THE TREAT OF MY LIFE!...

... Had it yesterday, without even having anticipated it at the Africa Stage of the ongoing (it’s still going on today) BT River of Music Festival.

How about getting to the most astonishing venue by the Thames, The London Pleasure Gardens, at the sound, in the distance, of Angelique Kidjo’s powerful voice and dance and when you’re approaching the stage she introduces an absolute idol of yours: Hugh Masekela!...

And you can't believe your eyes or ears… and you’re just so grateful and amazed by the surprise (…true – I went there, by invitation, without even knowing who was going to be there…) that all you can think is: now I know that I will not die without having seen Bra Masekela live as I feared here . And this is so in spite of later being sadly made aware that I had actually missed his own show earlier in the day...

Then you get, among other greats, King Sunny Ade and his court and a mega show by Babaa Maal and all the African Family!...

And in between it all the amazing colourful, multinational, all-age audience, with the local African 'royalty' mingling with everybody (e.g. Baroness Amos just passed by me at some point)… and the food stalls with African, Caribean, Asian and other origins’ specialties!...

And best of all: it wasn’t raining, it was the first day for several weeks in a row that it didn’t rain!…

It was all part of this call:

“Join us on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July for a once-in a lifetime weekend festival of music welcoming you to London the weekend before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. A spectacular global summit of rhythm and song, the two-day free event will act as a curtain-raiser for the sporting celebrations to follow and will feature artists representing all Olympic and Paralympic nations, from the largest nations to the tiniest ocean island speck. Arguably the most ambitious musical event ever staged in the capital, BT River of Music will present the city's residents and visitors with a unique opportunity to sample a kaleidoscope of the world's most vibrant contemporary music. Established, award-winning and emerging artists from every part of the globe will be performing on stages at six iconic sites along the length of the River Thames each hosting music from a different continent. Flowing down the river from West to East…”

... Had it yesterday, without even having anticipated it at the Africa Stage of the ongoing (it’s still going on today) BT River of Music Festival.

How about getting to the most astonishing venue by the Thames, The London Pleasure Gardens, at the sound, in the distance, of Angelique Kidjo’s powerful voice and dance and when you’re approaching the stage she introduces an absolute idol of yours: Hugh Masekela!...

And you can't believe your eyes or ears… and you’re just so grateful and amazed by the surprise (…true – I went there, by invitation, without even knowing who was going to be there…) that all you can think is: now I know that I will not die without having seen Bra Masekela live as I feared here . And this is so in spite of later being sadly made aware that I had actually missed his own show earlier in the day...

Then you get, among other greats, King Sunny Ade and his court and a mega show by Babaa Maal and all the African Family!...

And in between it all the amazing colourful, multinational, all-age audience, with the local African 'royalty' mingling with everybody (e.g. Baroness Amos just passed by me at some point)… and the food stalls with African, Caribean, Asian and other origins’ specialties!...

And best of all: it wasn’t raining, it was the first day for several weeks in a row that it didn’t rain!…

It was all part of this call:

“Join us on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July for a once-in a lifetime weekend festival of music welcoming you to London the weekend before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. A spectacular global summit of rhythm and song, the two-day free event will act as a curtain-raiser for the sporting celebrations to follow and will feature artists representing all Olympic and Paralympic nations, from the largest nations to the tiniest ocean island speck. Arguably the most ambitious musical event ever staged in the capital, BT River of Music will present the city's residents and visitors with a unique opportunity to sample a kaleidoscope of the world's most vibrant contemporary music. Established, award-winning and emerging artists from every part of the globe will be performing on stages at six iconic sites along the length of the River Thames each hosting music from a different continent. Flowing down the river from West to East…”

Mandela International Day

We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.
- Nelson Mandela

The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. “Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.”
Individuals and organisations are free to participate in Mandela Day as they wish. We do however urge everyone to adhere to the ethical framework of “service to one’s fellow human”.


[More details here]

"Winnie Madikizela-Mandela did her field work in Johannesburg’s Alexandra Townships at Entokozweni Family Health and Welfare Centre under the watchful eye of my mother Polina, who was the head Social worker there. This exercise brought Winnie close to my family. In 1984 when she was banished to the remote town of Brandfort, my father Selema Thomas went to visit her against the wishes of the government of Apartheid. He paid for it later with the endless interrogations and raids on his house.

However, when Mrs. Mandela went on her routine visits to her husband who was at the Pollsmoor Prison, she told him about my father’s visits and what he had told her about my sister Barbara and I. On my 46th Birthday April 4th 1985, Nelson Mandela sent me a letter that was smuggled out of prison wishing me good luck with the recording projects and the School of Music we had started in Botswana. He conveyed warm wishes to my family and greetings to the Kalahari Band I was working with, plus many more good tidings.

I was intensely moved by the fact that a man who has been imprisoned for over twenty years could have so much passion and regard for the work that was being done by some musicians in a small town in Botswana. It brought tears to my eyes. His confidence about our imminent liberation was overwhelming. His dedication humbled me and the letter was most flattering.

This song came to me there and then and remains a classic forever, just like the man. We recorded it with Kalahari in 1986 in London as part of the album called “Tomorrow”. When Mandela was released in 1990, the song became a reality and was played as background music on many of his visits to the large cities of America during television broadcasts. It remains a favourite with American and European audiences."

Hugh Masekela



Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)

We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.
- Nelson Mandela

The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. “Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.”
Individuals and organisations are free to participate in Mandela Day as they wish. We do however urge everyone to adhere to the ethical framework of “service to one’s fellow human”.


[More details here]

"Winnie Madikizela-Mandela did her field work in Johannesburg’s Alexandra Townships at Entokozweni Family Health and Welfare Centre under the watchful eye of my mother Polina, who was the head Social worker there. This exercise brought Winnie close to my family. In 1984 when she was banished to the remote town of Brandfort, my father Selema Thomas went to visit her against the wishes of the government of Apartheid. He paid for it later with the endless interrogations and raids on his house.

However, when Mrs. Mandela went on her routine visits to her husband who was at the Pollsmoor Prison, she told him about my father’s visits and what he had told her about my sister Barbara and I. On my 46th Birthday April 4th 1985, Nelson Mandela sent me a letter that was smuggled out of prison wishing me good luck with the recording projects and the School of Music we had started in Botswana. He conveyed warm wishes to my family and greetings to the Kalahari Band I was working with, plus many more good tidings.

I was intensely moved by the fact that a man who has been imprisoned for over twenty years could have so much passion and regard for the work that was being done by some musicians in a small town in Botswana. It brought tears to my eyes. His confidence about our imminent liberation was overwhelming. His dedication humbled me and the letter was most flattering.

This song came to me there and then and remains a classic forever, just like the man. We recorded it with Kalahari in 1986 in London as part of the album called “Tomorrow”. When Mandela was released in 1990, the song became a reality and was played as background music on many of his visits to the large cities of America during television broadcasts. It remains a favourite with American and European audiences."

