VCU/UKZN Jazz CD “Leap of Faith”
Our jointly released CD “Leap of Faith” was released in September/October on both continents. It is be available from both universities as well as from CDBaby.
Here’s a preview of this CD (written in the voice of Prof. García):
1. NIA (8:15)
soloists: Plunky Branch (soprano); Chris Ryan (gtr) & Linda Sikhakhane (tenor); Ildo Nandja (congas) & Sphelelo Mazibuko (dr)
comp: Plunky Branch (BMI) arr. Victor Haskins
As noted in the Trip 3 and 4 blogs, we received the benefit of perspectives from Ndikho and Nomusa Xaba in Durban on Trip 3 and then from Plunky Branch on Trip 4 in Richmond. I invited Victor to arrange this piece, which he did while attending Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead workshops in early March. This performance actually closed our March 28, 2013 Richmond concert.
2. LEAP OF FAITH (5:01)
soloists: Trey Sorrells (alto), Brendan Schnabel (tenor)
comp: Stephan le Roux
Here appears the first of our four commissions on this CD. The VCU team had met then-student Stephan le Roux when we first visited Durban last summer. VCU student Trey Sorrells, upon hearing Stephan’s writing in UKZN’s Arranging class under the direction of Prof. Demi Fernandez, immediately commented that he’d like to have some of Stephan’s music played in the U.S. His mentors certainly agree. Stephan’s new composition, “Leap of Faith,” really “stems out of a personal situational perspective. During the process of writing this I was faced with the decision to move to Cape Town and leave everything I had built up in Pietermaritzburg, hence the title. The African influence is basically just a product of what I experienced during my time at UKZN and the predominant African undertone a lot of the music there presented.” Stephan was mentored by Prof. Neil Gonsalves as he wrote the piece.
In all honesty, our performance later at VCU might have been a bit more accurate to the writer’s score; but this premiere performance at UKZN resonated with us as performers and with our Durban audience.
3. REUNION: BROTHERS FROM ANOTHER MOTHER (9:40)
soloists: Linda Sikhakhane (tenor), Sakhile Simani (tpt), Sebastian Goldswain (gtr), Lungelo Ngcobo (pno), Ildo Nandja (bs), Sphelelo Mazibuko (dr)
comp: Antonio J. García (ASCAP)
Similarly, we share UKZN’s Richmond performance of this commission composed by VCU Jazz Director Antonio García. “Reunion: Brothers from Another Mother” brings elements of South African music, Zulu influences, Hi-Life (or Highlife) and Yoruban West African music, and American Gospel and Funk together in a piece that reflects the joy and friendship immediately apparent among the VCU and UKZN musicians upon their very first meeting in Durban in July 2012–a delight that remains to this day. He was also influenced by his two occasions hosting the late Zim Ngqawana (a UKZN alumnus), who had emphasized cultural dance as the root of a work García had commissioned him to compose for students years ago: this piece should dance–and make the audience want to!
4. LAGA THE RIDER (8:11)
soloists: Sakhile Simani (tpt), Lungelo Ngcobo (pno)
comp: Sakhile Simani
The background of this piece was aptly described by UKZN Jazz Director Neil Gonsalves in his introduction for the audience. “Sakhile has composed this as a tribute to his friend…Laga…. The Rider….” End of story! And what a beautiful tune.
5. MAKALAFUKWE (8:06)
soloists: Victor Haskins (tpt), Chris Ryan (gtr), Trey Sorrells (alto), Brendan Schnabel (tenor), C.J. Wolfe (dr)
comp: Sazi Dlamini (SAMRO)
UKZN musicologist Dr. Sazi Dlamini is founder of the well-known Durban band “Skokiana” and big band “Inkwishi.” His diverse stylistic approaches in performance and composition include collaborative works for electronic sound synthesis, musical bows, voice and percussion (Yinkosi Yeziziba [2002]); string quartet, ugubhu bow and percussion (Jiwe [2008]); gong, flute, guitar, musical bows and voices (Destiny [2003]); multimedia improvisation, turntables, wind instruments, movement, percussion and voice (Ekhaya [2010]); and Insurrections [2012]–a international collaborative CD album involving performance poets, electronic composition, singers, and acoustic instrumentalists from India and South Africa. His newly commissioned work, “Makalafukwe,” fuses “jazz-influenced South African musical idioms variously known as marabi, kwela, or mbaqanga with the similarly influenced musical styles of the transatlantic experience–in particular west-African highlife and Afro-Caribbean calypso. The piece celebrates the musical experiences of black South African youth in the 1950s and the 1960s: growing up in rural mission stations and peri-urban black townships, and learning to play music on penny-whistles (flageolets), acoustic guitars, and one-string bass made out of a plywood tea-chest.” And it was a wonderful and challenging piece to internalize.
