The history of jazz in South Africa is inextricably linked to the legacy of the struggle against apartheid.
The first wave of jazz musicians who gained renown outside of the nation were forced into exile in the early 1960s following the Sharpeville massacre, which galvanized the movement against the white minority government and led to a wave of repression (including the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela).
McCoy Mrubata was a musically inclined teenager in 1976 when the student-led Soweto uprising set South Africa alight and ended his formal education. He was 16 “and South Africa was on fire,” said the saxophonist on a recent video call from his home in Johannesburg. “Our lives revolved around rallies and protesting.”
As he made his way as a musician Mrubata found mentors among leading jazz artists in the Cape Town township of Langa, players like penny whistle master Robert Sithole, pianist Madoda Gxabeka, tenor saxophonist Winston Ngozi, and trumpeter Fezekile “Blackie” Tempi.
He soaked up everything around him, from the chants of traditional healers and the hymns of the Zion Church to the lilting swing of local bands. Now one of South Africa’s most esteemed jazz artists, Mrubata returns to the Bay Area this week as part of an SFJAZZ series in the Joe Henderson Lab marking the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s Freedom Day (April 27), a holiday that commemorates the first post-apartheid elections held in 1994.
The series opens April 25 with a solo performance by guitar virtuoso Derek Gripper, who’s created a gorgeous repertoire transcribing pieces by Mali’s Toumani Diabaté and Ballaké Sissoko from the 21-string kora. “He’s a very important figure in South African music,” Mrubata said.
On Friday and Saturday, April 26-27, luminous South African vocalist, composer, dancer and visual artist and composer Melanie Scholtz and Kenyan pianist Aaron Rimbui celebrate the memory of Miriam Makeba (1932 –2008), the legendary South African vocalist and activist known as “Mama Africa,” who was exiled by the apartheid regime in 1960.
“We both come from the Cape Town and the last time I was in the States we worked together,” Mrubata said. “She’s an all-around beautiful artist.”
Mrubata closes the celebration April 28 with a quartet with Maine-based American guitarist Gary Wittner, who co-produced his new album for Ropeadope, “Lullaby for Khayoyo.” Berkeley-raised New York bassist Noah Garabedian and East Bay drum great Deszon Claiborne round out the band.
“Lullaby for Khayoyo,” marking Mrubata’s 21st album as a leader, is an unmistakably South African project marked by the musician’s gently rolling melodies. He semes to have a bottomless well of tunes, songs that often come to him in his dreams
“I wake up with full-fledged songs,” he said. “Melodies come to me. My voice mail is full of hundreds of melodies. In the ‘90s, I’d sing them into my Walkman. As far as music education, I never got formal training. I got tips from older musicians who learned like me.”
In the decades of struggle against apartheid, artists like trumpeter Hugh Masakela, pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, drummer Louis Moholo and bassist Johnny Dyani were on the front lines. At home, they provided a vision for a post-apartheid society in groups like the integrated Blue Notes (with Moholo and Dyani). In exile they helped keep the fight in the headlines.
In the 30 years since the election that brought Mandela’s African National Congress party to power, jazz artists have found a very different kind of struggle.
“The music played a big role back in the day when we were oppressed,” Mrubata said. “Now we encourage people to keep up the faith. Some of us are not happy with how things are. A lot of people will tell you on paper we’re free, but we still have schools that do not have flush toilets. Thanks God we have good opposition parties trying to make things work.”
More South African jazz artists will hit the Bay Area June 8 at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival with a double bill featuring the father-and-son Steve and Bokani Dyer Ensemble and women-led Izithunywa featuring trumpeter Ndabo Zulu and saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane (they’ll also be on hand for a June 7 listening event at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco).
Mrubata is eager to share his new music with Bay Area audiences, but he’s also excited to catch another artist who’s performing in SFJAZZ’s Minor Auditorium while he’s in town. “John Scofield is one of my heroes,” he said. “I’m going to bring 12 or 13 CDs for him to sign.”
Contract Andrew Gilbert at jazzscribe@aol.com.
SOUTH AFRICAN FREEDOM DAY
When & where: 7 & 8:30 p.m. April 25-27, 6 & 7:30 p.m. April 28
Where: SFJAZZ Center’s Joe Henderson Lab, San Francisco
Tickets: $25-$30; www.sfjazz.org