Album of the year
Style Jazz Congolais
release of the year
Township Jazz
release of the year
Afrobeat
release of the year Newcomers of the year Reissue
of the year
Artists
of the year
Guitarists
Saxophonists
Trumpet
and Flugelhorn
Horn Sections
Piano
and Keyboards
Bass
Drums
Percussion
Vibes
Vocalists Male
Vocalists Female
Vocal
duets and multi
voice groups
Big Bands
Small Bands
Arrangers
Composers
Electronica
Miscellaneous
instruments
African Jazz Party Album
Some
memorable brief
appearances
DVD
documentaries
Some
recent books
Quote
of the year
Deaths
Live
at the Market Theatre Johannesburg
- Philip
Tabane & Malombo -Malombo, featuring South Africa's most important guitarist
and the Malombo drums, will surely achieve long over due global recognition with
their first live disc since "Castle Lager Jazz Festival 1964." This great footage
proves once more that Tabane is one of the most s gifted and original performers
to have emerged in the 1960s regardless of genre and that Malombo are as good as
ever. (DVD also available as CD, South Africa)
Style
Jazz Congolais release of the year
Chante Tabu Ley - Koffi Olomide - Koiffi is Africa's Prince of Pop and he isn't usually associated with jazz at all. Nor is he much noted for his modesty, but in this extraordinary live release he sings 40 Style Jazz standards mostly composed by and in honour of Tabu Ley Rochereau, who along with Manu Dibango, is one of the few surviving alumni of the seminal band African Jazz. This act of homage to a living African artist is unprecedented and a stroke of genius on Koffi's part because his profound love for this great music shines through every glorious note. A beautiful gesture and a truly beautiful release. (DVD/CD set, (DR Congo)
Township
jazz release of he year
Live
in Jo'burg nineteen ninety nine - Moses Taiwa Molelekwa - previously
unreleased club date recording on CD from the last and greatest phase of Molelekwa's
short career featuring his best band with his protégé, the late Moses Khumalo,
on sax and several previously unheard compositions. A must have for anyone who
already know his work and an ideal place to start for those not yet
familiar with this supremely gifted pianist/composer/bandleader who was universally regarded by his compatriots as the finest musician of the
post apartheid generation. (South Africa)
Sharp-sharp! and Paradise - Lágbájá! - two CDs released simultaneously by Fela's musical heir. Not quite as strong or innovative as his last release "Africano" but infinitely better than anything else in the field. Unlike everyone else Lágbájá! doesn't try to revive or emulate sounds from the past: Rather his mission is to breath new life and radical reform into the genre. This is why Nigerians love this music so much and also explains why the revival of trad afrobeat doesn't feature much in the contemporary music scene in West Africa. Lágbájá! challenges us and deconstructs preconceived ideas in exactly the way Fela did. Highly recommended. (Nigeria)
Newcomer of the year
Brian Thusi – Trumpeter, multi instrumentalist, singer, composer, arranger (South Africa)
Recommended newcomers
Chechamba - Veteran pianist, guitarist vocalist, composer (Malawi)
Fundile Mdinge – Pianist, vocalist, composer (South Africa)
Ivan
Muzuze – Saxophonist
composer
(Mozambique)
C'est
La F
Release of the year
Philip Tabane – featured on the DVD Live at the Market Theatre Johannesburg by Philip Tabane & Malombo (also available as CD, South Africa)
Recommended releases
Jonathan
Butler –
So Strong (South Africa)
Chechemba – Chechemba's Piano & Guitar Sounds (Malawi)
Lionel
Loueke –
featured on the CD Oyo by Angelique Kidjo (Benin)
Inu
Mimo
– Sing
Ayinde Bakare (Nigeria)
Selaelo
Selota –
Lapeng Laka (South Africa)
Release of the year
Bhudaza – Likhomo
(Lesotho)
Recommended releases
Mamadou
Barry –
Niyo (Guinea)
Moses
Khunalo
– featured on the CD Live in
Jo'berg Nineteen Ninety Nine by Moses Taiwa Molelekwa (previously
unreleased posthumous CD, South Africa)
Lágbájá!
- Paradise (Nigeria)
Lágbájá!
- Sharp-sharp!
