THE SPIRITUAL WEIGHT OF SONNY ROLLINS: REFLECTIONS THROUGH RENE MCLEAN
As news of Sonny Rollins‘s passing travelled across the jazz world, much was written about the musician. The giant. The innovator. The architect of modern tenor saxophone. The man who stood shoulder to shoulder with Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker and the other titans who altered the course of twentieth-century […]
CELEBRATING A PHENOMENAL BLACK WOMAN: MY THOUGHTS OF GOGO NNOSENG ELLEN KATE KUZWAYO (1914-2006)
Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the passing of Gogo Nnoseng Ellen Kate Kuzwayo. Gogo Nnoseng is without doubt one of the most iconic black women of the past century. Her legacy is monumental and continues to provide us with useful insights into a society whose internal combustion was fueled by colonialism, racism, capitalism and […]
THE INCANDESCENCE OF MILES DAVIS
![Miles Davis standing before a Jean-Michel Basquiat–inspired artwork of his own in the late 1980s. [Image: Art, Artists, Artwork via Facebook]](https://gsmn.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/471434339_10162436194120120_3200466192645212309_n-1024x730.jpg)
There is something unsettling about the late works of Miles Davis. Not the music. We have learned how to speak about that. We have found language for Kind of Blue, for Bitches Brew, for the many revolutions that made Miles legible to history. It is the drawings that resist us. In the latter years of […]
HUGH MASIKELA WAS NEITHER “A FREEDOM FIGHTER NOR POLITICAL ACTIVIST”
![Bra Hugh Masekela [Image: Wits Uni / Daily Maverick]](https://gsmn.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/WitsUni-Hugh-citation-1024x595.jpg)
It is unfair for anyone to think or expect that Tribute to Hugh Masekela was about the celebration of a political icon. Yes, Bra Hugh, as the legendary musician was affectionately called, was …er a highly conscientized politically conscious artist. But he was neither a freedom fighter nor a political activist. More than anything, when […]
THE SORCERER: MILES DAVIS AT 100
The other day, I woke up with a serious affliction. I was hustled and mugged by a tune. I could not banish it from my interiority. It had me in its clutches. The song was Jo-Jo from Miles Davis album Amandla, released in 1989, on the cusp of our democratic breakthrough. The album was an […]
THE SOLITUDE OF SILENCE: LIFE THROUGH A HORN AND LESSONS FROM MILES DAVIS
Every person eventually discovers an instrument through which existence becomes intelligible. For some it is a pen, for others a camera, a classroom, a stethoscope, a courtroom, or the quiet patience of a workshop bench. The instrument becomes more than a tool; it becomes a lens through which the world is interpreted. Over time it […]
SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO MOLEFE PHETO, THE SELFLESS LEGEND OF THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE
Molefe Pheto was an outstanding person who contributed to the (national liberation) struggle, and in the arts. A cultural activist of note who was an author, a teacher, a coordinator who touched many lives, wherever he has passed. The committee comprised people from different genres, artists, poets, business people, journalists, struggle veterans, authors, film and […]
KIPPIE MOEKETSI AT 100: THE SPIRIT OF SOUTH AFRICAN JAZZ LIVES ON
On the 27th of July 2025, South Africa commemorates the centenary of one of its most compelling cultural figures. Kippie Moeketsi. Affectionately known as “South Africa’s Charlie Parker.” Yet Kippie was far more than a local imitation of an American great. He was a revolution in tone, mood, and being. He was the soul of […]
OPEN MIC, OPEN MIND: A MASTERCLASS WITH LEFIFI TLADI
There are evenings that unfold as planned. Carefully curated events with clear start times, smooth transitions, and a sense of control that leaves everyone reassured. And then there are evenings that refuse containment. Where the very act of gathering becomes part ritual, part rebellion, and part revelation. The recent evening at MOMO Gallery, in honour […]
MAMA ABIGAIL KUBEKA TO BE HONOURED IN STAR-STUDDED VAN TOEKA AF TRIBUTE CONCERT
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, under the banner of the Van Toeka Af Living Legends Recognition Series, will host a powerful tribute concert in honour of Mama Abigail Kubeka, celebrating her 68 years of excellence in the South African music, arts, and cultural industry. Taking place on Friday, 5 July 2025 at 18:00 […]
SA CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY OF MOLEFE PHETO, THE MUCH LOVED AZANIAN “BULL FROM MORULENG”
Today, June 11, marks the celebration of a true giant of the anti-apartheid Struggle, Molefe Pheto, as he turns 90. The highly esteemed, affable nonagenarian is a renowned South African musician, teacher, and activist. Born on June 11, 1935, in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Pheto has had a remarkable life dedicated to waging an anti-racist struggle […]
ACTIVITIES LINED UP TO HONOUR CDE PHETHO, THE AZANIAN “BULL FROM MORULENG”
On Wednesday June 11 2025, mentors and mentees in the cultural sphere, are expected to descend on the residence of internationally acclaimed cultural icon Molefe Pheto at Bangadile Farm, in Magalies, to celebrate the illustrious life of the living legend turning 90 years of age. The June 11, 2025 event in Magalies will be the […]