{"id":139583,"date":"2019-06-18T22:47:42","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T20:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/jonas-gwangwas-music-and-life-embody-the-resistance-against-apartheid-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2019-06-18T22:47:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T20:47:42","slug":"jonas-gwangwas-music-and-life-embody-the-resistance-against-apartheid-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/jonas-gwangwas-music-and-life-embody-the-resistance-against-apartheid-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonas Gwangwa&#8217;s music and life embody the resistance against apartheid | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/jonas-gwangwas-music-and-life-embody-the-resistance-against-apartheid-118792\">Jonas Gwangwa&#8217;s music and life embody the resistance against apartheid<\/a>: <\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/279964\/original\/file-20190618-118543-1vjuhx7.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip\" \/><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Jonas Gwangwa in 2010.<\/span> <span class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"source\">Daniel Karmann\/EPA<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently sent good wishes to hospitalised trombonist\/composer Jonas Gwangwa, it represented far more than a routine official courtesy. Even before he became president, Ramaphosa relished the South African jazz that spoke for and of the country\u2019s liberation struggle. So it was no surprise that during inauguration speech in 2018 he famously invoked a Hugh Masekela song, <em>Thuma Mina<\/em>, isiZulu for \u201csend me\u201d. And there are few musicians whose opus embodies the political spirit of South African liberation more vividly than the 81-year-old Gwangwa.<\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kzDGhMO3LSc?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Hugh Masekela\u2019s \u2018Thuma Mina\u2019<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Resistance was the sub-text of Gwangwa\u2019s early musical endeavours. The Jazz Epistles, the first outfit to foreground his voice as composer and player, was also the first black ensemble in South Africa to record an LP. Black bands had previously been confined to the territory of the single, for the country\u2019s equivalent of the \u201crace records\u201d market. Race records were made exclusively by and for African Americans, especially from the 1920s to the 1940s. <\/p>\n<p>The Jazz Epistles\u2019 repertoire asserted many characteristics that apartheid cultural policy suppressed: non-tribalism, originality and urban sophistication. But it also spoke of musicians\u2019 conditions of production, in the Kippie Moeketsi track <em>Scullery Department<\/em>. <\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mhdW0wLh9QQ?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Jazz Epistles track \u2018Scullery Department\u2019.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This song was a dedication to themselves and their peers: good enough to play for elite white patrons, but forced to take their interval meal on the steps of the back kitchen.<\/p>\n<h2>Dinner apartheid<\/h2>\n<p>That meal-break apartheid was only one aspect of much broader repression. Gwangwa was born in 1937 in Orlando East, the first township of Soweto, formally founded six years earlier. As Gwangwa grew up, Orlando exposed him to both the oppressions suffered by every black community \u2013 police raids, arbitrary arrests, pass laws and impoverished amenities \u2013 but also to an intensely political cultural milieus. <\/p>\n<p>Orlando writers, visiting journalist Anthony Sampson noted in his essay Orlando Revisited, were very clear about their African nationalist identity: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u2018We don\u2019t just want to be writers,\u2019 said Zeke [Ezekiel Mphahlele], \u2018we want to be non-white writers\u2019 \u2013 using the word in the proud way of people who are used to being non-every thing \u2013 non-Europeans, non-voters, non-travellers, non-drinkers, non-starters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As Gwangwa began to work regularly in music, he was exposed to the routine brutality of the police. He recalled:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Sometimes those <em>boere<\/em> boys just get so mean and take [your pass] from you\u2026 Otherwise they would make you perform in the middle of the night. In the middle of the street you\u2019d be tap-dancing at 3 am.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The vivid memories of that and more \u2013- the segregated audiences for the musical King Kong; the privilege of white producers and promoters \u2013- travelled with Gwangwa into exile first in London and then at the Manhattan School of Music. <\/p>\n<p>When he arranged singer Miriam Makeba\u2019s Grammy-winning 1965 duo album with American artist Harry Belafonte, he was not simply supporting a fellow South African; he was participating in the politics of the project. He became impatient with the sometimes shallow understanding of the music\u2019s American patrons: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Because it was those back-to-Africa days, so you had to explain that it takes more than an Afro and a dashiki to be an African, you know? You have to think it and feel