Frequently Asked Questionns

What is African jazz

What are the styles of African jazz?

Who are the seminal figures in African jazz?

What is today’s African jazz scene like?

What is the future of African jazz?

Who are the greatest African jazz musicians of all tim e?

Who are the best African jazz musicians today?

What is distinctive about African jazz?

How is African jazz related to African American jazz?

What other styles of music have influenced African jazz?  

What is African jazz?

A fundamental principle of the thinking behind this website is that it should be Afro-centric: i.e. Africans themselves should define what African jazz is rather than critics, scholars or well wishers from other parts of the world.  African jazz therefore consists of styles of music developed primarily by Africans in Africa which they themselves describe as jazz, such as township jazz and style jazz Congolais.

What are the styles of African jazz?

 The dominant African jazz style is style jazz Congolais. Prominent exponents of this style such as the bands African Jazz (1950s and 60s), T.P. OK Jazz aka Bana Ok (late 1950s onwards) and solo artists such as Tabu Ley Rochereau, Madilu System and Mbilia Bel have been the most popular and influential jazz acts across most of Sub Saharan Africa and have spawned numerous imitators and local styles. For example, styles derived from or closely related to style jazz Congolais can be found in Cameroun , Kenya , Tanzania , Uganda , Benin , Guinea and Mali . However, Style jazz Congolais and related styles are usually omitted from historical accounts of jazz and are rarely marketed as jazz outside Africa because they are the most African in African jazz and have the least direct influence from African American jazz. For this very reason it is arguable that style jazz Congolais sand related styles are the most significant contribution that Africa has made to jazz – i.e. a contribution which is distinctive and more fundamentally African than anything else in jazz.

          An important exception to the dominance of style jazz Congolais has occurred in South Africa where a local style – township jazz – has been dominant in part perhaps because style jazz Congolais was banned until the early 1990s for political reasons. In essence township jazz consists of a crossover between Southern African music and African American jazz, and for this reason it does usually feature, to some extent, in accounts of the history of jazz and is often marketed as jazz outside Africa . Styles derived from or closely related to township jazz can be found in Botswana , Lesotho , Zimbabwe , Mozambique , etc. Often, jazz from these neighbouring countries displays the influence of style jazz Congolais too.

                  Another important group of styles originate from Anglophone West Africa – Ghana and Nigeria - where danceband highlife and afrobeat can usefully be categorised as styles of African jazz.

          There are also relatively isolated and non mainstream but nonetheless individual styles in various parts of the continent such as:

·      Ethio jazz – developed by the pianist/composer Mulatu Astatke

·      Malian jazz – in addition to big bands such as Rail Band which play in a style influenced by style jazz Congolais; Malian musicians such as the Kora Jazz Trio, Fra Fra Sound and the organist Cheikh Tidane Seck have developed a local style of small band jazz. This relatively new style owes nothing to style jazz Congolais but is rather a Malian/ African American hybrid;

·      Similar processes have occurred in Senegal (as exemplified by the group Xalam) and in Cameroun (Richard Bona, Manu Katché, etc.).

These isolated styles are all the results of a similar process to what has occurred in township jazz i.e. a crossover between local music and African American jazz. Consequently, like township jazz, they are relatively accessible and recognisable as jazz to a western audience.

Who are the seminal figures in African jazz?

 Seminal figures in African jazz include Ghanaian trumpeter and highlife musician E.T. Mensah, Congolese guitarist Docteur Nico, Nigerian afrobeat musician Fela Kuti and two bands: South Africa ’s Jazz Maniacs and Guinea ’s Bembeya Jazz. Of these, Docteur Nico and the band in which he made his name (African Jazz led by Joseph Kabasele) stand head and shoulders above any other musicians in terms of how profound and widespread their influence was. The group African Jazz spawned numerous imitators and rivals not only in the Congo but across most of sub Saharan Africa in the late 1950’s and early 60’s. Moreover, Docteur Nico’s guitar playing, in particular, touched virtually every African electric guitarist from the late 1950’s to the current day.

What is today’s African jazz scene like?