(Nigeria)
Ivan
Mazuze
–
Maganda
(Mozambique)
Dudu
Pukwana – featured on the CD
Night Time is the Right Time - 60s' Soho Sounds (previously
unreleased posthumous CD, South Africa)
Reissues
Bhudazza - Hitpac 5 (Lesotho)
Moses Khumalo – The Best of Moses Khumalo (South
Africa)
Release of the year
Hugh Masekela – Jabulani (South Africa)
Recommended releases
Brian
Thusi –
Nomakunjalo (South Africa)
Bola
Johnson - Man No Die (Nigeria)
Victor
Olaiya - featured on Victor
Olaiya's All Stars International (Nigeria)
Recommended release
Africa
70's horn section –
featured on the DVD Fela Live in Berlin (1978) packaged with the double CD
set Fela Kuti Anthology 2 (previously
unreleased footage, Nigeria)
Reissues
Afrisa's
horn section –
featured on
the double CD set Voice of Lightness, Vol. 2 by Tabu Ley Rochereau (DR Congo)
Bana
OK's horn section –
featured on the DVD C'est la fęte by Lutumba Simaro & Sam Mangwana( DR
Congo)
Release of the year
Moses Taiwa Molelekwa
–
Live in Jo'berg Nineteen Ninety Nine
(previously
unreleased posthumous CD, South
Africa)
Recommended releases
Chechemba – Chechemba's Piano & Guitar Sounds (Malawi)
Duro Ikujenyo – featured on the CD Ase by Duro Ikujenyo and Age of Aquarious (Nigeria)
Don Laka – Poison (South
Africa)
Fundile
Mdingile – Borrowed Gift
(South Africa)
Reissues
Mulatu
Astatke
– New York-Addis-London The History of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975 (Ethiopia)
Moses Taiwa Molelekwa
- African Jazz Classics (South Africa)
Recommended releases
Richard Bona – Seven Shades
of Blue (Cameroun)
Johnny Dyani and Harry Miller– featured on the CD Curiosities 1972 by Command All Stars ((previously unreleased posthumous CD, South Africa)
Makabi Flavien - featured on the CD/DVD set La Sirčne d'Eau Douce by Feya Tess (DR Congo)
Tammy - Just Jazz (South
Africa)
Reissues
Makabi Flavien – featured on the DVD C'est la fęte by Lutumba Simaro & Sam Mangwana( DR Congo)
Harry Miller - Full Steam Ahead (South
Africa)
Release of the year
Tony Allen - featured on the DVD Fela Live in Berlin (1978) packaged with the double CD
set Fela Kuti Anthology 2 (previously
unreleased footage, Nigeria)
Recommended releases
Tony Allen –
featured on the CD Inspiration Information by Jimi Tenor/Tony Allen (previously
unreleased footage, Niogeria)
Manu Katché – Third Round (Cameroun)
Louis Moholo – Moholo - featured on the CD An open letter to my wife Mpumi by Louis Moholo – Moholo Unit ( South Africa)
Sello Montwedi - featured on the CD Live in Jo'berg Nineteen Ninety Nine by Moses Taiwa Molelekwa (previously unreleased posthumous CD, South Africa)
Release of the year
Tabang Tabane – featured on the DVD Live at the Market Theatre Johannesburg by Philip Tabane & Malombo (also available on CD, South Africa)
Recommended release
Tlale Makhene – - featured on the CD Live in Jo'berg Nineteen Ninety Nine by Moses Taiwa Molelekwa (previously unreleased posthumous CD, South Africa)
Reissue
Armando – featured on the CD/DVD set La Sirčne d'Eau Douce by Feya Tess (DR Congo)
Recommended releases
Manu
Dibango -
King Makossa (previously unreleased archivw concert footage on DVD, Cameroon)
Various
Artists – Shangaan
Electro: New Wave Dance Music from South Africa
(South Africa)
Release of the year
Koffi Olomide – Chante Tabu Ley (DVD/CD set, DR Congo)
Recommended releases
Bholoja –
Swazi
Soul (Swaziland)
Salif Keita – (La Différence (Mali)
Fela
Kuti –
featured on the DVD Fela Live in Berlin (1978) packaged with the double CD
set Fela Kuti Anthology 2 (previously
unreleased footage, Nigeria)
Lágbájá!
