Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts

May 12, 2012

The Brother Moves On


The broth-er moves on[bruhth-er or bruhth-ur] ( Archaic ) brethren; interjection noun


  • the ghost inside the magic, the stranglers of an innocent idea of bringing performance art to its knees through costume, music and storytelling
  • a playful site specific collaborative piece of performance art in the form of a band based in Johannesburg.
  • The name of this collective is derived from David Simons "the Wire" character Brother Mouzone, meaning "judicious" in Arabic, a transient assassin with that audacious yet sincere difference.
  • The Golden Wake live EP is the Brother Moves On’s debut recorded at the SABC as a funeral for the first brother to move on Mr Gold Wasegoli. The EP is due for digital release on the 21st of March 2012(Human Rights Day) and the DVD and physical formats are due for release on the 1st of May 2012(Workers Day)



A brother writes about wenu wetla

No two things can occupy the same space at the same time, at least not in the physical sense they can’t. So then as far as he was concerned no one in the world saw it as he did for no one could ever take his spot on that hill staring down, up and all the way around it. From this he further deduced that no one could listen to its playfulness as it moulds and shapes mysteries; like how exactly it is that the ocean paints the sky blue using the sun as its paint brush.

His ears would always be the instruments by which his soul plays with both celestial and terrestrial vibrations and no one could play the ear better than he did. Such was his being; the wilderness of his self, that his imagination and curiosity was a vast landscape of hidden secretes waiting to be unravelled. It would then only be a matter of time till he would come across the secrets of love.


On the palm of his hands he held it like a gem that glowed with an amber green. He played with it as though a child preoccupied with a star he had gazed at for two whole days, until on the third it fell to the earth only for the satisfaction of the child’s amusement. But soon the stone would be lost to him, and he would have to remember that his love resided in the distant spaces between the earth and his appreciations’ reach to far away galaxies. It would be at this level of wisdom and listening skill that he would move on to join the band of brothers who rested in a still, continuous, static spot of nothing but motion. He found home in their sounds and unclothed himself with the body paint they tossed to their audience. Before they came across him they had already travelled across faraway backdrops of spiritual hills – shaped by winds that whistled through its trees and they played to souls that danced around fires in trans like states. When finally they reached his ears they had to knock down the gate that opened to this dense forest, shaded by treetops that are crowned with multiple sunsets.
The forest bed however had not experienced light for quite some time and so the bandits would be its sun, angled at the forest in a perfect 90-degree angle. They brought with them promises of dispelling witches, only to replace them with their own enchanting incantations of spells that had their magic in being void of magic. Their light was of the violent sort; it dislodged his spirit from its umbilical cord that lynched it to the limitations of the physical. Such was the violence of these dudes, that under the magic charm of their sounds and motions – when his eyes closed they opened to a revolution but when he opened them they closed to a barren land of conventions and how to guides.
As they passed through him – the vast forest – he followed the lingering scent of their sounds and was led to a clearing where in the middle of the ruffled leaves stood an upright door. He went through the door and walked into a rustic old room, walled with unmatched stones and lit by a wild fire fuelled only by its desire to burn. At the centre of the room set around a table himself and an air he could only describe as God, speaking in a dialect familiar but far to ancient for him to decipher, although of course he knew exactly what conversation was being held. Around the table stood the band of brothers who rested in a still, continuous, static spot of nothing but motion. Guitars on their shoulders, drumsticks in their hands and mic’s romantically close to a kiss, they played a silent melody to the rhythm of the cosmic conversation that was under way in front of them. The lead singer noticed him standing at the door and read the amazement on his face, the singers face turned to a child like state as with the enthusiasm of one he exclaimed; “I know right!!!!!!!!”. 
16 minutes later he opened his eyes to a barren land of conventions and how to guides.

by Sifuna IZwe-Ngenkani Mdlalose.