 Style jazz Congolais is dominated by older performers such as Lutumba Simaro and other T.P.OK Jazz veterans together with Tabu Ley Rochereau and veterans of his bands. However recent years have seen the emergence of younger artists such as Karma Pa and Oliver Tshmanga. It has also become common for younger mainstream Congolese performers to include one or two style jazz tracks in their releases e.g. Awilo Longommba, Fally Ipupa, Ferre Gola and Blaise Bula. The emergence of these younger musicians relates in part to the fact that the country is no longer at war and its economy is resurgent. The experimentation with style jazz seems to have been prompted by the fact that the popularity of Congolese music in sub-Saharan Africa has been in steep decline in recent years and mainstream Congolese stars, especially Koffi Olomide have slowed down their music, perhaps in an attempt to make their music more accessible and retain popularity. Another current trend which many  style jazz aficionados dislike is the tendency for World Music labels to modify the music to make it more  marketable to salsa/ Buena Vista Social Club fans. These recordings by Kekele, Ricardo Lemvo, Papa Noel, etc. are popular in the West but have no following in Africa .

          The first decade of the new millennium has seen afrobeat become the first African jazz style to become truly global, in the sense that there are afrobeat bands made up largely of local performers, rather than expatriate Africans, in major cities all over the world. Back in Nigeria , traditional afrobeat has declined to some extent since Fela Kuti’s demise, although Fela’s back catalogue remains popular. Musicians like Tony Tetuila and especially Lagbaja have however taken elements of Fela’s music and developed it.

          There are interesting developments in West Africa such as Blay Ambolley and Mac Tontoh’s attempts to develop a highlife jazz style, the Kora Jazz Trio’s crossover recordings and the mergence of Cameroun ’s Richard Bona and Manu Katché as major global jazz artists.

          However, Southern Africa can boast the most vibrant jazz scene in the continent with the  emergence of numerous new artists, (such as Sliq Angel, Bhudaza, Peter Ntwane, Simphiwe Dana, Sylvester Mazinyane, Bazwaana, Sello Montwedi, Kwani Experience, Musa Manzini, etc.) and new developments such as kwai jazz and crossover styles with African house music and r n b. South Africa also benefits from older artists who are still in their musical prime, such as Jonas Gwangwa, Hugh Masekela, Letta Mbulu, Caiphus Semenya, victor Ntoni, Pat Matshikiza, Louis Moholo, Rob bie Jansen, Mankunku, Pops Mohamed, Bheki Mseleku,etc.) On the negative side, too many South African jazz releases sound under rehearsed and are marred by the inclusion of weak imitation African American jazz tracks frequently accompanied by banal English song lyrics.

          East Africa remains a relative backwater for African jazz despite the presence of strong style jazz Congolais influenced acts in Tanzania , Kenya and Uganda . Interesting younger artists include Kenyan saxophonist Joseph Hellon and Ethiopian singer Aster Aweke.

What is the future of African jazz?

 The future of African jazz is secure within Africa . But what about globally? Time will tell, but it appears probable that the key to the future of African jazz outside Africa will hinge  on a radical reassessment of its past. The global jazz establishment (jazz lovers, musicians, promoters, academics, record company executives, etc.) remains largely ignorant about African jazz, but over tim e it is likely that the significance of African jazz, which has been obscure for so long, will become clearer. Arguably, the jazz establishment will eventually reinterpret the history of jazz in the twentieth century to give African jazz a much more prominent position. To this observer, it appears obvious that while the origins and early development of jazz were centred in the USA , the most exciting and profound developments in the second half of the century took place in Africa . Once this paradigm shift in thinking about jazz takes place, the interest in African jazz past and present will increase dramatically. Eventually, after much radical rethinking about the history of jazz, the greatest African jazz musicians will take their place alongside the greatest African American jazz musicians and their influence on the global future of jazz will be commensurate.

Who are the greatest African jazz musicians of all tim e?

