Township comets: The impact of South African jazz on the UK scene

TY - GEN

T1 - Township comets

T2 - 16th Biennial IASPM conference 'Situating Popular Musics'

AU - Eato, Jonathan Edward

PY - 2012/12

Y1 - 2012/12

N2 - That South African jazz musicians have been heavily influenced by musicians from the United States is both understandable and well understood. Various scholars including Coplan (2007), Ansell (2004), Martin (1999), Ballantine (1993), and Erl- man (1991), have traced the early history of this influence to visits by minstrel troupes and jubilee singers in the late nineteenth century. Ballantine (1993) informs us that in the mid twentieth century the influence continued to be important and, on occasion, it was made overt by groups with names such as the African Inkspots and the Manhattan Brothers doing superb imitations of the Inkspots and the Mills Brothers. Indeed artists continued to acknowledge their influences throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century; Chris McGregor’s “Sweet As Honey” (MUSEA 1988) was dedicated to Thelonious Monk and featured a typi- cally Monk-esque harmonic sequence, whilst Winston Mankunku Ngozi’s admira- tion for John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter can be found in more than just the title of “Dedication (To Daddy Trane and Brother Shorter)”. (WRC 1968; Sheer Sound 2003). But as more and more South African jazz artists sought refuge from the brutal politics at home they travelled and practiced their music overseas, notably in the United Kingdom (Abrahams, Africa, Bahula, Deppa, Dyani, Feza, Jolobe, Lipere, Matthews, McGregor, Mahlobo, Miller, Moholo-Moholo, Mothle, Mseleku, Pukwana, Ranku, Saul and Williams, amongst others). Drawing on personal inter- views and recorded music, this paper traces the influence of exiled South African musicians on UK musicians and their music.

AB - That South African jazz musicians have been heavily influenced by musicians from the United States is both understandable and well understood. Various scholars including Coplan (2007), Ansell (2004), Martin (1999), Ballantine (1993), and Erl- man (1991), have traced the early history of this influence to visits by minstrel troupes and jubilee singers in the late nineteenth century. Ballantine (1993) informs us that in the mid twentieth century the influence continued to be important and, on occasion, it was made overt by groups with names such as the African Inkspots and the Manhattan Brothers doing superb imitations of the Inkspots and the Mills Brothers. Indeed artists continued to acknowledge their influences throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century; Chris McGregor’s “Sweet As Honey” (MUSEA 1988) was dedicated to Thelonious Monk and featured a typi- cally Monk-esque harmonic sequence, whilst Winston Mankunku Ngozi’s admira- tion for John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter can be found in more than just the title of “Dedication (To Daddy Trane and Brother Shorter)”. (WRC 1968; Sheer Sound 2003). But as more and more South African jazz artists sought refuge from the brutal politics at home they travelled and practiced their music overseas, notably in the United Kingdom (Abrahams, Africa, Bahula, Deppa, Dyani, Feza, Jolobe, Lipere, Matthews, McGregor, Mahlobo, Miller, Moholo-Moholo, Mothle, Mseleku, Pukwana, Ranku, Saul and Williams, amongst others). Drawing on personal inter- views and recorded music, this paper traces the influence of exiled South African musicians on UK musicians and their music.

KW - jazz

KW - United Kingdom

KW - South Africa

KW - diaspora

KW - exile

U2 - 10.5429/2225-0301.2011.15

DO - 10.5429/2225-0301.2011.15

M3 - Conference contribution

VL - IASPM 16th International Conference Proceedings

SP - 112

EP - 118

BT - iaspm 2011 proceedings

A2 - Montano, Ed

A2 - Nardi, Carlo

PB - International Association for the Study of Popular Music

Y2 - 27 June 2011 through 1 July 2011

ER -