Tete Mbambisa :: Black Heroes (2012)

It’s an arresting image, the extreme close-up portrait that graces the cover of South African jazz legend Tete Mbambisa’s Black Heroes (2012), his sixth commercially released album. Insomuch as the frame, and by extension the recording, can barely contain the immensity of the subject, it is a fitting accompaniment to this raw and immediate solo piano set recorded at the University of Stellenbosch in August 2010.

The album’s charm lies in the unfettered composure of Mbambisa’s performances. Stripped arrangements dispense with ensemble, stage and spotlight and gather listeners around the piano with vocalisations and foot stomps adding intimacy and grit. Black Heroes pits nostalgia against the blues but it’s ultimately the redemptive power of music with soul that wins.

Black Heroes is produced by Jonathan Eato, curator of the JISA (Jazz in South Africa) Project, which aims “to develop a critical understanding of jazz in South Africa that is informed by the thinking of the musicians who make the music.” The album’s liner notes are lovingly assembled, featuring archive photography and a comprehensive discography. All rights to the compositions and recording are held by Bra Tete and all revenue from CD sales goes directly to him.

Tete Mbambisa at the Black Heroes album launch in Cape Town

22 April 2012 | UCT College of Music | Photo © Calum MacNaughton

Bruce Langhorne :: Tambourine Man (2011)

“Back there was something ELSE!” writes Bob Dylan in a 2004 handwritten note reproduced on the inner sleeve of Bruce Langhorne’s 2011 solo release Tambourine Man. “Like they say,” Dylan continues, “it was better to be in chains with friends than in a garden with strangers.”

The “back there” of Dylan’s message refers to New York in the 1960s, where Langhorne forged a reputation as one of the most important session guitarists of the emerging folk-rock scene. Toting a Turkish frame drum around the studio, he inspired the song “Mr. Tambourine Man” and features prominently throughout Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home (1965). “Friends” included the likes of Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Peter LaFarge, Odetta, Buffy Sainte-Marie and even Hugh Masekela. Check the credits for Bra Hugh’s signature 1968 single “Grazing in the Grass” and you’ll find Bruce Langhorne on guitar.

Although he composed film scores in the 70s and 80s, Tambourine Man is essentially Bruce Langhorne’s first solo album in a fifty year recording career. It’s an eclectic set that reflects a myriad of world influences traversing Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. It’s also laced with the kind of devilish humour that could only come from a man who invented an African Hot Pepper Sauce. Be sure to check out Langhorne’s slow maskanda treatment of “Mary Had a Little Lamb“ (replete with slide bass, spoken word bridge and blues harp in lieu of accordion).

Big up to George Madaraz and Debbie Green of George-Green Studios for producing and many thanks to Maureen Nathan (who attended the CD launch in the US) for bringing an autographed copy back to Cape Town. A friend of the Tambourine Man and a champion of South African music, Maureen Nathan watched Mama Goema with Bruce Langhorne in Los Angeles. Bruce sent this wonderful message back to the Goema Orchestra:

“Clothe the Naked

Feed the Poor

Keep on Playing Together”

Mama Goema :: Spine Road High School

There’s nothing like getting to watch a film at school! 136 Grade 10s at Spine Road High in Mitchells Plain got to kick back and enjoy Mama Goema at their Tuesday morning assembley after the Freedom Day long weekend. There was, naturally, a pedagogical spin to the screening as learners were encouraged to consider Cape Town’s ever-growing film industry as a potential career choice. Moreover, the learners were reminded that they don’t have to look any further than their own communities to tell compelling stories that the rest of the world wants to hear. And they also missed 10 minutes of Maths (sorry teachers)!

“The movie was quite interesting. There were various types of intruments and that was gevaarlik.”

“The movie did rock! I learnt about all the different instruments and how musicians act funny.”

United Opposition Parties :: Secrecy Bill Meeting

A creative journalism piece documenting the United Opposition Parties' public meeting concerning the "Secrecy Bill" on Saturday 17 March 2012 in Khayelitsha. Excerpts of speakers from the participating parties and weaved together to reflect a shared position on the issue at hand while Mangosuthu Buthelezi, whose Inkatha Freedom Party plays a key role in bringing opposition parties together, concludes proceedings by evoking the spirit of a new movement.