Hugh Masekela



Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)

FESPAM: Festival Panafricain de Musique

Le Festival Panafricain de Musique (FESPAM) est une grande manifestation culturelle et scientifique biennale qui vise essentiellement la promotion de la musique du continent africain et de sa diaspora dans sa triple dimension traditionnelle, moderne et religieuse.



“A indústria criativa sul-africana e a renascença das músicas bantu” é o tema de uma palestra dada pelo historiador Simão Souindoula, esta quinta-feira, no Palácio dos Congressos de Brazzaville.

Realizada no âmbito do VIII Festival Panafricano de Música (FESPAM), que termina amanhã, em Brazzaville, na República do Congo, vai servir para o historiador analisar a actual renascença da música africana, a partir da expansão do mercado discográfico nacional e a abrangência dos ritmos sul-africanos.

Para Simão Souindoula, o crescimento económico, industrial e cultural da África do Sul é um elemento chave na regeneração da música tradicional e moderna do continente e das línguas bantu. Esta nova dinâmica, argumenta, é completada por muitos músicos e promotores dos países membros da Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral (SADC) que têm realizado espectáculos regulares em palcos europeus e americanos.
“É a cultura e os valores africanos que são levados além fronteiras em cada uma destas actuações”, disse. O facto do mercado discográfico da África do Sul ser um dos mais produtivos e menos caros do continente surge como um ponto decisivo no actual renascimento da música africana, por oferecer custos de produção competitivos, apoio técnico de alto nível e uma qualidade de serviços bastante atractiva.

A oitava edição do FESPAM realiza-se este ano sob o lema “Compromissos artísticos e inovações estéticas para o Renascimento Africano”. “A intenção é chamar a atenção para a arte africana e o papel dos músicos no processo de regeneração. A ideia é, ainda, fazer uma homenagem à história do continente e contribuir efectivamente para o seu renascimento”, disse o ministro da Cultura e Artes do Congo, Jean Claude Gakosso. “É altura dos africanos olharem para o futuro através da salvaguarda do seu património cultural, que actualmente enfrenta os desafios da globalização”, acrescentou.



The organisers of the KORA All Africa Music Awards created a unique partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture in Congo (Brazzaville), and staged the Pan African Music Festival in Brazzaville during 2003 and 2005. Le Festival Panafricain de Musique or FESPAM is an important cultural event on the African continent for it belongs to the OAU-AFRICAN UNION and showcases musical artists from all parts of Africa. The Festival takes place every two years.
According to Mr. Ernest Coovi Adjovi, “This agreement is an important step along the KORA journey and recognises the contribution that KORA has made to music of African Origin. I am honoured that our expertise and strengths have been recognised through this unique agreement and we look forward to the impact that FESPAM will have in Africa this year.”


[More details here]


Related Post:

Hugh Masekela on African Music

Le Festival Panafricain de Musique (FESPAM) est une grande manifestation culturelle et scientifique biennale qui vise essentiellement la promotion de la musique du continent africain et de sa diaspora dans sa triple dimension traditionnelle, moderne et religieuse.



“A indústria criativa sul-africana e a renascença das músicas bantu” é o tema de uma palestra dada pelo historiador Simão Souindoula, esta quinta-feira, no Palácio dos Congressos de Brazzaville.

Realizada no âmbito do VIII Festival Panafricano de Música (FESPAM), que termina amanhã, em Brazzaville, na República do Congo, vai servir para o historiador analisar a actual renascença da música africana, a partir da expansão do mercado discográfico nacional e a abrangência dos ritmos sul-africanos.

Para Simão Souindoula, o crescimento económico, industrial e cultural da África do Sul é um elemento chave na regeneração da música tradicional e moderna do continente e das línguas bantu. Esta nova dinâmica, argumenta, é completada por muitos músicos e promotores dos países membros da Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África Austral (SADC) que têm realizado espectáculos regulares em palcos europeus e americanos.
“É a cultura e os valores africanos que são levados além fronteiras em cada uma destas actuações”, disse. O facto do mercado discográfico da África do Sul ser um dos mais produtivos e menos caros do continente surge como um ponto decisivo no actual renascimento da música africana, por oferecer custos de produção competitivos, apoio técnico de alto nível e uma qualidade de serviços bastante atractiva.

A oitava edição do FESPAM realiza-se este ano sob o lema “Compromissos artísticos e inovações estéticas para o Renascimento Africano”. “A intenção é chamar a atenção para a arte africana e o papel dos músicos no processo de regeneração. A ideia é, ainda, fazer uma homenagem à história do continente e contribuir efectivamente para o seu renascimento”, disse o ministro da Cultura e Artes do Congo, Jean Claude Gakosso. “É altura dos africanos olharem para o futuro através da salvaguarda do seu património cultural, que actualmente enfrenta os desafios da globalização”, acrescentou.



The organisers of the KORA All Africa Music Awards created a unique partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture in Congo (Brazzaville), and staged the Pan African Music Festival in Brazzaville during 2003 and 2005. Le Festival Panafricain de Musique or FESPAM is an important cultural event on the African continent for it belongs to the OAU-AFRICAN UNION and showcases musical artists from all parts of Africa. The Festival takes place every two years.
According to Mr. Ernest Coovi Adjovi, “This agreement is an important step along the KORA journey and recognises the contribution that KORA has made to music of African Origin. I am honoured that our expertise and strengths have been recognised through this unique agreement and we look forward to the impact that FESPAM will have in Africa this year.”


[More details here]


Related Post:

Hugh Masekela on African Music

'Black Masculinit(ies)y' and Domestic Violence

As the recent passing of a long protracted, groundbreaking Law Against Domestic Violence is widely celebrated in Angola, while R&B artist Chris Brown is on his way to perform in that country, I found particularly fitting an article entitled “Why Black Men Should Become Feminists”, by Symeon Brown, from which I’ve taken the following excerpts:




Benjamin Zephaniah, the poet who famously turned down the Queen's honour to maintain his own, paused when a white audience member at a talk he was giving asked him: 'Why do you never talk about your father?'
For the first time that evening, at the Keats Poetry Festival held against a backdrop of million pound homes in Hampstead, north London, to a largely female audience, the poet's joviality departed. He then shared how he had first been introduced to rhythm and blues through the fists his father used against his mother. In hushed silence, the audience heard how Zephaniah’s second brush with violence was when he picked up a knife to defend her. But, in an ugly twist of irony, he confessed how he went on to reproduce this violent behaviour against women himself.

Zephaniah recalled with honesty: “I noticed I had the same rhythm as my father until one day I thought, ‘what am I doing?’ I stopped and had to unlearn what I had learnt.” The healing he has undergone is clear from his sincere declaration of support for women and his role as a champion of women’s rights.

Zephaniah once stated: “No nation is free of chauvinistic, violent men, and no one should need to run from them. The ‘system’ should deal with them, and if the system can't, change it.”




Days earlier at another event, the great Nigerian playwright and former Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, also called for an end to the global inequality between men and women. With two prominent black male thinkers advocating equality for women, is it a sign that black men are becoming feminists?