it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>ANC talent<\/h2>\n<p>So when in the early 1980s then ANC President OR Tambo called him to Angola to help develop the raw performance talent with which the ANC training camps teemed into a touring performance show for the movement, he did not hesitate. He brought everything he had learned about production and stagecraft in the States to bear on the project: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I knew I could create a show that would have universal appeal: the musical structure is very simple, the rhythm will get you, the dances are attractive\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Initially, the thought was to have a presentation of struggle songs; but Gwangwa and his team created a full musical. Theatrical interludes sandwiched the songs; the script was updated when political events (or musical fashions)  in South Africa overtook it. <\/p>\n<p>After a camp vehicle accident seriously injured his leg, Gwangwa began to spend more time in Botswana with his other band, Shakawe. There were politics there too: the politics of nonracialism and African regional solidarity, reflected in the mixed personnel of players, the outreach activities of Shakawe\u2019s umbrella parent, the Medu Arts Ensemble, and  repertoire. That spoke of both current regional events, political themes, and the rich wellspring of Setswana tradition in songs such as the wedding anthem <em>Kgomo di Tsile<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BKiuQGTmh_4?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">\u2018Kgomo di Tsile.\u2019<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>South African military raids and death squads in the mid-1980s had forced Gwangwa away once more, to London. It was appropriate that Gwangwa was George Fenton\u2019s collaborator on the soundtrack to the Steve Biko movie, <em>Cry Freedom<\/em>, which went on to be nominated for an Oscar and to win an Ivor Novello and other awards.<\/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\">\u2018Cry Freedom.\u2019<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Exile<\/h2>\n<p>The politics of Gwangwa\u2019s music have stayed constant over the years, and are also apparent in the eight albums he has released in South Africa since returning from 30 years of exile. Reflecting on that, he told journalist Nechama Brodie: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Miriam Makeba organised me a Guinea passport. When that expired I got a Zambian travel document, then a Tanzanian one, then a Ghanaian passport. At airports you get immigration queues for \u2018locals\u2019 and for \u2018others\u2019. I had always been one of the others. Then, one day, I got my South African passport. And it was valid for 10 years. It was like: wow, you know, yeah. Hallelujah!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure>             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"260\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OA4gAy8_jTA?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Jonas Gwangwa\u2019s \u2018Freedom for some\u2019.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But his lyrics have never been uncritical praise singing. As he regularly [sang](https:\/\/sonichits.com\/video\/Jonas_Gwangwa\/Freedom_for_Some_(is_Freedom_for_None):<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Freedom for some is freedom for none.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Perhaps that, as much as <em>Thuma Mina<\/em>, could also be a leitmotif for the Ramaphosa presidency?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/118792\/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 organization 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 noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/jonas-gwangwas-music-and-life-embody-the-resistance-against-apartheid-118792\">The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more on <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Join the fun:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/add-your-event\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Add Your event<\/a> | <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mypr.co.za\/submit\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Submit a Press Release<\/a> | <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/directory\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Add your listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jonas Gwangwa&#8217;s music and life embody the resistance against apartheid: Jonas Gwangwa in 2010. Daniel Karmann\/EPA When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently sent good wishes to hospitalised trombonist\/composer Jonas Gwangwa, it represented far more than a routine official courtesy. Even before he became president, Ramaphosa relished the South African jazz that spoke for and [&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":[2324,2546,8890,35077,35076,9890,2860,1789,6877],"class_list":{"0":"post-139583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-against","8":"tag-apartheid","9":"tag-conversation","10":"tag-embody","11":"tag-gwangwas","12":"tag-jonas","13":"tag-life","14":"tag-music","15":"tag-resistance","16":"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\/139583","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=139583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139583\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}