Kyle Shepherd :: South African History !X (2012)

Kyle Shepherd’s music is not only a form of personal expression but also reveals bright collaborative sparks with his trio and guests and is seeped in South Africa’s collective consciousness. A compelling performer and articulate interviewee, Kyle appears in the film Mama Goema (2011) and underlines how deeply Cape Town’s music is connected to the “goema lifestyle” of our city’s inhabitants. Co-produced by Profoundly South African, the above video formed part of a value exchange with the filmmakers. It accompanies the launch of South African History !X (2012), an album in which Kyle unravels the matrix of social and historic influences that inform his compositions.

“X in mathematics represents the unknown. For my generation of young South Africans, large parts of our history still remain unknown. Many of us are, however, committed to knowing ourselves through knowing our country and the truth around its history. Like all my work, this still remains a sincerely musical statement, with the music also offering a path to self-discovery.” Kyle Shepherd

Ernestine Deane & The Vision

Ernestine Deane’s multi-faceted artistic trajectory has seen her fronting the electro combo MoodPhase5, a group that propelled Cape Town sound into the “naughties” with the millennium masterpiece Steady On (2000). A softer solo release, Dub for Mama, appeared in 2007 and she has crafted moving, socio-historic performance pieces in recent years. Her current trio, Ernestine & The Vision, blends rhythm with soul and features percussionist Brian de Goede and Texito Langa on drums. Deeply inspired by Cape Town and its people, Ernestine appears in the music documentary Mama Goema (2011). Co-produced by Profoundly South African, the above video formed part of a value exchange with the filmmakers.

Cape Town Motif :: Conrad Hicks

Cape Town has long projected a single dimension to the international community, flaunting its natural beauty and presenting a caricature of its rich culture. While mountain and sea are undeniably Cape Town’s principle hooks, the picture is incomplete without exploring their intrinsic link to the creative pulse at the city’s heart.

Motif is a prospective web-doc series seeking funding and/or co-production to showcase twelve creative Capetonians and allow viewers to experience the city through their craft. Creativity in Cape Town is not driven by a collective manifesto or common goals but there is a clearly distinguishable “motif” in the city’s creative emissions. All it takes is twelve creatives for the pattern to emerge. A broad range of creative disciplines will be presented with a view to traversing socio-economic, gender, ethnic and national lines. The widest possible lens is applied to reflect the city’s contemporary multiplicity.

Against the backdrop of Cape Town being selected as World Design Capital 2014, our pilot “webisode” features one of our city’s many extraordinary creative talents. Conrad Hicks, a blacksmith who works in the iconic Bijou building in the suburb of Observatory, shares his thoughts on the overlapping worlds of toolmaking and sculpture. A Profoundly South African co-production, this video was created by Matthew Carkeek, Calum MacNaughton and Ian Naidu for Inner City Media.

The Genuines :: Recorded Works 1986-1993

A lightning-speed inventory of protest and defiance is mashed with theatrical satire and cut against biting realism to create an inspired piece of art of great cultural significance. The Genuines “Struggle” video is the work of filmmakers Joëlle Chesselet and Craig Matthew of Doxa Productions and appears in the documentary Mama Goema. Garnering cult status for its high energy performances, these are the band's complete recorded works:

► GOEMA (Shifty Records, 1986)
Recorded at Shifty Studios (Johannesburg - June 1986)
Produced & Engineered by Lloyd Ross
DRUMS: Ian Herman
KEYBOARDS, VOCALS & PERCUSSION: Hilton Schilder
GUITAR: Gerard O'Brien
BASS & VOCALS: Mac McKenzie

A1. Troubled Dreams (G.S. McKenzie)
A2. Pictures of You (G.S. McKenzie)
A3. Shadows Lengthens (H. Schilder, D. Lynnejutzen)
A4. Goema (G.S. McKenzie)
A5. Observations (G.S. McKenzie)
A6. Struggle (G.S. McKenzie, R. Jansen)
B1. 20th Floor (G.S. McKenzie)
B2. The Edge (G.S. McKenzie)
B3. Let's Walk (G.S. McKenzie)
B4. Narrow Escape (H. Schilder)
B5. The Dancer (G.S. McKenzie)
B6. Do It Right (G.S. McKenzie)










► MR. MAC & THE GENUINES (Shifty Records, 1987)
Recorded at Shifty Studios (Johannesburg - July to October 1987)
Produced & Engineered by Lloyd Ross
BANJO & HUMMING: Sam "Mr. Mac" McKenzie
GUITAR: Gerard O'Brien
DRUMS: Ian Herman
BASS & VOCALS: Gerald "Mac" McKenzie
KEYBOARDS, PERCUSSION & VOCALS: Hilton Schilder
BRASS ARRANGEMENTS: Robbie Jansen (Alto Sax) & Tony Cedras (Trumpet)