- Paradise (Nigeria)
Lágbájá!
- Sharp-sharp!
(Nigeria)
Fundile
Mdingile – Borrowed Gift
(South Africa)
Reissues
Josky Kimabukata - featured on the DVD C'est la fęte by Lutumba Simaro & Sam Mangwana( DR Congo)
Sam
Mangwana –
featured
on the DVD Document Inédit
by Sam Mangwana & Mbilia Bel (DR Congo)
Tabu Ley Rochereau – Voice of Lightness, Vol. 2 (2 CD set, DR Congo)
Release of the year
Feya
Tess –
La Sirčne d'Eau Douce
(CD/DVD set, DR Congo)
Recommended releases
Simphiwe
Dana – Kultre
Noir (South Africa)
Angelique
Kidjo - Oyo
(Benin)
sDorothy
Masuka - Live at the Market
Theatre (DVD also available as CD, Zimbabwe)
Tutu
Puoane
- featured on the CD
Mama Africa by Brussels Jazz Orchestra with Tutu Puoane (South Africa)
Reissues
Mbilia
Bel –
featured
on the DVD Document Inédit
by Sam Mangwana & M'bilia Bel (DR Congo)
Mbilia
Bel –
featured
on the DVD XIV Clips et Play back de Lčgend
by Tabu Ley & M'bilia Bel (DR Congo)
Miriam Makeba – Mama Afrika 1932 - 2008 (2 CD set, South Africa)
Vocal
duets and multi voice groups
Recommended release
Hugh
Masekela – Jabulani (South
Africa)
Reissue
Bana OK
-
featured on the DVD C'est la fęte by Lutumba Simaro & Sam Mangwana( DR
Congo)
Release of the year
Africa 70 – featured on the DVD Fela Live in Berlin (1978) packaged with the double CD set Fela Kuti Anthology 2 (previously unreleased footage, Nigeria
Recommended releases
Bana OK
-
featured on the DVD Hommage ŕ Franco 20 ans apres sa mort...(DR
Congo)
Brussels Jazz Orchestra with Tutu Puoane - Mama Africa (Belgium/South Africa)
The Budos Band - III (USA/Afrobeat)
Abdullah
Ibrahim – Bombella
(South
Africa)
Femi
Kuti
- Africa for (Africa
(Nigeria)
Lágbájá!
- Paradise (Nigeria)
Lágbájá!
- Sharp-sharp!
(Nigeria)
London
Afrobeat Collective
- L.A.C.
(UK/Nigeria)
Nomo - Invisible Cities (USA/Afrobeat)
Reissues
Bana OK
-
featured on the DVD C'est la fęte by Lutumba Simaro & Sam Mangwana( DR
Congo)
Various
Artists – Afro-beat
Airways West African Shockwaves Ghana & Togo 1972 to 1978 (Ghana/
Togo)
Various
Artists – Nigeria
Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive Sound in 1970's Nigeria (Nigeria)
Various
Artists – Zanzibara
5 Hot in Dar Sound of Tanzania 1978 - 1983 (Tanzania)
Release of the year
Philip Tabane & Malommbo– Live at the Market Theatre Johannesburg (DVD also available on CD, South Africa)
Recommended releases
Afrigo
Band
– Best
of Adrigo Band (DVD,
Uganda)
Osibisa - Osee Yee
(Ghana)
Reissue
Hedzoleh
Soundz
- Hedzoleh Soundz
(Ghana)
Rikki
Ilong & Mosi-O-Tunya
- Dark Sunrise (2
CD set, Zambia)
Star
Number One de Dakar
- Belle Epoque (2
CD set, Senegal)
Sweet
Talks
- The Kussum Beat
(Ghana)
Various Artists -Next Stop Soweto Vol. 3: Giants, Ministers and Makers: Jazz in South Africa 1963 - 1978 (2 CD set, South Africa)
Various
Artists
- The World is Shaking
Cubanisimo from the Congo 1954-5 (DR Congo)
Recommended releases
Lokua
Kanza - Nkolo (DR Congo)
Pops Mohamed – featured on the
CD Society Vibes -fast4WD>> by Pops Mohamed and Friends
(South Africa)
Recommended releases
Lágbájá!
- Paradise (Nigeria)
Lágbájá!
- Sharp-sharp!