site/listen/free dl/thanks/

the golden wake 


May 31, 2011

Zim Ngqwana - Zimology : life through music










“The reason I’m interested in music of different cultures is the spiritual element. I like to deal in world music, all music and cultures. I don’t want to confine myself to South Africa.
“I sit at the piano and write a piece. For months I live with the stuff I am writing and I develop a certain relationship with the music. When I hand it over to somebody else to play, I become very sad when they play just the notes and leave out the energy and understanding of the piece. Too many of the young generation know nothing about intensity and compassion.
“It’s all in the interpretation. Drummers must stop just bashing the kit with sticks, they must learn to stroke the drum with brushes for a change. Don’t just play the music, understand it. You have to lock into the music and know the purpose of playing it.”
”Dancers give me more energy than musicians. I learned a lot, I always wanted to SEE the music as opposed to just hearing it.”
Zim has managed to obtain something all artists aim for, an individual voice. His music can be deep and beautiful, then suddenly turn, becoming aggressive and assertive.Tough and tender, inspirational and spiritual, all are adjectives that describe his work, and it’s quality is augmented by the emotional tie to his deep-seated roots.
His musical chemistry will add yet another formula to the laboratory of World Music.
As a parting shot he says “We are reaching a very crucial state in this country whereby people won’t be able to hide behind politics singing ’Viva Mandela’ in the songs. Now is the time for pure art.”
Zim went on to become a superb player and a composer of note, as well as an educator. He is akin to a Charles Mingus in his writing, which is best defined as Afro avant-garde and musically tells the tales of migrant workers in South Africa.

by Don Albert


A blend of Xhosa folk music and township jazz, Zimology celebrates the rich heritage of South African music while paying homage to an earlier generation of the country’s jazz masters. And while he indicated that he had listened to a wide variety of jazz albums with his brother, he acknowledged John Coltrane as his definitive influence after hearing the US saxophonist’s A Love Supreme.
“I was immediately drawn by the power of his music and since then I have always wanted to perform,” he said. “To me Coltrane sounds more African than many local jazz artists.”

1998
Zimology

note that
there is always a pass for the high pass:
thegoodone



more Zim on freedomblues



February 11, 2011

African Space Program





Dollar Brand-African Space Program

Dollar Brand -piano
Sonny Fortune, Carlos Ward -alto saxophone, flute 
 Roland Alexander -tenor saxophone, harmonica
John Stubblefield-tenor saxophone
 Hamiet Bluiett-baritone saxophone
Cecil Bridgewater, Enrico Rava, Charles Sullivan-trumpet
Kiani Zawadi-trombone
Cecil McBee-bass
Roy Brooks-percussion


Studio WARP, New York, New York on November 7 , 1973


the first  Space Shuttle 



January 13, 2011

Chris McGregor - Piano Song Vol.1

Here's the last of the 3 Chris McGregor solo piano projects
the other two can be found here

A Burning Bush/Mbizo's Baby21:23
B1 Kwa Tebugo13:17
B2 Sonia8:22
Musica Records 1977

solo piano





October 19, 2010

Chris McGregor - Piano Song & In his Good Time



I’m just a FREE musician and I like every kind of music.


****

I have this strong imaginative reference to African village music,
and the thing I know about that music is that it has a strong centre.
It builds up, a lot of people do things together that they know.


CMcG




****

Chris McGregor is perhaps best-known for his foundation and leadership of The Blue Notes, the South African sextet which included  Dudu Pukwana, Nikele Moyake, Louis Moholo, Johnny Dyani and Mongezi Feza. Equally as notable was McGregor's creation of the Brotherhood of Breath in 1969, which branched out from his work as The Blue Notes. He released three albums of solo piano performances,we'll have the two of them here today, and continued to be a major force in the music after leaving England to live in the French countryside.He died in May 1990.

some links of interest :



The Blue Notes wiki


The Brotherhood of Breath wiki


PerfectSoundForever the online magazine has a tribute to Chris McGregor


the most complete site on the Blue Notes and their offshoots 
is the work of love of Mike Fowler 
highly recommended!




listen  in this order if possible







thanks to the extinct  Church Number Nine blog