{"id":112741,"date":"2018-04-10T02:47:40","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T00:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/an-appreciation-of-south-africas-jazz-stalwart-jonas-gwangwa-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2018-04-10T02:47:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T00:47:40","slug":"an-appreciation-of-south-africas-jazz-stalwart-jonas-gwangwa-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/an-appreciation-of-south-africas-jazz-stalwart-jonas-gwangwa-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"An appreciation of South Africa&#8217;s jazz stalwart Jonas Gwangwa | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/an-appreciation-of-south-africas-jazz-stalwart-jonas-gwangwa-91670\">An appreciation of South Africa&#8217;s jazz stalwart Jonas Gwangwa<\/a>: <\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/212255\/original\/file-20180327-109175-tz2jim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=5%2C338%2C1985%2C1730&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip\" \/><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Jonas Gwangwa performing in Germany in 2010.<\/span> <span class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"source\">EPA<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Music galore marked the passing early in 2018 of two South African titans of culture, Poet Laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile and trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Notable at their memorial events were powerfully moving tributes by two veterans still living: Caiphus Semenya and Jonas Gwangwa. They have shared stages and the perils of exile with both. <\/p>\n<p>Semenya and Gwangwa\u2019s histories raise a persistent question \u2013 why, given the scale of their achievements, are they not more famous? The answer may be rooted in the prominence of live performance over composition: everybody remembers the man or woman on stage. Fewer enquire about who wrote \u2013 let alone arranged \u2013 the song.<\/p>\n<p>So the 80-year-old Jonas Mosa Gwangwa can command instant warmth and recognition on stage, singing or playing trombone. That music has won him friends and fans around the world. The democratic South African government acknowledged his role in, as they termed it, \u201csinging down apartheid\u201d with the Order of Ikhamanga (Gold) in 2010. But even the citation for that award omitted much about the scope of his work as composer, arranger and director of stage shows.<\/p>\n<p>Gwangwa was born in Orlando East, outside Johannesburg in 1937. As a student, he became a founder-member of the influential Huddleston Jazz Band alongside Masekela. And, like his contemporary, he also moonlighted wherever there was band work \u2013 for example, in trumpeter Elijah Nwanyane\u2019s Rhythm Kings. <\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MS_0-Iy99L8?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Jonas Gwangwa often performed in Elijah\u2019s Rhythm Kings.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When American pianist John Mehegan visited South Africa in the late 1950s, Gwangwa was one of the improvisers with whom he chose to work.<\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a2HU70zFxl8?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Jonas Gwangwa performed with John Mehegan.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Those and other collaborations led, in turn, to the 1960 release of the \u201cJazz Epistles, Verse One\u201d. It was the first LP released by black modern jazz players in South Africa. It also featured Kippie Moeketsi, Masekela, Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) and more. As Gwangwa told me in my book <em>Soweto Blues<\/em> (2004):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Kippie got interested in both Hugh and I because we were attempting all those Charlie Parker things, and Kippie said: \u2018Oh, so you like this music? Come here, let me teach you\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It was during the making of the Jazz Epistles album that Gwangwa began to compose: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I sat at the piano, messing around until I came up with this tune <em>Carol\u2019s Drive<\/em>\u2026 a style was being formulated, of course, only I was not aware of this\u2026 I was thinking that I could improvise so why can\u2019t I compose?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LsNO5difumw?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The Jazz Epistles with the Gwangwa composition, \u2018Carol\u2019s Drive\u2019.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His music writing skills grew when he was engaged as a copyist and pit player for the famous musical \u201cKing Kong\u201d. When the production toured abroad in 1961, Gwangwa was one of many cast members who chose not to return to apartheid South Africa after the show\u2019s run concluded. He ended up with Masekela at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. <\/p>\n<p>Gwangwa played a pivotal role in selling South African music to initially uninterested US audiences. He was arranger and orchestra director on Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba\u2019s 1965 Grammy winning album \u201cAn Evening with Makeba and Belafonte\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TXAcMI1ROeI?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">\u2018Train Song\u2019 from \u2018An Evening with Makeba and Belafonte\u2019<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Over the following decade, he also had his own projects, touring with Masekela and Semenya in the band, Union of South Africa, alongside American jazz band, The Crusaders.