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South Africa Gets its Due, New York Style
Text and photos by Banning Eyre
On April 4, 2003, South African music enjoyed an unprecedented New York moment when Hugh Masekela and Friends nearly filled Carnegie Hall's 2800 seats, and then delivered a star-studded, all-out, spirit-soaring night of music that lasted nearly three hours and left the place elated and buzzing. Though largely unheralded, even overlooked, this event marked a milestone for African music in New York. After all, what other African country could assemble such a cast of talent including pop singers and jazz musicians, veteran legends and present day greats, and sell that many high-priced tickets in the live music capital of America? The answer is simple: there is none. And it's worth looking at why this South African night was such a brilliant success.
First, the talent lineup was extraordinary. Though Masekela's name was the main one billed, he shared center stage with some of the greatest singers in South Africa today. Jabu Khanyile, founder of the ground-breaking jazz/roots group Bayete, performed his signature song "Mmalo-we," outstripping any of the versions he's recorded over the years. Vusi Mahlasela--a.k.a. "The Voice"--also outdid himself in an extended performance of his anthem "When You Come Back." One of the great innovators of Zulu pop music, Busi Mhlongo, performed a sweet, Miriam Makeba-style swing jazz number in the first half, and a deep, slow Zulu traditional song in the second. And Tsepo Tshola, formerly of the band Sankomota, raised the rafters with his soulful, gravelly voice, little known outside South Africa, but now unforgettable to anyone present that night.
There were guest stars too, notably Angelique Kidjo who delivered a beautifully understated read of Masekela's "Soweto Blues," and--unbilled--Paul Simon who came onstage at the close of the show to present Masekela with a birthday cake, and then picked up an acoustic guitar to lead the band in a transcendent version of "Boy in the Bubble," the lead track from his legendary 1986 Graceland album.
Speaking of Graceland, much of the original band was there on stage as well, including Bakithi Kumalo on bass, Vincent Nguini on guitar, Tony Cedras on keyboards (ah, love that accordion!), and Morris Goldberg on pennywhistle and sax. But the coup-de-grace came in the presence of the 100-plus Laguardia High School Symphonic Choir. These talented kids had rehearsed with the South African musicians for two weeks and they sang through nearly the entire concert, peppering song after song with bursts of full-throated, youthful choral joy. Masekela rightly called them a "true rainbow choir." They swayed, and in some cases outright boogied, along with the music, and whenever they unleashed their huge collective voice, they fulfilled not only the promise of South Africa's profoundly powerful vocal music, but also its inspiring social and political revolution.
This gets at another reason why Carnegie Hall was so full that night. New York and South Africa have a special relationship. Masekela came and lived here back in the 1960s, early in his exile from the apartheid regime, and recorded here the first real afropop number to reach the American charts, "Grazin' in the Grass," which he dutifully reprised in this show. From that time on, New Yorkers of all stripes, but especially its black political organizations, remained in partnership and solidarity with the forces that resisted and ultimately toppled the racist South African regime, and ever since, friendship and celebration have ensued.
It did not hurt that Masekela recently released his best album in many years, Time (Columbia), or that the sensational documentary film Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony recently opened in New York to rave reviews. Masekela and especially Vusi Mahlasela are key voices in the film and on its rich soundtrack CD, also just out from ATO Records. But this was not a media driven crowd. Rather it was a gathering of old friends, veterans from the worldwide struggle to free South Africa, and from the struggle to win African music a place in the hearts and minds of Americans.
Masekela performed songs from throughout his own long career, notably his anguished ode to the train that carried migrant laborers to the mines, "Stimela," and his ebullient love song to Nelson Mandela, "Bring Him Back Home." Masekela lavished praise upon his fellow singers on the stage, telling their stories with intimacy and affection before each one sang. As those singers remained on stage, joining the glorious chorus while others took their turns at the center, it became clear that this concert was about far more than the career of one man, or even the deep talent well of one of the world's greatest musical nations. This was a celebration of creativity and solidarity on the highest plane. It presented a vision of what truly working together can yield, a big vision that many nations, especially in Africa, would do well to study and emulate. And thank God, New York responded in kind.
The photos accompanying this feature are not up to Afropop's usual standards. Carnegie Hall's strict photography rules allow only shots from the back of the hall, and our lenses just aren't up to the challenge. Still, we hope that these shots, however compromised, deliver something of the feeling of this historic night. B.E.
Contributed by: Banning Eyre
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