(Nigeria)
Hugh
Masekela – vocal
arrangements on Jabulani (South
Africa)
Jordan McLean
– featured
on the CD Fela! Original Broadway Cast Recording (USA/Afrobeat)
Reissue
Le Poęte Lutumba Simaro - featured on
the DVD C'est la fęte by Lutumba Simaro & Sam Mangwana( DR Congo)
Release of the year
Tabu Ley Rochereau– featured on the DVD/CD set Chante Tabu Ley by Koffi Olomide (DR Congo)
Recommended releases
Fela
Kuti -
featured on the DVD Fela Live in Berlin (1978) packaged with the double CD
set Fela Kuti Anthology 2 (previously
unreleased footage, Nigeria)
Lágbájá!
- Paradise (Nigeria)
Lágbájá!
- Sharp-sharp!
(Nigeria)
Dorothy Masuka - Live at the Market
Theatre (DVD also available as CD, Zimbabwe)
Moses Taiwa Molelekwa – Live in Jo'berg Nineteen Ninety Nine (previously unreleased posthumous CD, South Africa)
Reissue
Tabu
Ley Rochereau –
Voice of Lightness, Vol. 2
(2 CD set, DR Congo)
Some Recommendations
Black Coffee – Have Another
OIne
(South Africa)
Obrafour – Pae Mu Ka
(Ghana)
Revolution – Tribal Journey
(South Africa)
Chromatic harmonica
Adam
Glasser – Free at First
(South Africa)
Violin
Tshepo
Mngoma – People &
Places (Swaziland)
African Jazz Party album of
the year: C'est la fęte by Lutumba Simaro & Sam
Mangwana (DVD, DR
Congo)
Some
memorable brief appearances
Release of the year
Mbilia
Bel - featured on the
track Nairobi on the DVD/CD set Vivement Simaro by Lutumba Simaro (DR Congo)
Recommended releases
Richard
Bona - featured on the
track Wishes on the CD Mwaliko by Lionel Loueke (Cameroun)
Verckys
Kimuangana –
featured on the CD Notre Pčre Rumba by Papa Wemba (DR Congo)
Femi
Kuti - featured on the
Naija Remix of We Are Africans by JJC (Nigeria)
Hugh
Masekela - featured on the
track Ingoma on the CD Ibokwe by Thandiswa (South Africa)
Busi
Mhlongo - featured on the
remix of Izizwe by Black Coffee on he CD Have Another One (South Africa
Tabu
Ley
Rochereau
- featured on the
track Adios Thethe the DVD/CD set Vivement Simaro by Lutumba Simaro (DR Congo)
Oumou
Sangare and
Konono No 1
- featuredon the track Imagine on the CD The Imagine Project by Herbie
Hancock (Mai and DR Congo)
Oliver
Tshimanga –
featured on the CD Notre Pčre Rumba by Papa Wemba (DR Congo)
Oliver
Tshimanga –
featured on the 2 CD + DVD set Apres Toi by Roi Soleil Wanga Guy Vambrawn (DR Congo)
Reissues
Fela Ransome Kuti & his Africa 70 – featured on the track Who Are You? in a version not previously available on CD, on Nigeria Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive sSound in 1970's Nigeria by Various Artists (Nigeria)
Kippie Moeketsi – featured on the track Orlado, by Dennis Mpale not previously available on CD, on the double disc set Next Stop Soweto Vol. 3: Giants, Ministers and Makers: Jazz in South Africa 1963 - 1978 by Various Artists (South Africa)
Dr
Nico
– featured on
the track Ohambe, not previously available on CD, on the double disc set Voice of Lightness, Vol. 2
by Tabu Ley Rochereau (DR Congo)
A
Slice of Fela - packaged with Box
Set Vol 3 by Fela Kuti (8 CD plus DVD set, Nigeria) and with The Complete
Recordings (26 CD set plus DVD, Nigeria)
Dernier Voeux de Madilu Systčme (DR Congo)
A Discography of Dr Nico – Alastair Johnston
Fela: Kalakuta Notes – John Collins
Highlife Music in West Africa – Sonny Oti
La Musique au Coeur de la Société Congolais – Dieudonné Katamu
The
Ikoyi Narratives: The Spiritualism and Political Philosophy
of Fela Kuti
– Majemite
Jaboro
Theory of African Music – Gerhard Kubrik (in two volumes)
Hugh
Masekela - "In the
townships, being unable to dance is a sign of dementia and total social
bankruptcy." from the sleeve notes to the CD Jabulani (South Africa)
Hotep
Idris Galeta – pianist,
composer, band leader (South Africa)
Robbie Jansen – saxophonist (South Africa)
Busi
Mhlongo –
singer, composer (South
Africa)
Ezra Ngcukana – saxophonist (South Africa)
In the twenty years I’ve been
following this music, there hasn’t been a better year than 2010.
