Credits
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Zim Ngqawana: A Vision of Sound
By Mark Corotto
Saxophonist Zim Ngqawana may have come relatively late to music, but he's more than made up for any lost time. Born in 1959, he started playing flute at age 21. His meteoric rise since then has
brought him to the US to study on a Max Roach Scholarship at the University
of Massachusetts with jazzmen Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef. In 1994, Ngqawana led a group of 100 drummers, singers, and dancers at Nelson Mandela's inauguration. His music incorporates not only the South African jazz tradition, but also the folk musics of South Africa and India, as well as western classical music and American jazz. Zim Ngqawana's musical vision picks up right where the innovative musicians of jazz in the United States left off in the turbulent 1960s.
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Zimology was recorded in Oslo, Norway in 1998 with the local rhythm section of bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen Love (who recently accompanied avant-garde saxophonist Mats Gustafsson on his Crazy Wisdom recording The Thing). Ngqawana's quartet on all these recordings include his self-described "right hand man," pianist Andile Yenana. From the first note, Zim's quartet evokes the power, passion, and spirituality of the
classic John Coltrane Quartet. Love rolls his drum line like Elvin Jones, and
Yenana takes cues from the McCoy Tyner school. Like Coltrane, Ngqawana builds from simple melodies. His composition "Transformation" finds his saxophone style
a warm mix of Coltrane and Arthur Blythe. But he can also play a bit
outside, as he does on "Unyangantathu." Starting with an infectious melody,
he quotes Monk and Ellington before tearing free. He even plays piano on one
track, "The Widow," where the ghost of John Lewis hovers. Where Ngqawana's music
finds its heart is in the traditional and spiritual music of his homeland.
His whistle playing, singing, and out-reaching saxophone on "Qula Kwedini" are
purely infectious.
Ingoma, which can be translated as "Song," was recorded in 1999, essentially with the same quartet plus trumpeter Dumakude Msuthwana. On this record, Ngqawana expands his blues-based approach in order to incorporate all things musical. He makes use of spirituals, chants, and spoken parts here with great effectiveness. His penchant for writing in suites or acts assures continuity in his music by phasing one track into the next. His music reminds you simultaneously of the work of the band Old and New Dreams and Randy Weston's African inspired ensembles (both of which he admires greatly). He touches on New Orleans with drumming and references to the truth marching in on "Usizi Emnqamlezweni." Occasionally he drops the avant-garde on your ears, as on "Umzi Watsha," where a nod to Albert Ayler's processionals is matched by trumpeter Dumakude Msuthwana's best outward-bound Lester Bowie. Zim accents the energy of the music with rapidly spoken lines of poetry and prayers for salvation for the human condition.
The Zimphonic Suites, Ngqawana's latest recording, is to South African music what the music of Aaron Copland is to the American experience. Ngqawana celebrates the beauty and the pain of life when he opens with his breathy voiced flute--riding waves of intensity before giving way to chanting and hearty saxophone lines that conjure the sounds of Billy Harper and Dewey
Redman. The arc of this recording covers many styles from traditional Xhosa
songs to island music, blues, and even a tango. His "Bantu" picks up on
Sonny Rollins' playful use of the common song, elevating it to distinguished
status. He does the same with short form blues and injections of bebop. In
the end, Ngqawana takes the listener on a voyage of discovery through worlds beyond personal (and physical) shores. It is a marvelous journey.
Tracks and Personnel:
Zimology (Sheer Sound, 1998). Tracks: Mayenzeke; Hymn For The War Orphans; The Widow; Baby Angelina; Transformation; Bological Warfare; Requiem For Bucs Gongco; Unyangantathu; Qula Kwedini; You Think You Know Me. Personnel: Zim
Ngqawana - Saxophones, Flutes, Vocals, Piano (track #4); Andile Yenana -
Piano; Ingebrigt Flaten - Bass; Paal Nilssen Love - Drums, Percussion.
Ingoma (Sheer Sound, 1999). Tracks: McGregorian Chant; Mamazala; Unamaqhinga Na?; Usizi Emnqamlezweni; Sangoma; Ingoma; Umthandazo; Crucifixion; Resurrestion;
Consciousness; Amen. Personnel: Zim Ngqawana - Saxophones, Flutes, Vocals, Harmonica, Tambourine; Andile Yenana - Piano; Ingebrigt Flaten - Bass; Paal Nilssen Love - Drums, Percussion; Lafifi Tladi - Chorus; Dumakude Msuthwana -
Trumpet, Chorus; Zim Ngqawana Jr. - Chorus.
Zimphonic Suites (Sheer Sound, 2000). Tracks: Invocation; Royal Drumming; Resolution; Diviner's Ceremony; Ebhofolo; Bantu; Sad Afrika; Ode To Princess Magogo; Old Blues; Compassion; www.kwantunent.com; Man And Woman; Man; Two To Tangle; Chisa; Gobbliesation; Beautiful Love. Personnel: Zim Ngqawana - Saxophones, Flutes, Vocals, Harmonica, bicycle bells, chimes, whistles, piano (tracks 8&10); Andile Yenana - Piano; Herbie Tsoaeli - Bass, Vocals; Kevin Gibson - Drums, Percussion.
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