The F-word is a scary one to many black men and some black women too. Feminism, fairly or unfairly, is seen as white, middle-class and a set of beliefs that pits men and women against each other. However, feminism is a broad church of ideologies and views.

But the basis of both radical and moderate views is a recognition that relationships between men and women need to change. Relationships between today’s young men and young women certainly need to.




Zephaniah’s public declaration of healing was as powerful as R&B singer Chris Brown’s decline after he was found guilty of assaulting his then girlfriend Rihanna. Both men were victims themselves when, as children, they watched their mothers being beaten and as men both reproduced what they saw as children. But while Zephaniah was able to privately heal through a mixture of introspection and positive self-criticism, Chris Brown’s public exposure led his agents to do what they had to: protect the brand, rather than the man.

In this digital age of Twitter, putting up a front is a luxury celebrities can no longer afford. In March, we saw how Chris Brown flew into a rage, ripping his shirt and trashing his dressing room, after an interviewer pressed him about the incident. You do not need to be a regular Bossip reader to guess that underneath the tattoos, there is a broken boy who has not exorcised his demons.

Chris Brown needs to unlearn his understanding of how men and women relate to each other. It would have been impossible for him to do this when the two contrasting public reactions to his violation - those who began a public witchhunt against him and those that blamed Rihanna – were both wrong. Neither response allows for the road to Damascus moment that Benjamin experienced. The latter marginalised him, and the former excused his accountability.





[Full article here]







[video from here]





[Mama - Hugh Masekela]

I wrote this song in 1995 when my wife had assured me that after five years of her refusing to come back to live in South Africa with me, she was finally leaving New York City, packing up her goods, zipping up her boots and coming home to her roots where I was waiting for her. However she told me otherwise when we met in Paris in July of that year. My addiction to alcohol and drugs was beginning to peak and one night after I returned from France, I got very zonked at the piano, feeling very sorry for myself and this song was sent to me. We recorded it the following year on the "Notes of Life" album when I was beginning to hit rock bottom. A year later, I went to England for recovery and I am so glad I did, because I am now enjoying my third year of sobriety after 44 years of addiction. Needless to say, my wife never came back; we finally said goodbye at the end of 1997. This song is a sad reminder of my most irresponsible years and down time. I will never wish anything like that on anybody, especially myself.

Hugh Masekela





Posts Relacionados:


The Gender Debate: Reality Bites from The Youth

O Execravel Puto Pe' Descalco

The Burden of The Black Woman

O CIDADAO EM ANGOLA

De Assassinos a Sangue Frio...

O "Crime de Lesa-Patria"...

Coitado!

Um Passo em Frente?

Mensagens de JC

A Orgia

Dinheiro, Dinheiro Para Que Te Quero?

A Proposito dos Monologos da Vagina

Kwando a Diferenca...

Kwao 'Amabilis' e' o Homo Angolensis...

Epifania

Terra Queimada

...AND RAISE BEAUTY TO ANOTHER LEVEL OF SWEETNESS

As the recent passing of a long protracted, groundbreaking Law Against Domestic Violence is widely celebrated in Angola, while R&B artist Chris Brown is on his way to perform in that country, I found particularly fitting an article entitled “Why Black Men Should Become Feminists”, by Symeon Brown, from which I’ve taken the following excerpts:




Benjamin Zephaniah, the poet who famously turned down the Queen's honour to maintain his own, paused when a white audience member at a talk he was giving asked him: 'Why do you never talk about your father?'
For the first time that evening, at the Keats Poetry Festival held against a backdrop of million pound homes in Hampstead, north London, to a largely female audience, the poet's joviality departed. He then shared how he had first been introduced to rhythm and blues through the fists his father used against his mother. In hushed silence, the audience heard how Zephaniah’s second brush with violence was when he picked up a knife to defend her. But, in an ugly twist of irony, he confessed how he went on to reproduce this violent behaviour against women himself.

Zephaniah recalled with honesty: “I noticed I had the same rhythm as my father until one day I thought, ‘what am I doing?’ I stopped and had to unlearn what I had learnt.” The healing he has undergone is clear from his sincere declaration of support for women and his role as a champion of women’s rights.

Zephaniah once stated: “No nation is free of chauvinistic, violent men, and no one should need to run from them. The ‘system’ should deal with them, and if the system can't, change it.”




Days earlier at another event, the great Nigerian playwright and former Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, also called for an end to the global inequality between men and women. With two prominent black male thinkers advocating equality for women, is it a sign that black men are becoming feminists?

The F-word is a scary one to many black men and some black women too. Feminism, fairly or unfairly, is seen as white, middle-class and a set of beliefs that pits men and women against each other. However, feminism is a broad church of ideologies and views.

But the basis of both radical and moderate views is a recognition that relationships between men and women need to change. Relationships between today’s young men and young women certainly need to.




Zephaniah’s public declaration of healing was as powerful as R&B singer Chris Brown’s decline after he was found guilty of assaulting his then girlfriend Rihanna. Both men were victims themselves when, as children, they watched their mothers being beaten and as men both reproduced what they saw as children. But while Zephaniah was able to privately heal through a mixture of introspection and positive self-criticism, Chris Brown’s public exposure led his agents to do what they had to: protect the brand, rather than the man.

In this digital age of Twitter, putting up a front is a luxury celebrities can no longer afford. In March, we saw how Chris Brown flew into a rage, ripping his shirt and trashing his dressing room, after an interviewer pressed him about the incident. You do not need to be a regular Bossip reader to guess that underneath the tattoos, there is a broken boy who has not exorcised his demons.

Chris Brown needs to unlearn his understanding of how men and women relate to each other. It would have been impossible for him to do this when the two contrasting public reactions to his violation - those who began a public witchhunt against him and those that blamed Rihanna – were both wrong. Neither response allows for the road to Damascus moment that Benjamin experienced. The latter marginalised him, and the former excused his accountability.





[Full article here]







[video from here]





[Mama - Hugh Masekela]

I wrote this song in 1995 when my wife had assured me that after five years of her refusing to come back to live in South Africa with me, she was finally leaving New York City, packing up her goods, zipping up her boots and coming home to her roots where I was waiting for her. However she told me otherwise when we met in Paris in July of that year. My addiction to alcohol and drugs was beginning to peak and one night after I returned from France, I got very zonked at the piano, feeling very sorry for myself and this song was sent to me. We recorded it the following year on the "Notes of Life" album when I was beginning to hit rock bottom. A year later, I went to England for recovery and I am so glad I did, because I am now enjoying my third year of sobriety after 44 years of addiction. Needless to say, my wife never came back; we finally said goodbye at the end of 1997. This song is a sad reminder of my most irresponsible years and down time. I will never wish anything like that on anybody, especially myself.

Hugh Masekela





Posts Relacionados:


The Gender Debate: Reality Bites from The Youth

O Execravel Puto Pe' Descalco

The Burden of The Black Woman

O CIDADAO EM ANGOLA

De Assassinos a Sangue Frio...

O "Crime de Lesa-Patria"...

Coitado!

Um Passo em Frente?