A1. Baba Riebab/Vrot Tamatie (Traditional | The Genuines)
A2. Beetle (Traditional | S. McKenzie)
A3. Desperately (G.S. McKenzie)
A4. Captain McKenzie (H. Schilder)
A5. Hies Ôs Weer (G.S. McKenzie)
A6. Ou Kleine Jannie (H. Schilder)
A7. Won't Discuss It (G.S. McKenzie)
B1. Moonbeams (S. McKenzie)
B2. Maanskyn (Traditional | The Genuines)
B3. Blikkie Se Boem (Traditional | The Genuines)
B4. Ek Het 'n Bra (H. Schilder)
B5. Ja Soe Waar (H. Schilder)
B6. Do It Right (G.S. McKenzie)
B7. Mr. Mac Plays On (S. McKenzie)







► CHASING THE VOODOO (Provogue Music, 1991) 
Recorded at Tango Studio (Eindhoven, Netherlands - November 1990)
Engineered by Frank van Donkersgoed
Mixed & Edited by Peer Raven
GUITAR & BACKING VOCALS: Gerard O'Brien
VOCALS & BASS: Mac McKenzie
DRUMS & BACKING VOCALS: Karriem Darries
SPECIAL GUEST: Louis Raubenheimer
All Songs Composed by G.S. McKenzie

1. Ozone Layer
2. Love Song
3. Me & My Baby
4. All About
5. Fire of Life
6. Hope & Despair
7. Woman is...
8. Slow Slow
9. 21st Century
10. I Love a Scandal
11. Bridges













► NIGHTS WITH THE CAPE GYPSIES (Mountain Records, 1993)
Recorded at Milestone Studios (Cape Town - 1993)
Produced by Murray Anderson
Mastered by Helge Halvé
ELECTRIC BASS & VOCALS: Gerald "Mac" McKenzie
ELECTRIC GUITAR: Gerard O'Brien
ACOUSTIC PIANO & SYNTHESIZERS: Hilton Schilder
DRUMS: Vincent Pavitt & Jack Momple
SAXOPHONE & FLUTE: Robbie Jansen

1. Jompass (H. Schilder)
2. Bulala Ekabe (H. Schilder)
3. Slow Slow (G.S. McKenzie)
4. Night with the Cape Gypsies (G.S. McKenzie)
5. Wie is Frank? (H. Schilder)
6. Wave After Wave (G.S. McKenzie)
7. Chris is Slams (H. Schilder)
8. National Explosion (G.S. McKenzie)

Cape Town Goema Orchestra :: Table Bay Concerto

“This showcase of Cape music will do Capetonians proud,” says composer Mac McKenzie. “The Table Bay Concerto in G-Major is a chronological account of Table Bay as I imagine it, my impression of its evolution from the time just before the arrival of European settlers through the era of colonialism up to the present. I’ve borrowed from various forms such as European hymnody, classical and street music (which I sometimes call tsotsi music) and assimilated them into goema, the heartbeat of the minstrel carnival.”

“The 20-piece Cape Town Goema Orchestra is a synergy of diverse performers from highly experienced classical, jazz and traditional instrumentalists to young church and street musicians, all connected to the rich culture and soundscape of our city. It’s a truly unifying force in our country that celebrates and takes our music forward with vision and passion.”

A "bootleg" concert video was produced by Profoundly South African for the Cape Town Composers' Workshop archive and documents the world première of the the Table Bay Concerto on 26 November 2011. Also featured here is the work of guest composers Mandla Mlangeni and Derek Gripper. Stream the following playlist above:

1. D-Major Goema (G.S. McKenzie)
2. Inventory (M. Mlangeni)
3. Copenhagen (D. Gripper)
4. The Table Bay Concerto in G-Major (G.S. McKenzie)
5. Healing Destination ft. Kaatjie Davids (G.S. McKenzie)

Bokamoso Ba Rona :: Youth Dialogue Forums

In early 2011, representatives of South Africa's youth assembled in Caledon in the Western Cape to take part in the Parliamentary Millennium Project's Youth Dialogue Forums (forming part of the broader Bokamoso Ba Rona Youth Campaign). Participants took part in workshops and forums, articulating the needs and concerns young people in South Africa.