Toti muso to perform at Cape Town International Jazz Festival
Sibusiso is one of the first Durban musos to be invited to the prestigious festival.
An Amanzimtoti jazz recording artist is finally getting the recognition he deserves with an offer to perform at the weekend’s Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
Sibusiso ‘Mash’ Mashiloane, a jazz music lecturer at the University of KZN (UKZN), will perform with a seven-piece band on the Moses Molelekwa Stage on Saturday, 24 March from 6pm to 7pm. He is one of the first Durban musos to be invited to the prestigious festival, and certainly the youngest. “I was very surprised to be invited. It felt like I’m now accepted and we are moving forward,” said the 34-year-old, referring to the KZN jazz scene.
“My jazz is rooted in the SA jazz and traditional sound. Last year I visited the festival to promote my music and a lot of the journalists there referred to my music as Zulu jazz, something new and unique.”
He was born and schooled in Bethel. “I always knew I would be involved in jazz. I grew up in a home where my mother and aunts constantly played jazz. I always listened to that music. My high school marks were not good because I wanted to play music.”
Mash started informal piano lessons in 1997 and played the drums at church. In 2003 he started studying jazz and popular music at the then Natal Technikon towards a four-year diploma, finishing at Rowan University in New Jersey, USA. He then returned for his honours and masters at UKZN, specialising in jazz performance. Last year he registered to do his doctorate.
He moved to Toti in 2010 and married Pheladi the following year. They have a four-year-old son Hubo, the subject of one of Mash’s compositions.
He has released two albums to date – ‘Amanz’ Olwandle’ (which translates to seawater, a reference to his love of living in Amanzimtoti), released in December 2016, and ‘Rotha – A Tribute to Mama’, named after his mother, released in August 2017.
His first album won the Best Jazz Album (voted for by the public) and Best Contemporary Jazz Album (decided by a jury) at the 2017 Mzantsi Jazz Awards.
“My goal is to release an album a year. I feel I still have a lot of music to come out of me. I think modern jazz is moving forward and improving. Our jazz has a lot of South African-ness to it and it has been influenced by getting exposure to other influences. SA has its own sound – and it’s time for the world to hear it.”
Sbu’s music can be heard on Soundlcoud and on his website www.sibumash.com, and is available to purchase on all online platforms, including iTunes and Amazon. For bookings, email marlyn@isupportdoyou.com or call 079-707-7773 or 031-711-1524.