Mensagens de JC

A Orgia

Dinheiro, Dinheiro Para Que Te Quero?

A Proposito dos Monologos da Vagina

Kwando a Diferenca...

Kwao 'Amabilis' e' o Homo Angolensis...

Epifania

Terra Queimada

...AND RAISE BEAUTY TO ANOTHER LEVEL OF SWEETNESS

London Jazz Festival

This was supposed to be my London Jazz Festival 2010...

Hugh Masekela & The Mahotella Queens

...But: SOLD OUT!

[Parece incrivel, mas com tantas passagens e estadias na Africa do Sul e arredores, nunca tive uma oportunidade de ver este que e' um dos meus maiores idolos do Jazz Africano (depois do nosso eterno Manu Dibango) ao vivo... e, parece mentira, mas ainda nao foi desta!]

Sonny Rollins at 80

...But: SOLD OUT!

[Vi-o ao vivo ha' ja' alguns anos em Lisboa no Centro Cultural de Belem, numa noite absolutamente inesquecivel, com a Paula Tavares, a Luisa de Almeida, o Jean-Yves e a Zarito (esta, por quem tenho grande estima e que e' irma de um certo minion de triste memoria neste blog... Lembro-me de, por aqueles dias, enquanto tomavamos o pequeno almoco de domingo numa esplanada nos jardins de Belem, perante as minhas repetidas queixas sobre o comportamento - estupido, crapula e cabotino, para dizer o minimo - do seu irmao para comigo, ela me ter dito: "Porque que nao cortas com ele? Corta, Paula!"...

{Zarito e Jean-Yves no meu quintal de limoeiro, nespreira e roseiras-trepadeiras em Belem - algures na ponta final dos anos 80 ou no inicio dos 90 (a toalha de mesa ainda (r)existe after all these years...) - foto JEA}

... Pois, mas levou-me todos estes anos ate' ao ano passado - desde que, com a criacao deste blog, ele nao perdeu a primeira oportunidade para manifestar mais uma vez a sua pequenez incuravel, so' que desta vez atraves do tal de NJ de igualmente triste memoria neste blog - para que eu me decidisse definitivamente a acatar o sabio conselho da Zarito... O que tambem se deveu ao facto de nao ter tido qualquer contacto com ele durante estas ultimas quase duas decadas, excepto brevemente quando estive em Luanda em 2001, ocasiao que tambem nao me deixou particularmente boas memorias dele... (e, by the way, nessa ocasiao ainda tive a insensatez - na verdade na altura disse de mim para cumim: "isto e' perola para porco"... - de lhe oferecer como prenda de Natal um CD que e' uma verdadeira enciclopedia de vida, musica e cultura dos Khoisan, do que muito me haveria de arrepender porque nunca mais consegui encontrar e comprar outro para mim!...).
E' que, quando alguem, como eu, valoriza sobremaneira, ainda que frequentemente incompreendida, a amizade e a familia - por uma questao dos agora tao "badalados" valores e principios! -, esta' sujeito a engolir muitos sapos, porque familiares e amigos ha' que, perante a nossa aparentemente infinita compreensao e tolerancia, acabam por tornar-se absolutamente insuportaveis, ate' que... o "corte" se torna inevitavel!

Mas, nao pretendo, com esta triste recordacao, estragar completamente a memoria de uma noite inesquecivel ao som vibrante do Sonny Rollins com aqueles que naquela altura eram alguns dos meus amigos mais proximos em Lisboa. Portanto, que fique apenas registada a pena de nao o poder ver e ouvir mais uma vez nesta que talvez tenha sido a ultima oportunidade de o fazer - e' que ele esta' a celebrar os seus 80 anos...]




Herbie Hancock...

[Tambem o vi ao vivo em Lisboa no mesmo Coliseu em que vi o Miles Davis, com o meu filho, nos dois ultimos concertos que deu naquela cidade, em 1989 e 1991 (tendo sido este ultimo no mesmo ano em que, alguns meses mais tarde, ele deixaria este mundo e em que, como aqui se da' conta, se estaria a programar uma sua possivel ida a Angola: “Nós tínhamos combinado levá-lo a Angola, estávamos a tratar disso para 1992 porque tínhamos pessoas em Luanda que queriam. Era demais. Fantástico.”)

Gostava de ver Herbie mais uma vez (nao sei se ainda terei muitas oportunidades futuras para o fazer uma vez que ele tambem ja' esta' nos seus 70...), mas porque tinha em mente as 'prioridades' acima nao o pude, infelizmente, incluir no meu programa inicial... and now it's too late!
Mas ouvi-o ontem numa entrevista em directo para o programa Jazz on 3 da BBC Radio 3, que cobriu ao vivo o lancamento deste festival a partir do legendario Ronnie Scott's (tambem a celebrar os seus 50 anos): fiquei assim a saber que o Herbie, apesar da sua "idade avancada", continua "tao bem parecido, energetico e criativo como sempre" (segundo o entrevistador, obviamente...) , o que ele, por entre uma sonora gargalhada, atribui a "evitar o stress", e que a piece de resistance da sua participacao neste festival e' o seu Imagine Project, baseado na obra do John Lennon e em que ele integra piano snippets by Kongo traditional musicians - I can't wait to check it out on CD!]

So, I'm now looking forward to this one:

Terence Blanchard Band + Robert Glasper Trio

[Terence Blanchard: um nome incontornavel do Jazz Contemporaneo. Nunca o vi ao vivo e devo confessar que o meu maior interesse em ve-lo e ouvi-lo deve-se aos seus film scores para o Spike Lee e ao seu ultimo album, Choices, com a participacao do "meu amigo" Cornel West...

I can't wait to see him tomorrow in the same Barbican where I saw, over a decade ago, our eternal African Jazz legend, Manu Dibango, for the first time - the second was at the 2006 edition of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival pictured here]

THAT WAS GREAT!

After a sizzling warm-up at the FreeStage brought to us fresh from New Orleans by the Soul Rebels Brass Band, we had just about three hours of some of the best contemporary jazz - before us was what Terence Blanchard said is the future of jazz to his mind (although also adding something like "people speculate all the time about the future of jazz, but to me there's no point in that: the future of jazz will be what it's going to be"...): opening for him, The Robert Glasper Trio (Glasper – whose artistic world is said to be “where the iconic record label Blue Note gets back to the streets, marrying hip-hop with the free flow of a classic piano trio, merging jazz and contemporary sounds”, and who also served us Herbie Hancock's "I Have A Dream" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" – on piano; Derrick Hodge on bass and Mark Colenburg on drums) and, then, alongside himself on trumpet and Bruce Wilson on tenor saxophone, the three young players on his own Quintet (Fabian Almazan on piano, Joshua Crumbly on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums).

[There was something funny in between the two group's performance: another drummer, Chris Dave, replaced Mark Colenburg and Terence Blanchard just came on the stage and started playing his thing unannounced with the Glasper's Trio for about 10-15 minutes until their time on stage was over... Many people became quite agitated thinking that it was all for the night and I started saying "these guys can only be joking!"... and they were: it was just the interval before the Blanchard real thing!]

