Re-inventing the spirit of Malombo into a jazz idiom

The letter in the last edition attempted to unpack the rationale behind the whistle-stop visit by sensational Spanish soccer phenomenon, Barcelona FC. On talk radio, social media and other platforms, the almost boring argument was put forth by people who should know better: that the money spent by Mamelodi Sundowns FC chairman, Patrice Motsepe, could have built a few RDP houses.

This narrative also formed part of The BEAT’s pre-publication morning conference on Monday 21 May. Fortunately for me, none of the reporters have such narrow vision about such things. Mzamane Ringane has advised the broader public to get into the habit of looking at the bigger picture. The bigger picture, according to Mzamane, is that Patrice Motsepe continues to invest millions into the Motsepe Foundation, ABC Motsepe League and also the Kay Motsepe Cup, opening up opportunities for thousands of learners countrywide. The girl child benefits in the form of the annual Miss Mamelodi Sundowns beauty pageant, starting at regional level across the length and breadth of the country.

TK Mashaba has dared the chattering classes to give successful individuals like Motsepe the space to market his brand, in this case Mamelodi Sundowns FC. Lizzy Bapela observed that Patrice Motsepe was a philanthropist extraordinaire, whose warm heart is comparable only to himself. Having said that, we take this opportunity to thank all the readers who expressed joy and surprise at our front page lead last week. In that edition we allowed ourselves to be part of the story, by sharing our experiences with regards to the late press photographer, Sam Nzima, who took the iconic picture of a dying Hector Peterson during the Soweto uprising.

I for one was humbled when the high-profile The Sunday Independent commissioned me to write an obituary for Bra Sam.

Here I wrote about, among others, how during a writers’ seminar in Vienna, Austria, I got talking to an Afrikaner academic from the Diaspora. After I had mentioned during my official presentation that I was one among the Class of 1976, who hurled stones at military and police vehicles, the academic pulled me aside.

He winked and suggested that if indeed I threw stones in Pretoria’s Soshanguve, then he was on the receiving end, because he was one of the 18-year-olds who were conscripted to patrol the volatile townships. Small world! You shall have noticed that in the edition in your hands, we tried to find a local narrative regarding the passing of guitar wizard, Phillip Nchipi Tabane. The immediate local angle is that jazzophiles shall be hosting a session at Bela-Bela’s Club Paradise, dedicated to Tabane and the spirit of Limpopo’s own unique homebrewed Sepedi language “malopo” (traditional dance and song).

That was after two other ensemble members, Julian Bahula and Abbey Cindi, had gone into political exile. It was in the 1970s that Tabane and multi-talented drummer Gabriel “Ma-B” Thobejane improvised on the “malopo” sound, which they recreated into the internationally-acclaimed Malombo jazz idiom. The spirit of “malopo”, originating from across various Limpopo tribespeople, dates back many decades. The song and dance repertoire continues to be an integral part of unique events such as the crowning of Modadji, the rain Queen.

– The Beat