Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse goes back to Soweto roots
The show is expected to deliver a night to remember and a night to honour South African music legends.
Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse got the crowd up off their feet! It had to be said that one of the highlights of the evening was this legendary saxophone playing singer though the benefit concert, 2 July 2014 at the joburg theatre start off on a somber tune it end off with a dancing celebration honouring the memory of musician Bongani Masuku and all artists that have fallen victim to violence crimes. Picture: Valentina Nicol
It was in Soweto where the magic of Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse was bred, nurtured and ignited.
Tomorrow and on Saturday, he returns home after half-a-decade since his last performed at the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani.
Aptly titled The Journey, his show at the world-class theatre will be celebrating his years in the music and entertainment industry with his friends and the people of Soweto.
Mabuse describes the performance as taking his fans and followers on a journey of a timeline of his legendary compositions. He promises to create moments of nostalgia which have kept audiences transfixed over his illustrious 52-year career, throughout which he is fondly known as the “Gentle Giant” of jazz.
Patrons are in for a treat as The Journey features both seasoned and new artists from around South Africa, such as Cape Town sensation, instrumentalist and vocalist Tony Cedras, as well as Mabuse’s friends with whom he has worked over the years.
Other artists set to join him on stage are jazz star Gloria Bosman and ’90s kwaito band Trompies.
The rest of the stellar line-up includes young prodigy Neo Motsatse on violin, Jude Harpster (harp), Poorvi (sitar), Ashish (tabla), guitarist Billy Monama and Amazing Voices choir.
The show is expected to deliver a night to remember, a night to celebrate and a night to honour South African music legends.
Of his love of Soweto township and its influence on his work, “Hotstix” says: “I was born in an informal settlement … a shantytown. When I was five, we moved to Orlando West. Soweto gave me all I am.
“I am born of the township. It inspires and motivates my creativity. I imbibe from its resourceful well of great talent, street cred and intellectually engaging discourse, shebeens, clever blacks and tycoons.
“My marriage, my beautiful children, my grandchildren, my loving families and immediate and extended wonderful friends, Soweto is home. It is a bedrock of the resistance struggle against oppression, with two Nobel laureates – Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu – and three great soccer teams – Orlando Pirates, Moroka Swallows and Kaizer Chiefs. There is no place like it on this Earth.”
“Hotstix” is known for his hits like Burn Out which, in the early ’80s, sold more than 500 000 copies, and the giant disco Tsonga track of the late ’80s Jive Soweto.
These hits and others like Shikisha, Thaba Bosiu and Rhumba Mama, will form part of The Journey’s repertoire
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