Alex Jazz maestro Zacks Nkosi is remembered

One of Alexandra’s legendary jazz musicians Zacks Nkosi will be remembered in a befitting week-long workshop and tribute facilitated by some of the township’s great sons and daughters.

Among the township’s greats to facilitate and address the workshops which begin on 24 May and run until 30 May at Sankopano Centre in Alexandra, will feature renowned names such as poet Laurette and former CEO of the Freedom Park in Pretoria, Professor Wally Mongane Serote.

Another renowned figure to grace the workshop is the well-travelled Ntshieng Makgoro, an outstanding actor, director, writer and arts activist at The Market Theatre. In 2000 he was bestowed with the Graham Landop Award as the Best Young Director of The Market Theatre.

Tshepo Rapola is an aspiring theatre entrepreneur and researcher of contemporary dance history. His talent was discovered by Publik Kreativity Drama Crew as a dancer. He was trained at Afro-fusion and Afro-contemporary at Moving into Dance Mophatong.

This choreographer of Enigma which performed at FNB Dance Umbrella is also the choreographer of the award-winning work titled, Women’s liberation directed by the late legend Bongani Dlamini. Rapola is also known for his acting role in a play titled, Haunted written by Nhlanhla Mazibuko.

The skills workshop, known as ‘The Rise of Zacks Nkosi Skill Development Workshop’, is spearheaded by Alex creative Refilwe Pieterse who is an activist, the founder of SA Arts News and a poet.

Born in the dusty streets of Alexandra in 1983, she formed the Alexandra Book Club together with the Alex Arts Academy. She has been accepted by Unicaf University in Zambia to do her honour’s degree in literature and has completed three years of a study programme at Wits in Applied Arts and Arts Management.

Nkosi, who was born in Alexandra in 1919, was described by Pieterse as a former bandleader, composer, and saxophonist of the first order. He was one of the most important figures during the golden age of African Jazz in the 1950s and ’60s.

“Not only did he have a distinctive voice as a soloist on clarinet and alto sax, but he was also a major composer,” Pieterse said. She has become the first-ever arts activist in the history of the township to initiate and create a platform through a digital workshop to remember and celebrate the life of this great Alex icon.

Pieterse said the Zacks Nkosi digital workshop aims at reaching young people, artists and residents of Alexandra, engaging with them to equip the youngsters with the necessary skills needed in this digital era.

“The celebration of this great legend is one of its kind and the first to take place in Alexandra. With May being Africa Month, this becomes a fitting time to celebrate the life and times of Zacks Nkosi and engage, teach and educate the youth of Alexandra about all they need to know about this great township of ours, its history, the icons, legends and much more.

“It is very exciting to work with amazing people like Brian Nyoni as a facilitator and Ausi Matlakala Motaung, who’s also very experienced in the arts industry as a theatre practitioner and also as a facilitator of indigenous games in townships.”