6. BREATHE (6:36)
soloists: Sebastian Goldswain (gtr), Linda Sikhakhane (tenor)
comp: Victor X. Haskins (BMI)
VCU’s student commission was presented by Victor Haskins to the UKZN team. “The idea for this tune really came from the desire to write a tune that had a ‘classical’-sounding influence, which the melody most definitely exhibits. The title is drawn from the way the tune makes me feel–as though I am taking in a very deep, relaxing breath–cathartic, in a way.” Victor was mentored by Prof. Antonio García as he wrote the piece.
7. A LITTLE SOUL NEVER HURT NOBODY (9:02)
soloists: Victor Haskins (tpt), Chris Ryan (gtr), Neil Gonsalves (pno); improv soli with Trey Sorrells (alto), Brendan Schnabel (tenor), & Victor Haskins (tpt)
comp: Chris Ryan
This composition had opened our March 6 Durban concert but was not recorded due to technical equipment difficulty. The reprise on our Richmond concert, presented here, reunited the VCU team with its collaborator, Prof. Neil Gonsalves from UKZN. The subtitle of the composition is “When Charles Met Ray,” a nod to the influence of Ray Charles and Charles Mingus.
8. SOUTHERN SKIES AND LAVENDER BLUE (9:07)
soloists: Neil Gonsalves (pno), Antonio García (tbn)
comp: Neil Gonsalves (SAMRO)
A collaborative performance by the two musicians most steering this innovative exchange project seemed inevitable and proved a delight in the making as well as in the hearing. “Southern Skies and Lavender Blue” had been inspired by Neil’s September trip to Virginia, the colors of the blossoms, and my wife Mary’s love of shades of purple–which propel me to often wear shirts of said color!
9. MFOKA ZIBHEBHU (4:11)
soloists: Madala Kunene (gtr/vocals), Victor Haskins (tpt), Lungelo Ngcobo (pno), Trey Sorrells (alto), Chris Ryan (gtr); Brendan Schnabel & Linda Sikhakhane (tenor)
comp: Mzwake Kunene
arr: Antonio J. García
pub: Durban Beach Music Publishing (SAMRO)
As noted in the Trip 1 blog, the VCU and UKZN teams met Madala Kunene in August 2012, learning his personal and musical history and briefly collaborating with him informally in some music-making. We were delighted when he agreed to perform with us the following March! But we needed formal arrangements to join his vision with the musicianship of a dozen students from two continents. Just two two weeks prior to the Durban concert I received tracks from Madala’s then-unreleased CD, “1959” (still unreleased as of this writing). I chose two tunes, then transcribed and arranged them.
I chose “Mfoka Zibhebhu” for several reasons. It tells an interesting story. It had been taught to the VCU and UKZN teams by Madala and Sazi in an informal outdoor setting in Durban in August 2012 after what had been a transformative tour through Madala’s childhood neighborhoods, from which he and his family had been evicted during a race-prejudiced takeover. And it has characteristics I would describe as straight-eighths folk, swing-eighths folk (often over a straight-eighths bass line), swing, shuffle, Afro-Cuban, and double-time swing. My goal was to bring each of those elements together in a cohesive arrangement for the 13 performers. This chart and the next were completed a week before the Durban concert, rehearsed briefly by the VCU team in the U.S., and e-mailed out to the UKZN team for their review.
Madala’s lyrics are as follows:
Mfoka Zibhebhu, wolobola ngani ekhweni (2x)
Nkomo azikho, zawela nemifula (2x)
Mfoka Zibhebhu, wolobola ngani ekhweni (2x)
Nkomo azikho, zawela nemifula (2x)
Badapada bai
Nkomo aziko zawela nemifula…
The story:
“After the queen of England, Queen Victoria, had King Cetshwayo arrested, she demanded 60,000 head of cattle be paid to the British army before granting him a hearing. This was to feed the British forces occupying Natal at the time. It was Zibhebhu who took it upon himself to work for the release of the King, moving around and collecting the cattle from the Zulu nation. Mfoka Zibhebhu is a song challenging Zibhebhu’s son, about where he thinks he would later find the cows to pay the lobola (dowry) for his bride after all the cows collected by his father, Zibhebhu were given to the British forces.”
It was delight for the student performers of both schools to perform this South African music in Durban with its composer, Madala Kunene.
10. NO PASS, NO SPECIAL (9:52)
soloists: Madala Kunene (gtr/vocals), Darryl Harper (clar)
comp: Mzwake Kunene
arr: Antonio J. García
pub: Durban Beach Music Publishing (SAMRO)
Also chosen by me from Kunene’s “1959” pre-CD tracks, the choice was obvious due to the powerful message conveyed by the tune’s story: “We all belong to the Human race. Let’s focus on our racial similarities, which in any event far outweigh the differences. Let’s just love ourselves by loving each other.”
