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Bassists of Ikapa (The Cape)

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Bassists of Ikapa (The Cape) Bassists of iKapa (the Cape) A brief analysis of the development of the bass guitar in the musical genres of Mbaqanga and Ghoema in Cape Town, South Africa with a focus on the biographies and techniques of two of Cape Town’s most prolific bassists, Spencer Mbadu and Gary Kriel. By Shaun Johannes Submitted in fulfilment of the Degree of Masters in Music, University of Cape Town, May 2010. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1 - Introduction Page 6 1.1 ‘The Fairest Cape’ - Background 1.1.1 Apartheid 1.2 Brief thesis background 1.3 Thesis objectives 1.4 Setting the boundaries for topics under review 1.5 Research methodology 1.6 Technical considerations in audio-visual recording and processing 1.7 Interview transcription considerations 1.8 Brief description and analysis of relevant literature Chapter 2 - Musical considerations – bass evolution, definitions and other considerations Page 24 2.1 Evolution of the Upright Bass and Electric Bass Guitar in Jazz Music 2.2 Contextualizing and defining Mbaqanga and Ghoema 2.2.1 Mbaqanga 2.2.2 Ghoema 2.3 Development of tone as a result of esotericism Chapter 3 - Spencer Mbadu Page 40 3.1 The biography 3.1.1 Earliest memories 3.1.2 Family or friends as an influence in music 3.2 The instruments 3.2.1 Instruments played and why 3.2.2 First explorations into identifying and emulating bassists 3.3 The tone – technical considerations 3 3.3.1 Physicality, Technique – Pizzicato and ‘Slapping and Popping’, Character and Sentiment 3.3.2 Gear - the bass, the equalisation and other technical considerations Chapter 4 - Gary Kriel Page 52 4.1 The biography 4.1.1 Earliest memories 4.1.2 Family or friends as an influence in music 4.2 The instruments 4.2.1 Instruments played and why 4.2.2 First explorations into identifying and emulating bassists 4.3 The tone – technical considerations 4.3.1 Physicality, Technique – Pizzicato and ‘Slapping and Popping’, Character and Sentiment 4.3.2 Gear - the bass, the equalisation and other technical considerations Chapter 5 - The Transcriptions Page 60 5.1 Transcription of the quintessential bassline and analysis 5.2 Transcription of the quintessential solo and analysis Chapter 6 - Conclusion Page 80 Terms and Definitions Page 84 Bibliography: Page 92 • Sources cited • Sources referenced Discography Page 98 4 Acknowledgments I wish to thank the following people: This thesis would not have been possible without the never-ending support and advice from the staff at the South African College of Music, namely Sammy Kruger, Neville Hartzenberg and Prof. James May. I want to thank Andrew Lilley, Darryl Andrews and Mike Campbell for their guidance and encouragement during the course of my studies at UCT. A special mention has to go to Sheila Taylor for dealing with the never-ending and frustrating administrative aspects of my studies and also for her subtle encouragement. Much gratitude and appreciation are also due to my supervisor and ‘Onnie’ Sylvia Bruinders who has offered up her time and for putting up with my endless questions and moaning. Thank you! Your strength and determination even during your time away was amazing and I wish you well with your own studies. Your limitless creativity, guidance and patience is truly appreciated and cherished. Thanks go to Julie Strauss and her staff at UCT Music Library. Many thanks also to the UCT Post-graduate Funding Office (specifically Bongiwe and Donrick) and the National Research Foundation for granting me a scholarship to further my studies and preserve some of our musical heritage. This thesis could not be possible without the time, efforts, help and guidance of Gary Kriel, Spencer Mbadu, their respective families and my ‘teacher’ George Werner - I am the musician I am because of all of your time and ‘investment’ in my life. Thanks to my parents, Karin and Elrich Johannes, and fiancé, Tracey Appolis, and her extended family for their permanent encouragement and support throughout my studies. All thanks and honour to God through whom all things are possible. 5 6 Chapter 1 - Introduction 1.1 ‘The Fairest Cape’ – Background Cape Town is situated at the south-western end of the African continent. Cape Agulhas, a town situated approximately 150 kilometres from Cape Town, is the lowest part of the African continent. It is the unofficial meeting place of the cold Benguela current from Antarctica that runs along the Atlantic Ocean and the warm Agulhas current from the Indian Ocean. This ‘meeting’ of cold and warm currents also serves as an apt metaphor when describing the races, cultures and music of the people living in Cape Town which is also known as the Mother City. One of the now iconic areas that best described this metaphor was District Six. “District Six,” in her description of this historic suburb of Cape Town, the vocalist Zelda Benjamin states: “was an education…in that