Blanchard offered us parts of his most recent creation, ‘Choices’, where we could hear Cornel West’s voice talking about subjects such as political consciousness, music, love and humanity: from the hurricanes Katrina and Obama, through how Beethoven considered music to be deeper than philosophy, to the love that existed between Miles and Coltrane… in short, about the human condition.

Through and through (with a few jokes about some of his band members’ personal details in between: the pianist – "a very shy guy" from Cuba; the bassist – "a scared to death" recent graduate from the Juilliard (..."you know, there's some intelligent people up here... at least one of us!", he said...); the drummer – a record label owner from Texas "who makes no money with it"; the saxophonist “who came from where it all began: Toussaint, Arizona!” ... Well, this one led to a few other jokes about the first time we hear Arizona and Jazz on the same breath and the woman who approached him at the end of one concert to rebuke him for his 'downplaying' of jazz in Arizona and presenting herself as the president of the Toussaint Jazz Society, and then the pilot who one day popped into him and Herbie Hancock on a plane and introduced himself as the brother of the president of the Toussaint Jazz Society!...], the main man of the evening fulfilled the promise in the words he was presented to us:

“Terence Blanchard is one of the few contemporary horn players who can truly claim to inherit the legacy of jazz trumpet giants Miles Davis, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Born in New Orleans, as a child he played alongside friend Wynton Marsalis in summer band camps – later in life Wynton was to recommend him to Art Blakey as his replacement in The Jazz Messengers, becoming its lead soloist and musical director. By the 1990s, Blanchard had become a leader in his own right and had embarked on a highly successful partnership with film maker Spike Lee, writing the scores for every one of his films since 1991, including Malcolm X, Clockers, and the Hurricane Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke for HBO.

His film credits are extensive with over 40 scores to his name. He maintains a regular studio presence, recording his own original music and has been nominated for 11 Grammys, winning four. He stretches himself stylistically, working with other musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Dr John. His last Concord album Choices is probably his most radical yet, with readings by philosopher Cornel West and vocals by neo-soul singer Bilal over a meld of speculative post-bop, experimental yet accessible song forms, and jazz-initiated atmospheres to create a compelling, instructive and uplifting work.”

OTHER FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Esperanza Spalding
The 26 years old rising star who counts Obama among her biggest fans...

Chucho Valdés & The Afro-Cuban Messengers + Ibrahim Maalouf

AfroCubism
Featuring Eliades Ochoa, Toumani Diabate, Bassekou Kouyate, Djelimady Tounkora, Kasse Mady Diabate.

Charles Lloyd Quartet + Winstone/Gesing/Venier

This was supposed to be my London Jazz Festival 2010...

Hugh Masekela & The Mahotella Queens

...But: SOLD OUT!

[Parece incrivel, mas com tantas passagens e estadias na Africa do Sul e arredores, nunca tive uma oportunidade de ver este que e' um dos meus maiores idolos do Jazz Africano (depois do nosso eterno Manu Dibango) ao vivo... e, parece mentira, mas ainda nao foi desta!]

Sonny Rollins at 80

...But: SOLD OUT!

[Vi-o ao vivo ha' ja' alguns anos em Lisboa no Centro Cultural de Belem, numa noite absolutamente inesquecivel, com a Paula Tavares, a Luisa de Almeida, o Jean-Yves e a Zarito (esta, por quem tenho grande estima e que e' irma de um certo minion de triste memoria neste blog... Lembro-me de, por aqueles dias, enquanto tomavamos o pequeno almoco de domingo numa esplanada nos jardins de Belem, perante as minhas repetidas queixas sobre o comportamento - estupido, crapula e cabotino, para dizer o minimo - do seu irmao para comigo, ela me ter dito: "Porque que nao cortas com ele? Corta, Paula!"...

{Zarito e Jean-Yves no meu quintal de limoeiro, nespreira e roseiras-trepadeiras em Belem - algures na ponta final dos anos 80 ou no inicio dos 90 (a toalha de mesa ainda (r)existe after all these years...) - foto JEA}

... Pois, mas levou-me todos estes anos ate' ao ano passado - desde que, com a criacao deste blog, ele nao perdeu a primeira oportunidade para manifestar mais uma vez a sua pequenez incuravel, so' que desta vez atraves do tal de NJ de igualmente triste memoria neste blog - para que eu me decidisse definitivamente a acatar o sabio conselho da Zarito... O que tambem se deveu ao facto de nao ter tido qualquer contacto com ele durante estas ultimas quase duas decadas, excepto brevemente quando estive em Luanda em 2001, ocasiao que tambem nao me deixou particularmente boas memorias dele... (e, by the way, nessa ocasiao ainda tive a insensatez - na verdade na altura disse de mim para cumim: "isto e' perola para porco"... - de lhe oferecer como prenda de Natal um CD que e' uma verdadeira enciclopedia de vida, musica e cultura dos Khoisan, do que muito me haveria de arrepender porque nunca mais consegui encontrar e comprar outro para mim!...).
E' que, quando alguem, como eu, valoriza sobremaneira, ainda que frequentemente incompreendida, a amizade e a familia - por uma questao dos agora tao "badalados" valores e principios! -, esta' sujeito a engolir muitos sapos, porque familiares e amigos ha' que, perante a nossa aparentemente infinita compreensao e tolerancia, acabam por tornar-se absolutamente insuportaveis, ate' que... o "corte" se torna inevitavel!

Mas, nao pretendo, com esta triste recordacao, estragar completamente a memoria de uma noite inesquecivel ao som vibrante do Sonny Rollins com aqueles que naquela altura eram alguns dos meus amigos mais proximos em Lisboa. Portanto, que fique apenas registada a pena de nao o poder ver e ouvir mais uma vez nesta que talvez tenha sido a ultima oportunidade de o fazer - e' que ele esta' a celebrar os seus 80 anos...]




Herbie Hancock...

[Tambem o vi ao vivo em Lisboa no mesmo Coliseu em que vi o Miles Davis, com o meu filho, nos dois ultimos concertos que deu naquela cidade, em 1989 e 1991 (tendo sido este ultimo no mesmo ano em que, alguns meses mais tarde, ele deixaria este mundo e em que, como aqui se da' conta, se estaria a programar uma sua possivel ida a Angola: “Nós tínhamos combinado levá-lo a Angola, estávamos a tratar disso para 1992 porque tínhamos pessoas em Luanda que queriam. Era demais. Fantástico.”)