Madala’s lyrics are as follows:
No Pass no Special
O musani ukukhombana ngeminwe
Ngoba ‘siyinto eyodwa
Bathi’ mZulu, bathi’ mXhosa, bathi’ umSuthu, bat’ mSwazi into eyodwa
Hamba we Apartheid, Hamba we Apartheid
Hawu phume ngomnyango, phuma nangewindi, nangembotshana encanyana
Asikufuni thina, asikufuni thina
Siyafana sonke, igazi linye, emphefumulo munye, inyama yinye
Yinto yodwa lento, Yinto yodwa
Yet you’ll only hear the final lines sung in our rendition. We had known that Madala Kunene was not the primary vocalist on the “1959” recording but had mistakenly understood that he would be delighted to sing all the lyrics at our Durban concert. On arrival to our rehearsal in Durban, we learned that was not the case: he had always known that the opening sections of the lyrics were not in his vocal range.
So the chart became an instrumental reflection of the spirit of the lyrics, a reflection with which Madala was most pleased. Aside from Dr. Darryl Harper’s fine clarinet-improvisation musings, I had derived the arrangement from the internal fingerings of Madala’s own guitar-playing. It made sense, given that we would be imposing 13 musicians on his solo guitar style, to simply amplify elements of his style so that we might resonate as one ensemble. As with the previous track on this CD, the students sing in chorus near the end of the piece. The result of the efforts of all was contemplative and moving, bringing Madala to meditative heights and the Durban audience to collaborate enthusiastically.
All selections were recorded live: no overdubs added, with several edits made by Antonio García to accommodate the length of this CD. #1, 3, 4, 6, & 7 were recorded at Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall, VCU, Richmond, VA, March 28, 2013; #2, 5, 8, 9, & 10 at the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, UKZN, Durban, South Africa, March 6, 2013.
#2, 3, & 6 were commissioned by VCU in Honor of its Partnership with UKZN. #5 was commissioned by The Southern African Music Organisation, Limited (SAMRO) and VCU in Honor of VCU’s Partnership with the UKZN. All ten arrangements received their first performances within these two March 2013 concerts.
Tracks 3, 4, 6: UKZN JAZZ LEGACY ENSEMBLE
Director–Neil Gonsalves
Tenor–Linda Sikhakhane; Trumpet–Sakhile Simani
(also congas on #6); Guitar–Sebastian Goldswain
(also rainstick on #6); Piano–Lungelo Ngcobo;
Bass–Ildo Nandja; Drums–Sphelelo Mazibuko
Tracks 2, 5, 7: VCU AFRICA COMBO
Director–Antonio J. García
Alto–Trey Sorrells; Tenor–Brendan Schnabel;
Trumpet–Victor Haskins; Guitar–Chris Ryan;
Bass–Justin Esposito; Drums–C.J. Wolfe
On #4 add Trombone–Antonio García.
On #7 add Piano–Neil Gonsalves.
Tracks 1, 9, 10: COMBINED VCU/UKZN ENSEMBLES
Directors–Antonio J. García, Neil Gonsalves
All 12 students perform on these three tracks. Further details:
Track 1 includes Plunky Branch (soprano), Sebastian Goldswain (guitar/rainstick), Ildo Nandja (congas), Sphelelo Mazibuko (drums), C.J. Wolfe (hand percussion).
Track 9 includes Madala Kunene (acoustic guitar/vocals), Sebastian Goldswain (rhythm guitar), Justin Esposito (bass), Sphelelo Mazibuko (congas), Ildo Nandja (hand percussion), C.J. Wolfe (drums), all (vocals); Antonio García conducting.
Track 10 includes Madala Kunene (acoustic guitar/vocals), Darryl Harper (clarinet), Sebastian Goldswain (guitar/rainstick), Ildo Nandja (bass), Sphelelo Mazibuko (congas), C.J. Wolfe (drums), Justin Esposito (hand percussion), all (vocals); Antonio García conducting.
Track 8:
Trombone–Antonio García; Piano–Neil Gonsalves
Producer, Liner Notes, Graphics, & Layout; plus (Selections 1, 7, & 10) Assistant Engineer–Antonio J. García
Engineer (Selections 2, 5, 8, 9, & 10)–Chris Stranex (SAS Productions, Durban, South Africa)
Engineer (Selections #1, 3, 4, 6, & 7; plus all 10 remixes)–Curt Blankenship (VCU)
Technical Assistant (Selections #2, 5, 8, 9, & 10)–Jesse Castellani (VCU)
For More Information
VCU Jazz Studies
922 Park Avenue
Box 842004
Richmond VA 23284-2004 USA
ph (001) 804-827-0699
fax (001) 804-827-0230
<ajgarcia@vcu.edu>
VCU Department of Music
922 Park Avenue
Box 842004
Richmond VA 23284-2004 USA
ph (001) 804-828-1166
fax (001) 804-827-0230
<music@vcu.edu>
UKZN Centre for Jazz and Popular Music
Howard College Campus
75th Anniversary Avenue
Durban, South Africa 4041
ph (27) (0)31-260-3385
fax (27) (0)31-260-1048
<Gonsalves@ukzn.ac.za>