Many
moons ago, in the first book I read about jazz, , the poet Philip Larkin mused
over the question of which part of Duke Ellington’s distinguished career was
the best. He concluded, rightly, that Ellington’s career consisted of one
Golden Age after another. Amid all the hype about the 1960s and 70s being a
Golden Age or Belle Epoque in African music I’m often reminded of Larkin. I
recall how he detested Ornette Coleman and especially John Coltrane. Larkin’s
belief that Modern was synonymous with bad in jazz was as wrong as his verdict
on Ellington was right. It’s easier to be accurate and fair about music that
was made a long time ago than it is with a crop of challenging new releases.
Apart from anything else Larkin probably suffered from indigestion. As jazz
correspondent for a major newspaper in the 1960’s, he simply failed to keep
pace with the the times. The tidal wave of new releases of African jazz in 2010
has felt overwhelming at times too
– but such was the quality of dishes on offer that one always longed for
another helping. As 2011 unfolds one can only ask “Please, sir, can I have
some more?”
2010 was a fabulous year for African
jazz not least because so many of the best releases were by women. Angelique
Kidjo’s “Ayo” features several tracks associated with the late Miriam
Makeba who was affectionately know throughout the world as “Mama Africa.”
There are guest appearances from the likes of aDianne Reeves and Roy
Hargrove but the hallmark of this fine release is the presence of guitarist/
arranger Lionel Loueke who like Kidjo hails from Benin. He had a busy year
appearing as Herbie Hancock’s guitarist live and on his “Imagine Project”
CD and putting together his second solo CD for Blue Note Records. But it’s the
album with Kidjo that stands out and begs the question- Who’s
the new Mama Africa?
My hunch is that an opinion poll of Sub Saharan Africans with an
inclination towards jazz would show that Mbilia Bel quietly assumed Makeba’s
crown a while back. She’s been
quiet in 2010 as far as I can tell, but readers who are interested are urged to
check out her performance of “Nairobi” on the recent DVD/CD set “Vivemont
Simaro.” This is the finest Bel on DVD yet – just listen, watch and enjoy
before you cast your vote.
Bel first rose to prominence with Tabu Ley Rochereau, arguably the
greatest living exponent of Style Jazz Congolais who also makes an appearance on
Simaro’s CD/DVD and who has sadly since suffered a stroke.
When Loueke and Kidjo were asked in an interview about musical
influences, Loueke put Tabu Ley Rochereau at the top of his list. This tells us
a great deal about both Loueke and Rochereau. At concerts, Herbie Hancok jokes
that Loueke is “an alien” because he plays in a style that is so original.
There’s an element of truth in this – Loueke is a genuine innovator – but
the Style Jazz Congolais influence is clear. For example Loueke’s first and
best solo CD “In a Trance” kicked off with a track that is reminiscent off Papa Noel’s
guitar style and his first Blue Note CD featured distinct
echoes of Franco’s style.
Of course ,Tabu Ley Rochereau isn’t a guitarist. The guitarist Loueke
was most influenced by is almost certainly the long term lead guitar player in
Ley’s group Afrisa: Dino Vangu.
When Mbilia Bel left Tabu Ley
Rochereau and Afrisa, he replaced her with Feya Tess. While 2010 may not have
produced anything new from Bel we do have the next best thing: a collaboration
between Feya Tess and Dino Vangu. Tess has always suffered by comparison with
Bel and has never achieved her degree of fame or popularity. But musically
she’s not far behind and her collaboration with Dino Vangu, “La Sirčne
d'Eau Douce,” is one of the best African Jazz releases of this exceptional
year.