 There have been two grand masters of Congolese music elected by the members of DRC’s musicians’ union. The first of these was the singer, composer and bandleader Joseph Kabasele also known as Le Grand Kallé. Kabasele led the seminal group African Jazz in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s which featured Dr Nico the most influential African guitarist of all tim e, Tabu Ley Rochereau the vocalist composer and later band leader and Manu Dibango, saxophonist from Cameroun. After Kabasele’s death Luambo Makiadi Franco was elected the next Grand Maitre of Congolese music. Franco was certainly the most popular African jazz musician the world has known and arguably it’s greatest. As singer, composer, virtuoso guitarist and above all as bandleader, he was the most popular musician in Sub Saharan Africa from the late 1950’s until his death in 1989. The reason for Franco’s success lay in the strength of his band which was like an impregnable fortress with the best singers, composers, guitarists, bass players, horn section, drummers and percussionists in the continent. Every member of T.P. OK Jazz (subsequently renamed Bana OK, and still going strong under the leadership of Le Poet Lutumba Simaro) was a star in their own right and to this day all the recordings they have made are sought after. In terms of quality, influence and longevity, Franco’s output is comparable to Duke Ellington’s. In Sub Saharan Africa, Franc’s/OK Jazz’s popularity was akin to that of the Beatles but was sustained for a much longer period – more than three decades.

          Franco’s only rival for the position of the greatest African jazz musician of all tim e is Fela Anikupulako Kuti. At his peak during the early and mid 1970’s the originality and quality of Fela’s output and band (Africa 70) were certainly of a standard that matched, or some would say surpassed that of Franco. It must be stated however that afrobeat – the style of music developed by Fela, although it’s sound is probably closer to that of African American jazz than style jazz Congolais, has an ambivalent status in relation to jazz as defined by the most prominent afrobeat stars. A good example of this appears in a recently filmed interview with Fela’s son Femi, who also leads an afrobeat band. When asked whether or not he is a jazz musician, Femi answered “Yes…., no.” This ambivalence continues in the music. For example, the anonymous, masked saxophonist, bassist, vocalist and bandleader Lagbaja who, ‘though arguably the greatest living African jazz musician, like to describe his style of music as Africano.

          For most South Africans their greatest ever township jazz musician was the alto saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi. Unlike Fela and Franco, Moeketsi remains relatively unknown outside South Africa and his recorded output is miniscule compared to their vast legacies. Indeed three other members of the best know group to which Moeketsi belonged are much better known outside South Africa: pianist Abdullah Ibrahim (then known as Dollar Brand), trumpeter Hugh Masekela and trombonist Jonas Gwangwa all of whom left South Africa as political exiles in the early 1960’s. But all three revered Moeketsi, and are on record as rating him the best musician in their band - the Jazz Epistles - which recorded the first jazz LP in South Africa in 1960. The top jazz club in Johannesburg is named Kippie’s in his honour, and his few recordings and compositions are revered to this day.

          Arguably the second greatest township jazz musician of all tim e to South Africans themselves was the pianist and composer Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, who died in 2001 at the age of 27.

          The greatest African jazz musicians could also be categorised as follows:

 Male vocalist – Madilu System (other contenders would include Le Grand Kallé, Josky Kiambukata, Tabu Ley Rochereau and Salif Keita)

 Female vocalist  - Mbilia Bel (other contenders would include Letta Mbulu, Miriam Makeba and  Dorothy Masuka)

 Guitarist  - Franco or Dr Nico (other great guitarists include Papa Noel, Gerry Dialungana, Dr Phillip Tabane, Chief Osita Osadebe, Jimmy Dludlu)

 Bass player – Sipho Gumede (other contenders would include Johnny Dyani, Richard Bona, Gito Baloi and Makabi Flavien)

 Drummer – Tony Allen (other contenders would include Louis Moholo, Manu Katché and Nado Kakoma)

 Pianist – Moses Taiwa Molelekwa (other contenders would include Abdullah Ibrahim, Ray Lema, Bheki Mseleku and Fela Kuti)

 Organ player – Black Moses

 Saxophonist – Kippie Moeketsi (other contenders would include Empopo Deyesse, Lagbaja, Manu Dibango, Basil Coetzee, Moses Khumalo, Mankunku, Rob bie Jansen)

Trumpeter – Mongezi Feza (other contenders would include Hugh Masekela, Willy Kun tim a and Peter Nthwane)

 Trombone player – Jonas Gwangwa (another contender would be Darkie Silinga)

 Clarinettist – Kippie Moeketsi

 Band leader – Franco (other contenders would include Fela Kuti and Chris McGregor)

 Composer  - Lutumba Simaro (other contenders would include Franco, Fela Kuti, Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, Jonas Gwangwa, Mackey Davashe, Dorothy Masuka and Manu Dibango)

Who are the best African jazz musicians today?

