We
have always maintained that the music called Jazz is an American product, and
we did trace its origins to the slave songs of African Americans in New
Orleans, Louisiana. Our interest in the understanding of jazz is driven by a
stronger interest in jazz education in order to clear any misunderstanding or
misrepresentation of this genre for posterity. We write about jazz because of
our passion for the arts and our love for this beautiful music. Jazz music was
founded in the southern part of the United States in the 1800’s, and in the
early years, it was spelt ‘Jass’. The word ‘Jazz’ began as a West Coast slang
and was first used to refer to music from Chicago around 1915. Jazz almost
defies definition, as there are many types and styles of it. Its original style
was a combination of ragtime (piano) music with experimental orchestral
techniques and its cultural origins being New Orleans, Louisiana in the early
1900s. Its stylistic origins also include the blues, folk music and the
marching band. Jazz music appeared at the beginning of 20th century in African
American communities in Southern United States, and was born from a confluence
of African and European music.
The
combination of an already established African American population with
influence from the Caribbean and Mexican began to integrate with the popular
brass bands of that time in Louisiana and other southern states. As the sound
began to travel in the U. S. in the 1920s, it became popular in big cities such
as New York and Chicago, due to a large extent to the advent of radio and live
performances in Jazz clubs. The music of jazz is unique for its loose rules,
which allows it to be flexible therefore viable for audiences of all ages. As
the music has spread around the world, it has drawn on local, national and
regional musical cultures, with its aesthetics being adapted to its varied
environments giving rise to many distinctive styles.
The
roots of jazz are found in the sounds of West Africa, typified by the use of
drums and singing. Ripped by the slave trade and forbidden to play the drums or
speak their native languages, African Americans preserved a common thread from
the aesthetics of African music. These threads expressed themselves in the
blues, gospel music and ultimately jazz. Various jazz musicians have travelled
to Africa in search of new inspiration from the vitality of African music.
Louis Armstrong visited Ghana in 1956 and many others followed suit. With the
roots of jazz traced to Africa and women in jazz always celebrated, it is only
fitting that we pay tribute to Africa’s first lady of jazz- Miriam Makeba,
popularly known as Mama Africa.
Her
birth name is Zinzeli Miriam Makeba; she was born in Prospect Township,
Johannesburg, South Africa on March 4th1932. She is popular and well known
because of her work as a South African singer and civil rights activities. She
was the first African artist to popularize African music in the U.S. and around
the world, and won the prestigious Grammy award with Harry Balafonte for the
album “An Evening with Balafonte/Makeba” recorded in 1966.
Miriam
also toured and recorded with a host of world-renowned artists such as Paul
Simon and Dizzy Gillespie. She also toured and recorded with another South
African musician Hugh Masekela who would later become her husband in the early
years of her musical career. She was a vocal critic of Apartheid and campaigned
actively against the system, which led the Apartheid regime to revoke her
citizenship, and banned her from her own country. After the end of Apartheid,
Miriam returned home with honor and dignity and was given a hero’s welcome by
Nelson Mandela and a free South Africa.
Miriam’s
musical career lasted from 1954 to 2008, and her first exposure was with the
South African Jazz Band – Manhattan Brothers. She would later leave the group
to record with her own all woman group called – The Skylarks, singing a blend
of jazz and traditional melodies of South Africa. Her hit song “Pata Pata” was
recorded in 1957 and released in the U.S. ten years later in 1967. Although she
was then considered a successful recording artist, she was only receiving a few
dollars for each recording session with no payment for provincial royalties. As
a result, she was keen to leave South Africa and pursue a professional musical
career in the U. S. and Europe.
In
1959, Miriam made a cameo appearance in an anti-apartheid documentary film
called “Come Back, Africa” produced by an independent American filmmaker Lionel
Rogasin. Her appearance received rave reviews and she made an enormous
impression on viewers and critics, which motivated Rogasin to arrange a visa
for Miriam to attend the premier of the film in America where the film received
the critics award. She would later sing the lead female role in the Broadway
musical – “King Kong” alongside her partner and fellow South African – Hugh
Masekela. Her first appearance in the U.S. was in November 1959 on the Steve
Allen T.V. show.
During
the same year, Miriam travelled to London where she met harry Belafonte who
assisted her to gain entry into the U.S. where she would find fame and more
success. She made her first U.S. studio album in 1960 with RCA Records entitled
– “Miriam Makeba”. In 1962, Makeba and Belafonte sang at the birthday party of
American President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden in New York. In
1963, she released her second album for RCA entitled – “The World of Miriam
Makeba” and later that year, she testified against Apartheid before the United
Nations. As a result of this testimony, the South African government revoked
her citizenship and right to return home. She would become a woman with no
country, but the world became her country and in her lifetime, she was granted
honorary citizenship to ten countries and had nine passports.
Miriam
made her first club appearance at the ‘Village Vanguard’ in New York. Her fame
and reputation grew and she went on to release a few more hit songs including
“The Click Song’-(Qong qothwane) in her native tongue of Xhosa, and “Malaika”,
another famous release. It was during this time that Newsweek magazine compared
her voice to “the smoky tones and delicate phrasing of Ella Fitzgerald. She was
proud of her African heritage, and in spite of her success and stardom, she
wore no makeup and refused to curl her hair for shows. When the single song
‘Pata Pata’ was released in the U.S. in 1967, it became a worldwide hit and
opened the door for more success.
However,
in 1968, Miriam got married to Stokely Carmichael (former Black Panther), and
this caused a lot of controversy in the U.S. which led to the cancellation of
her record deals and concert tours. She then decided to leave the U.S. and with
her husband, they moved to Guinea where she would become very close to
President Sekou Toure and his wife Andree. Guinea would be her home for the
next fifteen years and she was appointed Guinea’s official delegate to the
United Nations. As a result of her diligence at the U.N., she was awarded the
‘Dag Hammarskjoid Peace Prize’. She separated with Carmichael in 1973 and
continued to perform mainly in Africa and Europe.
After
the death of her only daughter Bongi, Miriam moved to Brussels. It was during
this period that she was introduced to Paul Simon by Hugh Masekela. Together
they embarked on a very successful Graceland tour which was filmed and released
as – “Graceland: The African Concert”. Luck would again come her way, and after
touring with Paul Simon, she was signed by Warner Brothers Record Company and
the album ‘Sangoma (Healer)’ was released. In 1988, she took part in the Nelson
Mandela 70th birthday tribute held at Wembley Stadium. This concert was also called the “Free Nelson
Mandela concert” and was the catalyst for the ‘Free Mandela Movement’ which
would become international and eventually successful.
In
1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison and soon after, persuaded Miriam
to return home which she did, travelling on her French passport. In 1991,
with
Dizzi Gillespie, Nina Simone and Hugh Masekela, she recorded the album “Eyes on
Tomorrow”. The album is a combination of jazz, R&B, and Pop and African
music and was a hit in Africa. She toured with Dizzi worldwide to promote the
album and would make a guest appearance on the Cosby show later that year. In
1992, she starred in the film, “Sarafina” which is a movie about the Soweto
uprising. The following year, she released the song “Sing Me a Song”. In 2000
she released the album ‘Homeland” on the Putumayo label and was nominated for a
Grammy award in the world music category.
In 2004, Miriam was voted 38th in the top 100
great South Africans. She started a worldwide farewell tour in the same year
holding concerts in all those countries she had visited during her working
life. It was during one of those concerts on November 10th 2008, while
performing at a benefit concert for writer Roberto Saviano, when she collapsed
and died.
We
hope you have enjoyed reading about jazz and the African experience.