Gostava de ver Herbie mais uma vez (nao sei se ainda terei muitas oportunidades futuras para o fazer uma vez que ele tambem ja' esta' nos seus 70...), mas porque tinha em mente as 'prioridades' acima nao o pude, infelizmente, incluir no meu programa inicial... and now it's too late!
Mas ouvi-o ontem numa entrevista em directo para o programa Jazz on 3 da BBC Radio 3, que cobriu ao vivo o lancamento deste festival a partir do legendario Ronnie Scott's (tambem a celebrar os seus 50 anos): fiquei assim a saber que o Herbie, apesar da sua "idade avancada", continua "tao bem parecido, energetico e criativo como sempre" (segundo o entrevistador, obviamente...) , o que ele, por entre uma sonora gargalhada, atribui a "evitar o stress", e que a piece de resistance da sua participacao neste festival e' o seu Imagine Project, baseado na obra do John Lennon e em que ele integra piano snippets by Kongo traditional musicians - I can't wait to check it out on CD!]

So, I'm now looking forward to this one:

Terence Blanchard Band + Robert Glasper Trio

[Terence Blanchard: um nome incontornavel do Jazz Contemporaneo. Nunca o vi ao vivo e devo confessar que o meu maior interesse em ve-lo e ouvi-lo deve-se aos seus film scores para o Spike Lee e ao seu ultimo album, Choices, com a participacao do "meu amigo" Cornel West...

I can't wait to see him tomorrow in the same Barbican where I saw, over a decade ago, our eternal African Jazz legend, Manu Dibango, for the first time - the second was at the 2006 edition of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival pictured here]

THAT WAS GREAT!

After a sizzling warm-up at the FreeStage brought to us fresh from New Orleans by the Soul Rebels Brass Band, we had just about three hours of some of the best contemporary jazz - before us was what Terence Blanchard said is the future of jazz to his mind (although also adding something like "people speculate all the time about the future of jazz, but to me there's no point in that: the future of jazz will be what it's going to be"...): opening for him, The Robert Glasper Trio (Glasper – whose artistic world is said to be “where the iconic record label Blue Note gets back to the streets, marrying hip-hop with the free flow of a classic piano trio, merging jazz and contemporary sounds”, and who also served us Herbie Hancock's "I Have A Dream" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" – on piano; Derrick Hodge on bass and Mark Colenburg on drums) and, then, alongside himself on trumpet and Bruce Wilson on tenor saxophone, the three young players on his own Quintet (Fabian Almazan on piano, Joshua Crumbly on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums).

[There was something funny in between the two group's performance: another drummer, Chris Dave, replaced Mark Colenburg and Terence Blanchard just came on the stage and started playing his thing unannounced with the Glasper's Trio for about 10-15 minutes until their time on stage was over... Many people became quite agitated thinking that it was all for the night and I started saying "these guys can only be joking!"... and they were: it was just the interval before the Blanchard real thing!]

Blanchard offered us parts of his most recent creation, ‘Choices’, where we could hear Cornel West’s voice talking about subjects such as political consciousness, music, love and humanity: from the hurricanes Katrina and Obama, through how Beethoven considered music to be deeper than philosophy, to the love that existed between Miles and Coltrane… in short, about the human condition.

Through and through (with a few jokes about some of his band members’ personal details in between: the pianist – "a very shy guy" from Cuba; the bassist – "a scared to death" recent graduate from the Juilliard (..."you know, there's some intelligent people up here... at least one of us!", he said...); the drummer – a record label owner from Texas "who makes no money with it"; the saxophonist “who came from where it all began: Toussaint, Arizona!” ... Well, this one led to a few other jokes about the first time we hear Arizona and Jazz on the same breath and the woman who approached him at the end of one concert to rebuke him for his 'downplaying' of jazz in Arizona and presenting herself as the president of the Toussaint Jazz Society, and then the pilot who one day popped into him and Herbie Hancock on a plane and introduced himself as the brother of the president of the Toussaint Jazz Society!...], the main man of the evening fulfilled the promise in the words he was presented to us:

“Terence Blanchard is one of the few contemporary horn players who can truly claim to inherit the legacy of jazz trumpet giants Miles Davis, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Born in New Orleans, as a child he played alongside friend Wynton Marsalis in summer band camps – later in life Wynton was to recommend him to Art Blakey as his replacement in The Jazz Messengers, becoming its lead soloist and musical director. By the 1990s, Blanchard had become a leader in his own right and had embarked on a highly successful partnership with film maker Spike Lee, writing the scores for every one of his films since 1991, including Malcolm X, Clockers, and the Hurricane Katrina documentary When the Levees Broke for HBO.

His film credits are extensive with over 40 scores to his name. He maintains a regular studio presence, recording his own original music and has been nominated for 11 Grammys, winning four. He stretches himself stylistically, working with other musicians such as Stevie Wonder and Dr John. His last Concord album Choices is probably his most radical yet, with readings by philosopher Cornel West and vocals by neo-soul singer Bilal over a meld of speculative post-bop, experimental yet accessible song forms, and jazz-initiated atmospheres to create a compelling, instructive and uplifting work.”

OTHER FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Esperanza Spalding
The 26 years old rising star who counts Obama among her biggest fans...

Chucho Valdés & The Afro-Cuban Messengers + Ibrahim Maalouf

AfroCubism
Featuring Eliades Ochoa, Toumani Diabate, Bassekou Kouyate, Djelimady Tounkora, Kasse Mady Diabate.

Charles Lloyd Quartet + Winstone/Gesing/Venier

MASEKELA AND THE SAILORMAN

In 1976 we recorded an album called “Colonial Man” for Casablanca Records with a group of musicians I had assembled from Ghana and Nigeria. This was our second album after the popular “The Boyz Doin’ It”. We were touring the USA when our producer Stewart Levine said “We need to record a second album, Neil Bogart wants it right away”. That was when I proposed that we explore the colonial theme and do songs about the European pioneers of countless expeditions that took place in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries to establish European territories outside the continental mainland.

England, France, Portugal and Spain were obsessed with this exercise, sending people such as Stanley, Johnstone, Cecil Rhodes, Livingstone, Vasco da Gama, Henry The Navigator, Ponce De Leon, Cortez, Christopher Columbus, Sir George Grey, Sir Harry Smith, Simon Van Der Stel, Jan van Riebeeck and tens of other adventurers, pirates, geologists, bankers, financiers and historians out into Asia, The Americas, The South Pacific and Africa for the purpose of establishing new dominions for their exploitation.

Little did I know that most had never heard about the above mentioned characters and did not care much about the history, that the record industry in America did not give a hoot about the colonial past, and almost every distributor in the country would send the shipments back to the record companies because they did not understand what we were singing about. “Who the hell are all these guys Hugh is talking about and who cares?” was the general response. Needless to say, not even my friends bought the album.

Anyway, Vasco da Gama was the first navigator to establish the sea route that circumvented Africa via the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa en route to Asia. The purpose was to collect precious stones, spices and condiments prior to the opening of the shorter route via the Suez Canal.

Khaya Mahlangu pays tribute to the great Caribbean Salsa flautist such as Pacheco on the picollo and flute and John Selolwane applauds the great guitar styles of Jimmy Hendrix and Carlos Santana. Cha-Cha-Cha enthusiasts will indeed be ecstatic to hit the dance floor in memory of the style of music and we shall always be indebted to the wonderful musicians who pioneered this groove in Cuba at the beginning of the last century.

