January 2021

Various artists (Bokani Dyer, Thandi Ntuli, The Ancestors – Indaba is(Brownswood Recordings. Album review by Dick Hovenga Johannesburg's vibrant jazz scene has been making an impression for many years, but has never before been…

Internationally renowned jazz icon and cultural activist Jonas Gwangwa was laid to rest in Johannesburg on Friday. The funeral was broadcast live on YouTube today, and we'll include the video below. The service was held at Christ The…

Jonas Gwangwa – the South African anti-apartheid activist, composer and jazz trombonist – has died, NPR reports. The news was confirmed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. "A giant of our revolutionary cultural movement and our…

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African jazz trombonist and composer Jonas Gwangwa, whose music fueled the fight against apartheid, died on Saturday at the age of 83, the presidency announced.South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela (left),…

South African jazz trombonist and composer Jonas Gwangwa, whose music fueled the fight against apartheid, died on Saturday at the age of 83, the presidency announced. President Cyril Ramaphosa led tributes to the legendary musician who…

William Parker deserves a Pulitzer Prize, or at least a MacArthur Fellowship. His work is nearly 50 years deep at this point and encompasses vocal and instrumental music (his own original compositions and brilliant reinterpretations…

South African jazz took a hit in the early 1960s when many of its leading lights - Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba - went into exile, many of them dying before their time. By the end of the decade, however, music was healthier, poised…