particular area, we had blacks, whites, coloureds, Romanians… they all lived in that area” (Rasmussen 2003, 34). When in the company of older musicians the conversation would usually include a lament on the “good old days” before the Group Areas Act of 1950 when the ruling regime of the day, the National Party (NP), “established [separate] residential and business sections in urban areas for each race, and members of other races were barred from living, operating businesses, or owning land in them.”1 In doing so, the government cemented its newly established policy of segregation called apartheid. Separate white, coloured and black suburbs were established relative to their distance from the city centre. White suburbs were established closest to the central business district (CBD) as well as in the picturesque and lush areas of Cape Town. The coloured and black suburbs were at least 20km from the CBD. Apartheid was the ruling social policy in South Africa from 1948 until around the time of the release of Nelson Mandela from prison on 11 February 1990. The apartheid government was officially removed at the first democratic elections in the country on 27 April 1994. 1 Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2009) Group Areas Act. Encyclopædia Britannica [Online]. 05 May 2009 Available: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/247103/Group-Areas-Act. 7 In order to escape persecution from the government many icons of South African jazz left the country. Some of these artists included the influential band leaders Chris McGregor and Dudu Pukwana (real name Mtutuzeli Aubrey Pukwana) (Rasmussen 2001, 75). Many of those that remained in the country faced forced relocation with their families to the new sub-economic housing townships on the barren and sandy Cape Flats on the outskirts of Cape Town. The government wanted to control the influx of ‘non-white’ people into white suburbs near the centre of town and the surrounding picturesque suburbs of greater Cape Town. Many of the people who remained in South Africa were subjected to their cherished performance venues being segregated and regularly harassed by police. As a bassist from Cape Town, I feel the necessity to investigate, analyze and document the bassists of years gone by who have been major contributors towards the advancement and conceptualization of the Cape Town and, more largely, South African bass-playing fraternity. Unfortunately several bassists have passed away prior to the commencement of this thesis. Two of these bassists are Sammy Maritz and Johnny Gertze who both performed with Abdullah Ibrahim (previously known as Dollar Brand). Therefore the motivation for this thesis is to capture the contributions of two bassists who are still alive and actively working in the South African music industry that are based in Cape Town, namely Gary Kriel and Spencer Mbadu. While there have been other bassists in Cape Town like Basil Moses, Charles Lazar and Philly Schilder who also have made contributions to the music industry and more so the bass playing fraternity in Cape Town, I feel that the contributions made by Mr Kriel and Mr Mbadu have a far greater significance for the reasons I outline below. The style, sound and technique of Kriel and Mbadu may vary when it comes to playing the bass guitar but somehow their sound is still the quintessential Cape Town bass sound. The question “What exactly about their sound makes it unique to Cape Town?” is extremely difficult to define in musical terms. During the course of this thesis the answer to this question will be investigated. While a definitive answer may not be possible, an in depth contextualization, characterization and documentation will be established in order to further the aims of this work. The playing styles of Kriel and Mbadu have been 8 disseminated throughout the world through recordings that have been sold abroad or purchased locally by tourists. Examples of their playing can be heard on album recordings of Abdullah Ibrahim, Tony Schilder and Winston ‘Mankunku’ Ngozi, to name a few artists with whom they have worked. Hence, it is vital that the contributions of Kriel and Mbadu have to be investigated, analyzed and documented for future music scholars and enthusiasts who may want to know more about the bassists on those aforementioned artists’ recordings. It is my contention that the sound and musical contributions of Basil Moses, Charles Lazar and Philly Schilder resemble that of the bassists that abound in the music from the US and Europe. Hence the selection of Gary Kriel and Spencer Mbadu as the main focus of this thesis in order to showcase indigenous bass playing styles from South Africa. 1.1.1 Apartheid Growing up in the Cape Town townships and the notorious Cape Flats during the 1990s in South Africa, I have had first-hand experience in how a changing political leadership, social unrest and a young democratic government can change one’s course in life.
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