Hugh Masekela, 2000

Vasco da Gama (The Sailorman) - Hugh Masekela

In 1976 we recorded an album called “Colonial Man” for Casablanca Records with a group of musicians I had assembled from Ghana and Nigeria. This was our second album after the popular “The Boyz Doin’ It”. We were touring the USA when our producer Stewart Levine said “We need to record a second album, Neil Bogart wants it right away”. That was when I proposed that we explore the colonial theme and do songs about the European pioneers of countless expeditions that took place in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries to establish European territories outside the continental mainland.

England, France, Portugal and Spain were obsessed with this exercise, sending people such as Stanley, Johnstone, Cecil Rhodes, Livingstone, Vasco da Gama, Henry The Navigator, Ponce De Leon, Cortez, Christopher Columbus, Sir George Grey, Sir Harry Smith, Simon Van Der Stel, Jan van Riebeeck and tens of other adventurers, pirates, geologists, bankers, financiers and historians out into Asia, The Americas, The South Pacific and Africa for the purpose of establishing new dominions for their exploitation.

Little did I know that most had never heard about the above mentioned characters and did not care much about the history, that the record industry in America did not give a hoot about the colonial past, and almost every distributor in the country would send the shipments back to the record companies because they did not understand what we were singing about. “Who the hell are all these guys Hugh is talking about and who cares?” was the general response. Needless to say, not even my friends bought the album.

Anyway, Vasco da Gama was the first navigator to establish the sea route that circumvented Africa via the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa en route to Asia. The purpose was to collect precious stones, spices and condiments prior to the opening of the shorter route via the Suez Canal.

Khaya Mahlangu pays tribute to the great Caribbean Salsa flautist such as Pacheco on the picollo and flute and John Selolwane applauds the great guitar styles of Jimmy Hendrix and Carlos Santana. Cha-Cha-Cha enthusiasts will indeed be ecstatic to hit the dance floor in memory of the style of music and we shall always be indebted to the wonderful musicians who pioneered this groove in Cuba at the beginning of the last century.

Hugh Masekela, 2000

Vasco da Gama (The Sailorman) - Hugh Masekela

BACK IN MADIBALAND

I've just arrived and will be based down here for a while, working on something that will make my blogging a bit less regular.
But I'll try to keep you posted as and whenever I can.

[I'm playing Masekela's Abangoma here because that's to me what best encapsulates the spirit of the land at the moment, but my next door neighbour is actually playing Miles and Coltrane on Kind of Blue, which is only appropriate because I can hear Coltrane in Abangoma...]

I've just arrived and will be based down here for a while, working on something that will make my blogging a bit less regular.
But I'll try to keep you posted as and whenever I can.

[I'm playing Masekela's Abangoma here because that's to me what best encapsulates the spirit of the land at the moment, but my next door neighbour is actually playing Miles and Coltrane on Kind of Blue, which is only appropriate because I can hear Coltrane in Abangoma...]

GRAZING IN STRAWBERRY FIELDS

Miriam Makeba recorded “Strawberries” in 1961 on an Harry Belfonte-produced album called “The Many Voices Of Miriam Makeba.” The two of them sent me through music school in New York and created a first break for me when they had their contractor Al Brown come and get me out of class at Manhattan School of Music to come and play on four tracks on the album. Jazz D.J. Symphony Sid played this track every night on his WEVD radio program “Jumping With Symphony Sid” and this got me my first recognition and praise from American listeners and the music industry. My muted trumpet wailed hauntingly behind Makeba’s melancholy cries, even reaching musicians like Don Laka down in South Africa so much so that in 1997, when he was to produce our “Black To The Future” album, he insisted that we do it. I will never forget the sweet little girls from Mmabana Centre in Mafikeng who came to sing it with us, they made a beautifully innocent and sweet song out of it. Thank you little girls, thank you Ms Makeba, thank you Mr Belafonte, thank you my dear brother Don Laka. (Hugh Masekela, 2000)

Strawberries (Hugh Masekela)

“I remain an ardent admirer of Ms Makeba’s compositions, she is probably the most prolific writer to come out of Southern Africa.” (Hugh Masekela, 2000)

Strawberries (Miriam Makeba - 2003)

Miriam Makeba recorded “Strawberries” in 1961 on an Harry Belfonte-produced album called “The Many Voices Of Miriam Makeba.” The two of them sent me through music school in New York and created a first break for me when they had their contractor Al Brown come and get me out of class at Manhattan School of Music to come and play on four tracks on the album. Jazz D.J. Symphony Sid played this track every night on his WEVD radio program “Jumping With Symphony Sid” and this got me my first recognition and praise from American listeners and the music industry. My muted trumpet wailed hauntingly behind Makeba’s melancholy cries, even reaching musicians like Don Laka down in South Africa so much so that in 1997, when he was to produce our “Black To The Future” album, he insisted that we do it. I will never forget the sweet little girls from Mmabana Centre in Mafikeng who came to sing it with us, they made a beautifully innocent and sweet song out of it. Thank you little girls, thank you Ms Makeba, thank you Mr Belafonte, thank you my dear brother Don Laka. (Hugh Masekela, 2000)

Strawberries (Hugh Masekela)

“I remain an ardent admirer of Ms Makeba’s compositions, she is probably the most prolific writer to come out of Southern Africa.” (Hugh Masekela, 2000)

Strawberries (Miriam Makeba - 2003)

SUNDAY COVER & POETRY (IV)

(…)
Talking about gender issues she laments: “Young men should learn to be more gentile with women. They must not be like their older brothers, some of whom kiss and tell.” This reference is clearly directed at Hugh Masekela’s revelations about their marriage in New York City in the early 1960’s. She then recalls the words of her late ex-husband, Black Panther leader, Stokely Carmichael (aka Kwame Toure), whose speeches included: “We have to respect every woman, even a woman who is one day old. Why? Because some day she will grow up to be somebody’s mother.” And she adds words of disappointment: “One thing I’m not proud of was to marry Hugh Masekela.”
(…)
And Makeba also urges young South Africans to be more curious about their continent that has done so much for our liberation: “We have to stop it (xenophobia) and know that Africa belongs to us and we belong to Africa. And together we should walk and walk tall.”

¡GET MORE CONTENT HERE!

{Poem: What Is Exotic?, by Sujata Bhatt. Sujata is an India-born poet and translator. She received her MFA from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa and now lives in Germany. She has published seven collections of poems with Carcanet Press. in Life Lines 2/Poets for Oxfam/Edited by Todd Swift, 2007}

(…)
Talking about gender issues she laments: “Young men should learn to be more gentile with women. They must not be like their older brothers, some of whom kiss and tell.” This reference is clearly directed at Hugh Masekela’s revelations about their marriage in New York City in the early 1960’s. She then recalls the words of her late ex-husband, Black Panther leader, Stokely Carmichael (aka Kwame Toure), whose speeches included: “We have to respect every woman, even a woman who is one day old. Why? Because some day she will grow up to be somebody’s mother.” And she adds words of disappointment: “One thing I’m not proud of was to marry Hugh Masekela.”
(…)
And Makeba also urges young South Africans to be more curious about their continent that has done so much for our liberation: “We have to stop it (xenophobia) and know that Africa belongs to us and we belong to Africa. And together we should walk and walk tall.”

