, but with a poor weather forecast and no guarantee of enough tourists that time of year to make a trip the day worthwhile, I was advised the voyage leaving in 10 minutes might be my best opportunity.



Bianca rushed me to the dock in a new car she just brought down from Windhoek, one of several times she played the role of chauffeur more than willingly since it got her out of the office and into her prized acquisition.



Voyages to the penguins aboard the large-sail Sedina are rustic, without fancy seating or organized presentations. We passed dozens of local kids on the rocky shoreline (the only part of the Namibian coast) with one swimming to beat the heat during the cruise out of the bay. But the wind picks up and temperatures drop considerably as the town fades from view. It also means a rugged journey, so those prone to seasickness may find the trip less than attractive.



The best-known colony of jackass penguins, common along Namibia's southwest coast, is at Halifax Island, a five-mile journey around a cape from Luderitz. They're classified as vulnerable and endangered, with the colony's population estimated at 1,200. The Sedina's captain, whose name unfortunately became a smeared inkblot in my notebook when the waves started soaking the boat, said the population is down dramatically due to overfishing of the sardines the penguins feed on, with little hope of officials taking steps to limit the commercial activity. "The government is more interested in money than long-term viability," he said.



The schooner passes by the cape and some of the region's dozen islands—known collectively as the Guano or Penguin islands—where other seabirds and seals (the natural enemy of the penguins) can sometimes be seen. Most of the passengers remained under cover with cameras out of sight until the Sedina neared Halifax, with the captain slowing the boat perhaps a couple hundred yards offshore, making several slow passes along the coast.



The penguins weren't putting on much of a show, with most just standing around soaking up the sun on a relatively pleasant afternoon, with some occasional waddling being about the only movement of note. But there were plenty of them—so I could certainly say that part of my quest was fulfilled—and the younger members of the excursion seemed plenty entertained.



With only a couple of days to spend in Luderitz, I didn't wander out of town to attractions such as the diamond mine ghost town, or try to get a permit to dig for crystals known as "sand roses" in the desert. Instead I wandered the half-dozen or so streets downtown, talking with residents about the local music scene (almost non-existent) and sports (much more popular, with soccer, rugby and/or cricket matches on TV at various pubs being one of the best way to bond with locals). The bartender at one pub with a live music sign said they actually don't have that many gigs, but every now and then a country/rock guy from Capetown visits and will play an evening or two.



But it seems somewhere in the town there are a few players schooled in the ways of reeds and horns. It even turns out there's a Luderitz Brass Band, although they were scattered enough I didn't run into any by chance. "Sometimes when we have a cruise ship coming in they will play for them, said Liz Swoboda, a resident of the town for 36 years.



The problem is, some years no ships stop during their cruises along the African coast; other years only several small ones do. And none do during what's peak tourist season in other towns, as the winds in this particular area often reach 70 knots. Swoboda, who worked for the city for 28 years before semi-retiring into a part-job job at a small visitor's bureau, said even the relatively slack tourist crowd has affected the community she remembers. "It was a very different place when I got here, she said. "People had more time for each other.



But many dwellers, especially newer ones, still talk up their sense of community. Bianca, on the drive out to the airport as I was departing, said she may not live in Luderitz after graduation, but there's a lure that makes regular long drives from the city worthwhile. "I'll always come back," she said.



Details for getting there and back



I might have mentioned earlier that airfare to Africa is highly variable, with a $600 round- trip special from New York to Johannesburg turning into a $2,400 fare during the couple of days I was deliberating about the trip. Booking from the destination country or one along the route is often cheaper than U.S. fares, and I managed to finagle an $1,100 fare by flying to Amsterdam and connecting to Johannesburg.



Getting from Johannesburg to Namibia is much easier and cheaper. British Airways flies to Windhoek daily, and I bought tickets the day before my departure and return for about $120 each. Regional carriers offer similar fares, but less satisfactory service—as one finds out when making the journey to Luderitz.



Getting around by taxi in Windhoek is a reasonably economical option for those who don't want to walk or take crowded open-air buses in the heat. But the usual rule of looking for an unoccupied vehicle is ill-advised: drivers tend to wait until their car is full of passengers, meaning a ride with strangers with some unplanned stops is likely. Also, most don't have meters, so know what's a reasonable fare and be clear it's agreed upon in advance (currency is the Namibian dollar, exchanged at about an eight-to-one ratio for U.S. dollars).



Lodging from $5 hostels to $200 business hotels is easily found in Windhoek although, as the foregoing experiences might suggest, getting places on short notice in popular destinations during peak travel times can be far more difficult. Much of the country can be seen through independent driving and hiking excursions, but prime wildlife areas often are accessible only through safari-type tours reserved in advance. Prices in Namibia are relatively low compared to many other areas of Africa, but can still get well into the thousands of dollars.



Cuisine is heavy on meat—basics such as beef and lamb for everyday menus, game such as oryx and ostrich at tourist restaurants and remote areas where it's natively hunted - plus German baked goods. Seafood is plentiful along the coast, with non-meat staples focusing largely on grains and hearty vegetables such as squashes that grow well in harsh conditions.



Gearheads with computers and cell phones will find large triangular electrical outlets unique to Africa, making an adaptor a near-certain purchase even for many with "universal" converters. Internet cafes are relatively easy to find in larger communities, but few or no options may be available in smaller towns (in Luderitz the lone option downtown was a computer at the post office, available for only a few hours a day). Several English- language news publications are available, including The Namibian and the Windhoek Observer. Mail and phone service are reliable.

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