Soweto Blues: Jazz, Popular Music, and Politics in South Africa

Description

A major new contribution to the study of African music, Soweto Blues tells the remarkable story of how jazz became a key part of South Africa's struggles in the 20th Century, and provides a fascinating overview of the ongoing links between African and American styles of music. Ansell illustrates how jazz occupies a unique place in South African music. Through interviews with hundreds of musicians, she pieces together a vibrant narrative history, bringing to life the early politics of resistance, the atmosphere of illegal performance spaces, the global anti-apartheid influence of Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba, as well as the post-apartheid upheavals in the national broadcasting and recording industries. Featuring an introduction by Abdullah Ibrahim, Soweto Blues is a fitting tribute to the power of music to inspire optimism and self-expression in the darkest of times. FROM THE INTRODUCTION "This book tells of the journeys-in both directions-between village and city, between saxophone and cellphone, between Langa and Cape Town, between America and Africa that, over the past century, have created the unique sound dubbed 'South African Jazz'. The term itself is contentious. As in America, some politically-aware South African players dislike the term for its social connotations. 'The term jazz was used to describe the music of brothels. It was simply another way of denigrating the creativity of African musicians,' says percussionist and composer Ndikho Xaba. And, as in the rest of the world, many musical explorers resent the constraints of an externally defined musical box. In South Africa, apartheid overlaid the word with other, more sinister connotations. In some critical and ethno-musicological contexts, the music was evaluated by the degree of its American-ness and denigrated as impure when it employed African idioms in composition or playing. Also under apartheid, the white authorities found it unacceptable that black musicians should be acknowledged as capable of playing such 'sophisticated' music. And so symbolic annihilation became part of the hegemonic staging and broadcasting of jazz. Playing behind a screen at Cape Town City Hall while a white musician mimed his notes, reedman Winston Mankunku Ngozi was billed as Winston Mann. In radio broadcasts, pianist Tony Schilder heard himself re-christened Peter Evans, and trumpeter Johnny Mekoa became Johnny Keen."

Gwen Ansell is Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in South Africa. She wrote and produced Ubuyile: Jazz Coming Home, an 8-part radio series broadcast in South Africa in 2001.

"Through interviews with a multi-generational cast of literally hundreds of South African musicians, Gwen Ansell retells a story of political ferment, illegal shebeens, underground music, exile and, ultimately, triumph, while tracing the ongoing development of the music up to the current day. Soweto Blues is both valuable and fascinating, a must-read for serious fans of South-Africa music." - Global Rhythm, October 2004 "The value of Ansell's text lies in the thoroughly comprehensive way in which she frames the lives of the South African artists who were brave enough to chant down apartheid." -Jazzwise, Kevin Le Gendre, March 2005 "...a hard-hitting discussion of how apartheid impacted the lives of ordinary people and musicians alike-and how struggles against it fostered new roads in music.... Soweto Blues is well researched, intimate, and powerful: a 'must' for any fan of South African music and history." -Library Bookwatch, 4/05 "...a hard-hitting discussion of how apartheid impacted the lives of ordinary people and musicians alike-and how struggles against it fostered new roads in music.... Soweto Blues is well researched, intimate, and powerful: a 'must' for any fan of South African music and history." -Library Bookwatch, 4/05 "Soweto Blues is the book South African jazz lovers have been praying for. The book is conceived to be a useful resource to anyone interested in South African jazz-in South Africa and abroad-with varying levels of knowledge about the music. Soweto Blues was a long time in the making. With luck, it will inspire more people to explore the incredible jazz that has come out of South Africa." -- allaboutjazz.com, January 15, 2006 "A comprehensive, informative, and essential companion to South African history. It illuminates the important link between history and culture, and in particular the role of artists in the transformation of South African society. Exquisitely researched and documented, Gwen Ansell's book is a labour of love and a gift to all South Africans."-Barbara Masekela, South African Ambassador to the United States "There's an immense amount of research behind each chapter, but this fascinating history is far from dry. What makes her rich politico-musical opus a joy to read is its anecdotal approach. The author lets the musicians talk [which] brings her pages to life and makes the whole book swing."-ThisDay (Johannesburg) -- Tom Rymour, ThisDay (Johannesburg) * Blurb from reviewer * "This book brings together in powerful co-existence the experiences of some of the greatest South African of the past 100 years. It is not only essential reading for all music students, music lovers and jazz aficionados, but also an important document about history and memory in South Africa. Carefully researched and vitalized by interviews, documentary evidence, and critical commentary, this book holds between its covers the many, sometimes contradictory, voices that have helped shape the society that South Africa is today. A moving and inspiring read, and a fine achievement."-Professor Christine Lucia,Chair of Music, School of the Arts, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa * Blurb from reviewer * "As guitarist Ray Chikapa Phiri states in reference to the anti-apartheid struggle, 'The music won'--eventually. Broadcaster, producer and author Gwen Ansell not only provides a great overview of that victorious struggle but also peels away the white-and-black curtains to show a society as diverse (ethnically and musically) as any on earth. As to be expected in a book about jazz and the blues, the U.S. figures prominently, from the storied visits of the Confederate warship Alabama to Capetown (and the "coon music" festivals it inspired) to U.S. South Africa musical collaborations with the lives of Paul Simon, etc. But this is undeniably the story of the music from the most critical perspective, the musicians', and their comments and testimonies liberally yet purposefuly intersperced throughout the book. Particularly compelling is the story of the music's role during the 'dead years' from the aftermath of the Sharpevilel massacre to democracy's beginnings a decade ago. The closing chapter illuminates the new battles being fought by and within the musical forces, such as social issues and identity questions, plus the traditional 'township' sound versus new directions. Whether as history lesson, music journal or social decument, the power of Soweto Blues is, like the music itself, inescapable. --Michael A. Edwards, Jazz Times (UK) 12/1/04 -- Michael A. Edwards * Blurb from reviewer * "Brilliant...the book is well written and those interested in learning about life under apartheid will appreciate its broad chronicling of this troubled time." -Choice, 3/05 * Choice *