 Today’s best African jazz musicians include the following:

 Afrigo – veteran Ugandan band heavily influence by style jazz Congolais

 Tony Allen – Nigerian afrobeat pioneer, widely regarded as Africa ’s greatest kit drummer. Now also sings, composes and leads his own band

 Bantous de la Capitale – big band from Congo Brazzaville led by saxophonist Essous

 Bembeya Jazz – big band from Guinee led by veteran trumpeter Kaba

 Bhudaza  - saxophonist, composer vocalist, band leader from Lesotho

 Blay Ambolley – Ghanaian highlife vocalist, composer and multi instrumentalist

 Aster Aweke – singer, composer from Ethiopia

 Bana OK – Congolese, formerly known as T.P. OK Jazz and led by Franco, now led by rhythm guitarist and gifted composer Le Poete Lutumba Simaro Masiya, who had been Vice President of the band under Franco.

 Mbilia Bel – singer from DRC who worked with Tabu Ley Rochereau and then established a solo career

 Sathima Bea Benjamin – jazz singer from Cape Town . Long-term resident of New York who sings mainly in an African American style and is especially known for her rendition of songs by Duke Ellington

 Richard Bona – bass player, vocalist, composer from Cameroun

 Manu Dibango – sax, marimba and piano player, vocalist, composer and band leader from Cameroun . Formerly a member of the seminal Congolese band African Jazz

 Jimmy Dludlu – guitarist, composer, bandleader from Mozambique

 Jonas Gwangwa – trombone payer, vocalist, composer from South Africa

 Joseph Hellon – saxophonist, composer, band leader from Kenya

 Abdullah Ibrahim – Cape jazz pianist, multi instrumentalist, composer and band leader

  Rob bie Jansen – Cape jazz saxophonist, flautist, composer, bandleader and vocalist.

 Manu Katché – drummer, composer, band leader from Cameroun

 Josky Kiambukata - composer, vocalist from DRC who has worked with Dr Nico, T.P. OK Jazz and Bana OK as well as being a solo artist

  Karma Pa – composer, vocalist and band leader from DRC

 Lagbaja! – Saxophonist, vocalist, bass player, band leader from Nigeria

 Youlou Mabiala – composer, singer, bandleader from Congo Brazavile, formerly with T.P. OK Jazz

 Flavien Makabi – Congolese bass player with Bana OK formerly known as T.P. OK Jazz

  Sam Mangwana – Congolese/Angolan singer, formerly with T.P. OK Jazz

   Hugh Masekela – South African Flugelhorn/trumpet player, composer, vocalist, band leader

 Dorothy Masuka – Zimbabwean singer, composer, bandleader

 Letta Mbulu – South African singer and composer

 Decca Mpudi -  Congolese bass player with Bana OK formerly known as T.P. OK Jazz

 Louis Moholo – South African drummer, composer, bandleader and occasional vocalist. The only surviving member of the Blue Notes

 McCoy Mrubata – Saxophonist, flautist, composer, band leader from Cape Town

 Bheki Mseleku – Pianist, composer, occasional saxophonist and vocalist from Durban

 Papa Noel – guitarist, composer and occasional vocalist from DRC. Formerly a member of both African Jazz and T.P. OK Jazz

 Peter Nthwane – trumpeter, vocalist, composer and band leader from Lesotho

 OK International – Congolese big band based in France and led by ex OK Jazz guitarist and composer Thierry Mantuika

 Rail Band big band from Mali led by guitarist Djelimadi Toukara

 Ndombe Opetum – Congolese singer/composer with Bana OK who worked with Franco and Tabu Ley Rochereau.

