Local jazz muso humbled by award

Legendary musician and local resident Pops Mohamed was recently honoured with a Mzansi Lifetime Achievement Award and shows no signs of stopping.

Mohamed was awarded the Mzantsi Lifetime Achievement Award on 11 August. He said, “It was an incredible surprise. After so many years in music, was extremely humbling to receive the award. It’s a great milestone in my career and encourages me to do even more.”

The award is just one many he has won over his career that spanned over 30 years. Born in Benoni, he began his first band, The Valiants, at the age of 14. By the early 70’s he was collaborating with the likes of Basil Coetzee, Robbie Jansen, Abdullah Ibrahim and Sipho Gumede on a series of albums known as Black Disco.

But by 1976, the accomplished keyboardist and guitarist took began to gravitate towards indigenous musical textures and began learning a variety of African musical instruments including the Kora and Mbira.

He said, “This change came in ’76 when I saw South Africans changing and revolution picked with everyone being able to envision the idea of a new South Africa.”

He then embarked on learning a variety of instruments which culminated in what could be considered his masterpiece Kalamazoo released in 1991 which fused indigenous music, jazz and Latin music among others.

Today, Mohamed runs weekly concerts at Queen Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant in Norwood on Thursdays, while passing on his knowledge to a younger generation of musicians including a collaboration with singer Ntsiki Mazwai on the song Believe released last year.

“I think its important for me now to hand down what I’ve learned to the newer generation,” he concluded.

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