<\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LYOlXyv-NOU?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Union of South Africa.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Gwangwa also released infectious Afro-pop with his band African Explosion.<\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HN9Jn74wi4I?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Gwangwa\u2019s band African Explosion.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Politically meaningful<\/h2>\n<p>But, increasingly, the necessity to do something more politically meaningful with his music was becoming. As Gwangwa told me:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I figured that before I became an Americanised African, I have to go home and\u2026 grab a little kryptonite.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In the early 1980s he was summoned by the president of the then banned African National Congress (ANC), Oliver Tambo to assist with a group of young musicians in the ANC training camps in Angola who wanted to perform. The result was a musical, called <em>Amandla!<\/em>. With its slick, disciplined stagecraft, varied programming, comedy, dance routines and original as well as traditional and struggle songs, <em>Amandla!<\/em> was light years away from simplistic agit-prop.<\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5fu9N1U9fFY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The track \u2018Sasol\u2019 from the original musical \u2018Amandla!\u2019.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The script-line was kept sharply up to date:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I always added or changed something to tally with whatever\u2019s happening inside the country.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Between tours, Gwangwa spent as much time as he could in the ANC\u2019s military camps, rehearsing, scouting new talent and sharing the risks. After a vehicle accident in Angola shattered his leg, he spent more time in Botswana, working with the Gaborone-based Medu Arts Ensemble. It was there that much of his best loved material was developed.<\/p>\n<p>The physical perils of exile manifested tragically on 14 June 1985 when the South African Defence Force raided Gaborone, killing more than a dozen people, many connected with Medu. For weeks afterwards, unmarked vehicles with South African number plates spied on Gaborone. One hunted Gwangwa through the streets until he evaded it in the narrow alleys of an informal settlement.<\/p>\n<h2>Shortlisted for an Oscar<\/h2>\n<p>In 1987, Gwangwa worked with UK composer George Fenton on the soundtrack for the movie \u201cCry Freedom\u201d, based on the friendship between newspaper editor Donald Woods and civil rights activist, Steve Biko. The music was shortlisted for an Oscar and multiple other international awards, winning both an Ivor Novello and a Black Emmy award. <\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7QUGWhxD8cw?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The title track from the soundtrack of \u2018Cry Freedom\u2019.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Although Gwangwa continued to perform \u2013 he played at both the 1988 Nelson Mandela Birthday Concert and the 1990 Mandela release concerts in London \u2013 that exposure opened additional doors to composing opportunities. Back home, by the mid-1990s his name was both a regular feature on music festival programmes, and a regular pop-up on film in composers\u2019 credits. Since his return home, he has released eight albums.<\/p>\n<p>Although composing now dominates his time, Gwangwa is still a powerfully compelling live artist. It may be a clich\u00e9, but one that is sometimes true: Gwangwa\u2019s music at two memorial services for Kgositsile earlier this year \u2013 reprising songs that Medu veterans remember well from Botswana \u2013 really did not leave a dry eye in the house.<\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8Cp5xTepH6o?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Gwangwa at a memorial service for Keorapetse Kgositsile.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/91670\/count.gif\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"fine-print\"><em><span>Gwen Ansell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><small><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/an-appreciation-of-south-africas-jazz-stalwart-jonas-gwangwa-91670\">The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more on <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\">The Conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Join the fun:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/add-your-event\/\">Add Your event<\/a> | <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mypr.co.za\/submit\">Submit a Press Release<\/a> | <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/directory\/\">Add your listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An appreciation of South Africa&#8217;s jazz stalwart Jonas Gwangwa: Jonas Gwangwa performing in Germany in 2010. EPA Music galore marked the passing early in 2018 of two South African titans of culture, Poet Laureate Keorapetse Kgositsile and trumpeter Hugh Masekela. Notable at their memorial events were powerfully moving tributes by two veterans still living: Caiphus [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[4635,26297,8890,13076,8304,9890,3576,30015],"class_list":{"0":"post-112741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-africas","8":"tag-appreciation","9":"tag-conversation","10":"tag-gwangwa","11":"tag-jazz","12":"tag-jonas","13":"tag-south","14":"tag-stalwart","15":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}