Of course Bel, Kidjo, Tess wouldn’t stand a chance of winning a poll to
elect a new Mama Africa in Southern Africa. Who would win? Letta Mbulu maybe?
Sibongile Khumalo, Thandiswa, Siphokazi, Judith Sephuma, Sathima Bea Benjamin or
Simpiwe Dawe perhaps? How about the young star Tutu Puoane whose 2009 CD
“Quiet Now” deservedly won the last SAMA (South African Music Award) for
traditional jazz? Her 2010 effort was almost as good as the Kidjo and Feya Tess
releases and it wouldn’t be surprising f if she wins another SAMA with it.
Like Kidjo’s her CD “Mama Africa” offers homage to Makeba but more in a
spirit of paying her dues rather than in wishing to steal her crown.
Who would win the poll in such a crowded field? My money wouldn’t be on
any South African: it would be on Zimbabwe born veteran singer/songwriter
Dorothy Masuka. Happily Masuka was active in 2010 releasing her first DVD
“Live at the Market Theatre”
featuring guest appearances from Hugh Masekela, Caiphus Semenya, Sibongile
Khumalo, Thandiswa and Abigail /kubeka. She’s in fine form especially when you
consider that she’s 75 years old
with a recording career stretching back to the early 1950’s She was a major
star before Makeba and composed some of Makeba’s best known material. Now that
Makeba has gone it is surely fitting that in Southern Africa at least, se should
be crowned Queen of African Jazz. Apart from anything else she’s easily the
oldest major recording star currently still active in the Region.In African
society this can only mean one thing: RESPECT!
And lest we forget why Makeba occupied such a prominent position for so
long, 2010 saw the release of a fine two CD compilation “Mama
Afrika 1932 – 2008.”
Thankfully it’s been a great year
for guys in African Jazz too and again it’s notable that the most prominent
artists in the history of the music have been asserting their influence: Fela,
Franco, Kippie Moeketsi, Dr Nico, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Masekela, Molelekwa,
Osibaisa, Malombo all made their presence felt in 2010.
Bra Hugh Masekela for example gave us his strongest CD in years. “Jabulani,”
a jubilant rendition of wedding music from the townships is by far his best CD
since “Time.” It’s produced by Don Laka who has long been South Africa’s
go to man when someone wants a hit. Expect to hear “Jabulnai” at Southern
African nuptials for many years to come.
But surely if there’s a Papa Africa in this post Fela, post Franco era:
it’s the aforementioned Tabu Ley Rochereau. Koffi Olomide, Africa’s biggest
pop star certainly thinks so .In 2010 he released a truly beautiful 40 song CD/DVD
set “Chante Tabu Ley” in his honour. There’s also been the second
instalment in Stern’s superb Rochereau reissue series “Voice of
Lightness.”
But surpassing even these fine releases have been two live recordings
from Johannesburg: one by Philip Tabane and Malombo which is easily the best
African jazz release of 2010 another which is a posthumous release of a live
recording by Moses Taiwa Molelekwa.
New artists from Malawi, Mozambique, and South Africa have made their
mark too as have some of the younger established stars notably Bhudaza and Lágbájá!
In an otherwise Golden Year for
African jazz the news from East Africa has been less encouraging. In a case
which raised more questions than answers the supremely talented Kenyan
saxophonist/composer/singer Joseph Hello who was this site’s Newcomer of the
Decade in 2010 was arrested for supposed religious offences. It is very much
hoped that he’ll be recording again soon.
Robbie
Jansen, Busi Mhlongo, Hotep
Idris Galeta, Ezra Ngcukana R.I.P. Long live the internet
Inevitably there have been deaths in
2010 too, notably South Africans: singer Busi Mhlongo, saxophonists Robbie
Jansen, Ezra Ngcukana and pianist composer Hotep Idris Galeta whose last
release, 2009’s “Funkin for Obama” passed me by despite the inclusion of a
fine tribute to Moses Taiwa Molelekwa. It was an MP3 only release and it’s
somehow fitting that even at the end of his illustrious career Galeta was
breaking new ground. His innovation is the tip of a gleaming iceberg. The advent
of Youtube and MP3s are rapidly making African jazz more accessible than ever.
