Tag: Musician

MAMA’S SPIRIT, HALF A BAND: ZENZI MAKEBA’S TRIBUTE AT WITS

On a warm afternoon at the Chris Seabrooke Theatre, Wits University in Johannesburg did something rare: it filled a state of the art small intimate auditorium to celebrate an African artist without apologizing for her Africanness. The Miriam Makeba Tribute, a collaboration between the Makeba Foundation and the Wits School of Arts, was relatively well […]

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 […]

SKETCHES OF BECOMING: CONVERSATIONS ON MILES

There are friendships forged in proximity, and others tempered in absence. Stretched across borders, tested by history, and sustained by memory. The musical reflections that follow emerge from the latter: a lifelong dialogue between us. Our paths diverged early under the pressures of exile, yet remained tethered by a shared sensibility, a common ear, and […]

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 […]

HUGH’S: A JAZZ CLUB, A LEGACY, A HOMECOMING

Honouring Hugh Masekela and the Spirit of Jazz that travels the world There are places where music is performed, and then there are places where music lives. Jazz, perhaps more than any other genre, requires a home that allows it to breathe, rooms where improvisation hangs in the air like incense, where the distance between […]

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 […]

TRIBUTE TO JAZZ MAESTRO FEZILE ‘FEYA’ FAKU – HUMBLE TO THE END

Rising From The Township Dust He was proud that he grew up in the impoverished township. It was rich in artistic and musical history and heritage. Thus, at the age of 12 years, the young boy’s talent was discovered by wise elders. Duke Makasi. Whitey Khulumani, and others. These legends recognized the spark within him. […]

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 […]