Credits
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South Africa: Music Compilations
By John Eyles
Various Artists, The History of Township Music (Wrasse WRASS029, 2001)
Various Artists, From Marabi to Disco: 42 Years of Township Music (Gallo/GMP CDZAC61, 1994)
Various Artists, Long Walk to Freedom (Wrasse WRASS021, 2000)
Various Artists, African Jazz 'n' Jive (Gallo/GSP CDZAC75, 2000)
Various Artists, South Africa: Jazzin' and Jivin' (MELT 2000 BW2142, 2000)
Various Artists, Natural Jazz (Wrasse WRASS036, 2001)
Between them, these compilations cover over sixty years of the history of jazz in South Africa. They provide an invaluable insight into the early days and growth of the music, its decline and survival under apartheid and its development over the decade since liberation. Here are some of the earliest recordings by famous names such as Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba. More importantly, there are also recordings by many influential, but lesser-known, players. Such tracks shed light on the musical culture from which the better-known names emerged, as well as making compelling listening in their own right. (There is considerable duplication of tracks between several of these compilations. To detail it would be very boring, but I have included links to allow you to check full track listings before purchase.)
The music here extends far beyond the scope of jazz (however loosely interpreted!). Consequently, I have concentrated mainly on the jazz and jazz-related tracks. (Even so, I barely scratch the surface.) However, such demarcations seem petty beside the sheer infectious joy that flows out from much of this music. Any of these compilations will brighten your day.
 From Marabi to Disco and The History of Township Music are actually the same album, with exactly the same tracks and sleeve notes but different titles and cover pictures. This is the most wide-ranging compilation here, covering the period from 1939 to 1981. It is lovingly compiled and annotated; the accompanying booklet is an education in itself. One of the earliest tracks, "Zulu Piano Medley No. 1 Part 1" by Thomas Mabiletsa (from 1944) features the marabi piano style that was very influential on the sound of South African jazz. It has clear affinities with American pianists such as James P. Johnson or Professor Longhair, leading to speculation about which way the influences flowed across the Atlantic. The track's 2' 41" is too short. I wanted a whole album just of this music. (A common problem with compilations, I know.)
 Another seminal track, "Mbube" by Solomon Linda's Original Evening Birds (from 1939), has excellent soaring call-and-response vocals and a melody line that will be familiar to many of you as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight/Wimoweh". This acapella vocal piece again combines imported influences with a more traditional Zulu style and is an obvious precursor of Ladysmith Black Mambazo's vocal. Running consistently throughout all of these compilations is an evolving but surprisingly constant vocal tradition, exemplified here by Miriam Makeba, and Mahotella Queens (whose own 1990's version of "Mbube" appears on Long Walk to Freedom).The bulk of this compilation covers the period between the mid-50s and the mid-60s. This was the time when South African jazz blossomed in place such as Sophiatown in Cape Town and the distinctive sound of township jazz emerged from the interaction of imported American big-band and bebop music with South African kwela rhythms. This music was the entertainment music of black South Africans, with the atmosphere in shebeens in Cape Town being compared to Harlem at its best. Prime examples here are "Goli Kwela" by Kippie Moeketsi & The Marabi Kings, "Diepkloof Ekhaya" by The Jazz Dazzlers, and "Thulandiville" by The Elite Swingsters, all of which convey that excitement and exuberance, coupled with excellent blowing.
 For jazz fans, African Jazz 'n' Jive has the most jazz, concentrating exclusively on this classic period. Here again are plenty of historic and famous South African players and singers. "Something New in Africa" by The Solven Whistlers and "Kwela Blues" by Lemmy 'Special' Mabaso both give a taste of pennywhistle kwela that was popular in the '50s and very influential on the sound of township jazz. The Jazz Epistles, featuring the brilliant Bird-influenced Kippie Moeketsi plus Dollar Brand on piano, Hugh Masekela on trumpet and Jonas Gwangwa on trombone, were the first black South African group to record a modern jazz album--but sadly they are not featured here; instead, we hear Moeketsi with The Jazz Dazzlers, and Masekela and Gwangwa with the Father [Trevor] Huddleston Band - the personnel of bands was somewhat fluid during this period. Similarly, Christopher Columbus, a key member of the Chris McGregor Septet, is only heard here with The Elite Swingsters. The success of the stage musical King Kong was a milestone, becoming South Africa's first jazz export and beginning the exodus of South African musicians abroad. The track "Kwela Kong" is featured here, including a young Miriam Makeba, plus Moeketsi and Mackay Devashe in the band.
 Long Walk to Freedom is an excellent 35-track double CD covering the period of Nelson Mandela's imprisonment through to the present day. It is not only titled after Mandela's autobiography, it also has pictures of Mandela on the cover and opens with "Free Nelson Mandela" by The Specials, the 80s anthem that kept his name and cause in the word spotlight. It then progresses chronologically from the early 60s to the present, with a selection of tracks that include pop, reggae, choral, gospel, soul, disco, acapella, string quartet as well as some jazz. Although there is not much jazz, what is here is very fine, if rather too nostalgic. "Hellfire" by The African Jazz Pioneers, led by sax player Ntemi Piliso, dates from the '80s but looks back to the '50s with its sound and feel, here produced by a combination of older and younger players. From the '90s, both "African Spirit" by West Nkosi, one of South Africa's longest serving musicians, and "Kwela Hotspot" by Big Voice Jack Lerole, another survivor, feature the sound of the pennywhistle, popularised in the '50s. The album closes with two inspiring non-jazz tracks, "Sophiatown" by the lively Soweto String Quartet and "Congratulations South Africa" by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Natural Jazz attempts to set South African jazz in a wider context, also including American and world jazz tracks from the same era. So, of its twenty-two tracks, ten are South African. These duplicate some of the best tracks already mentioned above. However, when these are mixed with Ella and Satch, Anita O'Day, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stephane Grapelli and Nina Simone, the totality becomes too eclectic and unfocussed. Excellent as the individual tracks are, this is the least successful of these compilations.
In some ways, South Africa: Jazzin' & Jivin' is the odd one out here, in that it represents contemporary South African music with no intention to provide a historical perspective. All twelve of its tracks are from the B&W/M.E.L.T. 2000 catalogue, with the oldest, by Sipho Gumede, only dating from 1994. The tracks show current South African jazz in a state of recovery, but very changed from its great heyday. Largely gone are the instantly recognisable trademark rhythms derived from kwela, to be replaced by a more pan-African sound that has absorbed influences from across the continent and beyond. "Space Time" by flautist Deepak Ram exemplifies this, combining Indian, African and modern Western influences into a mix that could just as easily originate from Paris or London. However, the music retains the "feelgood factor" that is present in practically everything here. There are instrumentalists of distinction, such as the late Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, Pops Mohamed, Gumede and Simpiwe Matole (whose understated piano piece "Nomaza" steals the album). But it is the vocalists who dominate this music. One such, Busi Mhlongo, surely points the way forward. Her unique blending of traditional South African vocal forms with jazz, rap, gospel, rock... makes for compelling listening and shows why she is a rapidly rising star.
The music documented on these CDs has dominated my listening for the past couple of months. Each listen has revealed new and greater pleasures, and helped to illuminate the historical development of the music of South Africa. It is impossible to overstate how much listening enjoyment there is here. I would recommend you to start with any of them, and then to work from there. You won't regret it!
For more information, visit Wrasse Records, Gallo Record Company, and MELT2000.
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