The same is true of CDs and DVDs. While stores that specialised in African music
and jazz close their premises at an
alarming rate; the new online retailers mean that African recordings in all
media are easier to obtain. The days of scouring the back streets of Yeoville (Jo’burg),
Matonge (Brussels) and Ugandan greengrocers (London’s East End) to find the
latest releases are drawing to a close. All one needs to track down the best in
African jazz now is a good source of information, such as this website aims to
provide, a broadband connection and a credit card.
Even dear old Wikipedia is finally starting to catch up. Perhaps as a
good encyclopaedia should, when it comes to jazz Wikipedia is a veritable
bastion of the establishment. At the beginning of 2010 the good folk at
Wikipedia, in a peculiarly perverse reinvention of Apartheid, defined African
Jazz as a form of music that only came from South Africa. By the end of the year
they had taken the bold step of expanding their definition to include one
musician from outside South Africa: Ethiopia’s Mulatu Astatke. Congratulations
are in order for Astatke. His step in challenging Wikpedia’s bizarre musical
apartheid is a crucial one and will surely prove the first of many. As the
decade progresses, Wikipedia’s definition of African jazz is likely to prove a
key barometer of the level of acceptance of the new thinking about Africa‘s
jazz. The next step, surely, would be to acknowledge that the seminal Congolese
band
African Jazz, who Wikipedia also acknowledge under this heading pioneered a
genre of music which the Cogolese and most sub Sharan Africans regard as a form
of jazz: Style Jazz Congolais. The greatest exponent of this style is the big
band OK Jazz aka Bana OK who’s DVD “C’est La Fęte!” was the best
reissue of the year.
A major trend in this new thinking
about Jazz is the unstoppable rise of Afrobeat. The stream of reissues and new
recordings has swollen to a flood with the advent of “Fela!” the musical
which is a hit on Broadway and in the West End. A Hollywood movie is on the way
too.
But what would Fela make of all this? My hunch is that he would be rather
restive. Fela didn’t believe in regurgitating old material. He didn’t play
his back catalogue in his own shows. That’s one of the reasons why he was such
a prolific composer. Fela’s music embodied the here and now – it embodied
life itself. He wouldn’t want us going to see Musicals about him, nor wish us
to be recreating his sound or imitating him. The problem with jazz festivals, a
fined of mine said, is that they’re full of musicians copying other musicians.
Fela never did that. He would want us to be listening to Mbilia Bel, Lágbájá!
Malombo and Le Poęte Lutumba Simaro. And he wouldn’t just want that. He’d
want us to pay through the nosefor to see them topp the bill at the world’s
most prestigious jazz and world music festivals. The
Black President didn’t want the world to pay homage to him. He wanted us to
pay homage to Africa.
He’d say much the same about Mama Africa. Gesturing at an array of
stunningly beautiful and musically gifted wives he’d chuckle at the notion of
singling out one woman and calling her Mama Africa. Mama Africa isn’t a
person, where jazz and the human race are concerned. She’s a living,
breathing, glorious continent
When is this situation going to end? He’d ask. How many more Kippie
Moeketsi’s, Blue Note’s, Molelekw’s, Fela’s, and Franco’s is it going
to take before the world wakes up to the fact that Africa and not the USA is the
hub of the jazz world? How long is it going to take Wikipedia to wake up to the
fact that the continent which produced the distinctive ingredients which went
into the creation of African American jazz has been producing music for
more than half a century which its billion citizens regard as jazz. Rather than
trying desperately and vainly to shoehorn this vast oeuvre into a coroner of the
music market preposterously labelled “World Music”, it’s time the jazz
establishment put African jazz firmly and permanently where it really belongs:
centre stage.
Fela would have laid the blame for all this at the foot of the
“Underground System” (US) which was the title and subject of his last
release and one of his masterpieces. In the title track Afrobeat was so speeded
up that it became almost impossible to dance to, suggesting obvious parallels
with what Be bop’s pioneers did to
the music of the swing era in the 1940s. Like theirs, Fela’s anger and
frustration with the state of the world were palpable. But looking at
Afric’a’s jazz scene, one can’t help but sense that in jazz at least an
unstoppable and permanent revolution is taking root. If so, 2010 wasn’t merely
a Golden Jubilee for many former African colonies: it was a Golden Year for
African jazz.
complied and © Ben Robertson, 2010 to 2011