¡GET MORE CONTENT HERE!

{Poem: What Is Exotic?, by Sujata Bhatt. Sujata is an India-born poet and translator. She received her MFA from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa and now lives in Germany. She has published seven collections of poems with Carcanet Press. in Life Lines 2/Poets for Oxfam/Edited by Todd Swift, 2007}

SUNDAY COVER & POETRY (II)

(…)
If the old recording industry in South Africa was totally white-controlled, it was still not half as horrendous as those which existed in places such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Angola, Mozambique, etc., where the music companies were personal kingdoms, which never got to grow to even a fraction of those in this country. At this writing, they still basically remain in that form or are extinct.
(…)
Some individuals might consider such a suggestion to be devoid of any moral merit; however, the one quality the history of Africa’s music recording industry can never claim to ever having possessed is any once of morality. It can only pride itself with exploitation, of the most despicable kind, one that proudly matches its colonial, economic and industrial counterpart’s atrocities.
(…)
If Africa’s present leadership can show as much interest in the development of the continent’s artistic excellence as it does in the promotion of some of its often misguided and destructive policies, if it can succeed in stopping the wars which consume frightful amounts of money that could be alternatively channelled into developing safety and security health and education, arts, culture, the traditional environment and the well being of the continent’s natural resources, then music, film, design and architecture would take a greater priority in our everyday lives.
If this were indeed at all possible, then Africa would surpass all other countries in its monopoly of the music and arts industries in the world. Would that such notions were dear to the hearts and minds of Africa’s political and business communities, then this Africa would become a great continent indeed.

[Read More Content Here]

{Poem: Back To What?, by Benjamin Zephaniah. Benjamin is a poet, novelist and playwright. His poetry collections include The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985) and Too Black, Too Strong (2001). He has produced numerous music recordings, including Us and Dem (1990) and Belly of de Beast (1996). in Life Lines 2/Poets for Oxfam/Edited by Todd Swift, 2007}

(…)
If the old recording industry in South Africa was totally white-controlled, it was still not half as horrendous as those which existed in places such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Congo, Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Angola, Mozambique, etc., where the music companies were personal kingdoms, which never got to grow to even a fraction of those in this country. At this writing, they still basically remain in that form or are extinct.
(…)
Some individuals might consider such a suggestion to be devoid of any moral merit; however, the one quality the history of Africa’s music recording industry can never claim to ever having possessed is any once of morality. It can only pride itself with exploitation, of the most despicable kind, one that proudly matches its colonial, economic and industrial counterpart’s atrocities.
(…)
If Africa’s present leadership can show as much interest in the development of the continent’s artistic excellence as it does in the promotion of some of its often misguided and destructive policies, if it can succeed in stopping the wars which consume frightful amounts of money that could be alternatively channelled into developing safety and security health and education, arts, culture, the traditional environment and the well being of the continent’s natural resources, then music, film, design and architecture would take a greater priority in our everyday lives.
If this were indeed at all possible, then Africa would surpass all other countries in its monopoly of the music and arts industries in the world. Would that such notions were dear to the hearts and minds of Africa’s political and business communities, then this Africa would become a great continent indeed.

[Read More Content Here]

{Poem: Back To What?, by Benjamin Zephaniah. Benjamin is a poet, novelist and playwright. His poetry collections include The Dread Affair: Collected Poems (1985) and Too Black, Too Strong (2001). He has produced numerous music recordings, including Us and Dem (1990) and Belly of de Beast (1996). in Life Lines 2/Poets for Oxfam/Edited by Todd Swift, 2007}

BLACK TO THE FUTURE (CHILESHE/Abantu)

Bra Masekela says this: "We first recorded this song in 1968 on the 'Promise of A Future' album. People from Johannesburg always thought of themselves as being much more advanced, civilised and hipper than anybody that did not grow up there, especially people from the outlying provinces like Nothern Transvaal, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland. I was also thinking about how the whites used to ill-treat us and call us 'Kaffirs' and all kinds of dirty names. The song is a call to those who are denigrated and vilified by these attitudes to stand up proudly and not allow themselves to be called derogatory names like 'Mighirighamba', 'Makirimane', 'Makwankwies', 'Makhafula', etc. With the influx today of peoples from all over the African diaspora into South Africa, the level of xenophobia has risen to disgusting heights. Most paradoxically, the song is even more popular amongst black South Africans today and is deeply loved by the new immigrants which helped the 'Black To The Future' album to platinum heights."

I say this: Whatever! Oblivious to all that, from the first notes, Chileshe (and before it Mama, in the "Greatest Hits" album) made my soul shrink and my mind stop... it was a direct call to the heart... It told me, from the very beginning, things that I new all about a long time before... just in different words... Abantu just said it all! Abantu... that's all we are!
Anyways, it's just funny that tha bra would refer to Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana (! even after all he went through there!), Malawi and Swaziland as "outlying provinces"... Interestingly enough, Angola has escaped the downgrading, perhaps not surprisingly, given the comparatively fewer numbers of Angolan migrant workers in the South African mines along the decades... or maybe just because it doesn't have a border with SA? But, then, Malawi doesn't have one either... Was he just joking, or did someone else seriously write it for him? ... But it doesn't really matter, does it?

Bra Masekela says this: "We first recorded this song in 1968 on the 'Promise of A Future' album. People from Johannesburg always thought of themselves as being much more advanced, civilised and hipper than anybody that did not grow up there, especially people from the outlying provinces like Nothern Transvaal, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland. I was also thinking about how the whites used to ill-treat us and call us 'Kaffirs' and all kinds of dirty names. The song is a call to those who are denigrated and vilified by these attitudes to stand up proudly and not allow themselves to be called derogatory names like 'Mighirighamba', 'Makirimane', 'Makwankwies', 'Makhafula', etc. With the influx today of peoples from all over the African diaspora into South Africa, the level of xenophobia has risen to disgusting heights. Most paradoxically, the song is even more popular amongst black South Africans today and is deeply loved by the new immigrants which helped the 'Black To The Future' album to platinum heights."

I say this: Whatever! Oblivious to all that, from the first notes, Chileshe (and before it Mama, in the "Greatest Hits" album) made my soul shrink and my mind stop... it was a direct call to the heart... It told me, from the very beginning, things that I new all about a long time before... just in different words... Abantu just said it all! Abantu... that's all we are!
Anyways, it's just funny that tha bra would refer to Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana (! even after all he went through there!), Malawi and Swaziland as "outlying provinces"... Interestingly enough, Angola has escaped the downgrading, perhaps not surprisingly, given the comparatively fewer numbers of Angolan migrant workers in the South African mines along the decades... or maybe just because it doesn't have a border with SA? But, then, Malawi doesn't have one either... Was he just joking, or did someone else seriously write it for him? ... But it doesn't really matter, does it?