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Artist
African Jazz Pioneers
12+ albums
jazzworldafricaBig Bandafro-jazz
about
The background of the African Jazz Pioneers stretches back to the 1950s when jazz was the fashion and big bands were the name of the game. The Band from the Republic of South Africa, founded in the '80s, plays '50s and '60s South African jazz, attempting to recreate the fun of that era's live performances. It was in those days when Dorkay House (at the end of Eloff Street, Johannesburg) provided a haven for South Africa's music legends. On any single day it was the place that you could bump into Dollar Brand, Kippie Moeketsi, Miriam Makeba, Ntemi Piliso, Dudu Pukwana, Hugh Masekela, Wilson Silgee, Zakes Nkosi, Jonas Gwangwane... the list goes on forever. But all that ended in the sixties when big bands went out of fashion. Things remained that way until June 1981 when several members of the band decied it was time to get many of those great musicians back into Dorkay House and back on stage. Led by sax player Ntemi Piliso, a seasoned marabi star, the group comprises both veteran marabi players and younger musicians who have picked up the style. It's always fascinating to hear how musicians from other countries have taken “America's music” - Jazz - and adapted it to suit their ethnic and cultural heritage. This is especially true when one considers the music of Africa, one of the primary wellsprings of Jazz's syncopated rhythmic patterns. Rhythm is what African ensembles are about, an observation that is emphatically underscored by the African Jazz Pioneers on this collection
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