 Chief Stephen Osadebe – Nigerian highlife guitarist, vocalist, bandleader and composer

 Tabu Ley Rochereau – veteran Congolese vocalist, composer, band leader. Formerly a member of African Jazz

 Dr Phillip Tabane – South African Guitarist, vocalist, flautist, composer and leader of Malombo

 Mac Tontoh – Ghanaian trumpeter, composer and band leader formerly a member of Osibisa

 Caiphus Semenya – composer, singer, arranger bandleader from South Africa . Married to Letta Mbulu

 Lutumba Simaro – Congolese composer, rhythm guitarist and leader of  Bana OK (formerly T.P. OK Jazz.)

 Olivier Tshmanga – Congolese lead guitarist with Bana OK

 What is distinctive about African jazz?

 Generally, African jazz is much more closely related to African folk/classical music than African American jazz. In particular the geographical diversity in African jazz reflects the enormous range of African folk/classical styles which in turn reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of a continent which is more than three tim es the size of the United States . Similarly, in vocal music there is enormous diversity in the language used reflecting the linguistic diversity of the continent.

          The harsh economic realities of urban life in Sub Saharan Africa mean that African jazz tends to be populist and is generally geared to performance in dance venues where alcohol is served. Africa ’s economics are also evident in the fact that generally only the very largest cities, such as Kinshasa , Lagos , Johannesburg and Cape Town , have a big enough market to support many African jazz musicians. Other ways in which economics have influenced African jazz include the following:

·      The relative smallness of the market has meant that African jazz musicians have often had virtually no chance of being signed by major record labels. Promotion of their work outside Africa has been correspondingly limited;

·      Recording techniques and the equipment used have tended to reflect a low budget approach;

·      The choice of instruments played by African jazz musicians has often reflected what was available rather than the musicians personal preference;

·      Cheaper instruments have predominated eg guitar;

·      The relative cheapness of labour meant that big bands were relatively common, especially in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. Typically such a band, especially if playing style jazz Congolais or a related style would feature far more musicians than instruments with a wide array of vocalists and instrumentalists who could effectively work shifts enabling the band to perform in bars and clubs non stop for many hours and get the maximum value from the valuable instruments. At any one tim e the personnel in performance would usually include one or more front line vocalists, several background singers, three or more guitarists, an electric bassist, kit drummer, percussionist and a horn section consisting of several trumpet and sax players.

  Africa ’s climate has had a major influence on African jazz in that the use of piano is impractical across much of the continent because heat, humidity and dust have made it extremely difficult to maintain the instrument and keep it in tune. An exception to this has been in South Africa where the piano and its use in jazz is relatively common. In contemporary African jazz the use of electric keyboards is much more frequent than acoustic piano.

   The geography of Africa has  influenced the music in that the vast size of the continent combined with the lack of natural harbours and relatively poor infrastructure has been a factor in restricting communication between African jazz musicians. Frequently African jazz musicians, even today, have very little idea what is happening in jazz outside their own country or region.

How is African jazz related to African American jazz?

 The relationship is threefold:

 1. Common historical roots – reflected in shared practices and principles i.e. African elements in African American jazz which came through the slave trade and which continued in Africa such as:

·      Call and response patterns;

·       The use of blue notes;

·      A liking for impure sounds such as distortion;

·      pulse like beat i.e. more akin to a human pulse than metronomic;

·      Rhythmic complexity: both African and African American jazz could be caricatured as forms of music in which the primary interest lies in where notes are place in relation to the beat; as opposed to Western forms of music in which the primary interest lies in where notes are placed in relation to each other.

 2. The influence of African American jazz on African jazz.

 African jazz has been influenced enormously by African American jazz via:

·      Recordings marketed and/or broadcast in Africa . As a general rule these have tended to be popular recordings on major record labels by globally well known artists such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, etc. As elsewhere around the globe, jazz recordings were listened to most in the first half of the twentieth century. Bop and post bop recordings remain relatively unknown outside Africa ’s biggest cities and where this music is known, it is very much a minority interest. However African jazz musicians, especially horn players are generally familiar with the sound of Charlie Parker, John Coltane, etc.  for example Kippie Moeketsi was heavily influenced by Parker and Winston Mankunku and Lagbagja owe part of their sound to Coltrane;

·      Tours and live performances: the most influential of which were unquestionably Louis Armstrong’s tours of Africa in the late 1950s and early 1960’s;

·      African musicians travelling to America and Europe such as Fela Kuti to Britain in the mid 1960s and to the US in the late ‘60’s.

 3.  To a lesser extent African American jazz has been influenced by African jazz through the same mechanisms i.e. recordings, live performances and musicians visiting Africa . As a general rule, African jazz recordings are much less well known outside their own continent than African American jazz recordings are. However for many non African musicians that play jazz, Africa is considered a place of enormous importance because of the historical origins of jazz and the African Diaspora. For many African American jazz musicians, a journey to Africa is therefore regarded as a kind of pilgrimage. Another notable way in which Africa has influenced, or at least been exposed to the USA and Europe has been through the political exile of musicians such as Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Letta Mbulu/ Caiphus Semenya and the Blue Notes and their associates (Chris McGregor, Dudu Pukwana, Johnny Dyani, Mongezi Feza, Louis Moholo, Harry Miller, etc.) Often the influence of these musicians outside Africa has been as much political and ideological as well as musical. 

What other styles of music have influenced African jazz?

To a greater or lesser extent every form of music from the African Diaspora has had an influence on African jazz. The biggest influence has come from Cuba in the form of recordings made in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s and subsequently marketed very successfully in Sub Saharan Africa as the GV series of 78 records. Recordings by artist such as the Trio Matomoros and Sexteto Habanero in the GV series had an incalculable influence on the early development of style jazz Congolais and numerous related African jazz styles. Modern Latin American styles such as salsa continue to be popular especially in Francophone and Lusophone Africa. Brazilian music is popular and influential too throughout Lusophone Africa too. Another form of music which has had an enormous influence is gospel and church music in general. For the most part this influence has occurred through musicians attending church and participating in the music. Examples of major musicians influenced by or trained in church would include Tabu Ley Rochereau, Manu Dibango and Abdullah Ibrahim.

                  Gypsy Jazz had an indirect but important influence on the early development of style jazz Congolais through a Belgian guitarist Bill Alexandre who had played in Europe with Django Reinhardt and later introduced the first electric guitar to Kinshasa in mid 50’s.

          British danceband music (essentially a watered down version of American big band swing) had an influence on the development of dance band highlife in Anglophone West Africa in the 1930’s and 40s.

          Soul and funk, especially the music of James Brown, was enormously popular in East, West ands Southern Africa at the end of the 1960’s and early1970’s. From the mid 70’s on, reggae became popular in the same areas and the majority of African jazz musicians are able to play reggae and funk to some extent.

                  On the other hand blues and rock have had relatively little direct influence on African jazz. A notable exception is the veteran South African singer Tandie Klaasen who is arguably the Africa ’s greatest blues artist.

                  Today elements of hip hop, house and R n B can be found in African jazz. Often these are refracted through local popular styles. For example in the late 1990s South African kwaito (the local version of hip hop) spawned kwai jazz which is a crossover between kwaito and township jazz. Prominent kwai jazz exponents have included pianists Don Laka and the late Moses Taiwa Molelekwa. Similarly in the first decade of the new millennium house afrika craze in South Africa has exponents who mix local house with township jazz such as the Brothers of Peace (Dope and Oskido), Revolution, Bujo Mojo, Jazzy D and Black Coffee.

         Contemporary African American popular influence is also evident in current Nigerian afrobeat and afrobeat derived styles as evidenced in the music of artists like Femi Kuti, Lagbaja and Tony Tetuiila. Such influences are also evident in prominent older jazz artists such as Manu Dibango, Mac Tontoh, Tabu Ley Rochereau and Hugh Masekela, but in their case the influence tends to be limited to a small proportion of their recent work.

         Elements of R n B can be found in the work of younger artists like Judith Sephuma ( South Africa ) and Karma Pa ( Congo ).

                  Apart form the widespread influence of style jazz Congolais across Sub Saharan Africa and of township jazz on the Southern African region the influence of African jazz musicians on each other outside their own countries has been relatively small. Notable exceptions to this are two major musicians, Hugh Masekela and Manu Dibango, both of whom have worked in many different parts of Africa, are familiar with all the major styles of African jazz,  have been influenced by them and have in turn influenced other musicians.     

© Ben Robertson,  2009