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Home , Brotherhood of Breath, Chris McGregor, Claude Deppa, Dudu Pukwana, Louis Moholo

n artist's life story can teach by A vivid example the univeual rules for making and living art. Maxine McGregor's celebration ot her husband's life is just that: a compelling tale of the art, li fe, and politics of a master!ul composer I bandleadec whose work for over two decades in Europe and England changed the fac:e of creath1 improvised mu sic. Penetrating the mystery of making art in an hostUe sodal atmosphere, the book cl on ides the music's rise in the reptessive South Aftican regime of the Ja e 50s enrly 60s and the changes that occurred ln the music as the composer and hiS band moved through Europe, even tually settling in the U.K. Written after the composer's death in 1990, Chris McGretor And The BrotiJerlrood Of CHRIS McGREGOR AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF BRBA TH: Brtath ls an intimate lesson of origins, My Life With A South African Pioneer by MaXine McGregor bow the free Improvised sound of BAMBERGER BOOKS, Box 1126, Flint, Ml48501-l1Z6, U.S.A. Ayler and Coleman mixed with traditional Afric:an themes to create a vital new music. It is also a document get out of Lt." 1n 1964, the BlueNotes ....,hris McGregor formed the of the friendships and all1ances that left for an engagement at '-.-1 BlueNotes after a !ew years of made possible such a creative outburst. a Iau festival in Juan-les-Pins, France, moving tluoug.h the thriving first stop of a long Journey of exile. community of South African jaz: The dally Ufe of the BlueNotes and musicians. The book tells of his many other artisu in earty 1960s This .feeling of being a fugitive 'Within meetinQ' with as beinl South Africa was a risky business. Pass one's own country was later in his ltte pivotal to the group's creation and Laws effectively separated the races, mirrored by the desolation of living as direction. Influenced by the j:w: of A creating a weird limbo for artists who an exile in the U.K. and Europe. He Blakey, Horace Silver, and Duke chose to cross colour lines delineated never lost the African roots of his Ellington, the BlueNotes were also by the racist state. McGregor himself nature, saying that as he grew older, affected deeply by the music swirling was caught up ln the pollee state he began to feel more African tban through the cities of late fifties South having to affect a disguise to perform ever. The spirit of the continent was Africa. McGregor talked about that In an aU-black jau festival. Creating an essential part of McGregor's nature, mixture of lnfiuences by way of an audience for the BlueNotes In· one that he actively cultivated ln hls debunking assumptions that some volved a process of playing small cafe music. In a radio interview, the people made about the exclusively bars and staging their own shows in composer talked about the music's American roots of Jau. theatre' throughout the state, inviting roots and its connection to African anest and detention if they were culture, suggesting an experience "African kwela and mbaqanga music caught up in a eturity police sweep. beyond the dimensions of sound. coming into contact with modern technological society tends to becomt "I adopted a kind of invisible policy ... "It shows to my tnind a certain something which one could call jazz but lt's amazing how visible you can psychic continuity which ls very muSlc. Historians talk readily about get through being Invisible. With the Important in the music. It Is some­ the melting pot t.hat was New Orlean: BlueNotes we were becoming the focus thing beyond any Individual, almost a and e"/erything that took place thete. for a lot of strange stuff. We exCited tidal movement." When asked why be think that in the world there are othe people, and when those armed had named the orchestra project, New Orleans ~ especially in Africa". policemen saw a crowd of excited Brotherhood of 'Breath, he replied, "1 black people, they started fingering had to look tor a name that expressed Maxine McGregor's book Is a rernatk· their holsters. 1t was a nervous trigger­ the fact that r was beginning to teel a able elfort that finally documents a happy atmosphere, and 1 was glad to certain universal pull in tbe music." muslc that has been mostly over·

22 CODA CHRIS McGREGOR · JUNE 19i I~~/:. RRVlR\\1~ llV ~TRVR VICRRRV . PHOTOGRAPHY B'l. VAL \VIUIEB

Scandinavia, forming the band WitchDoctor's Son. His position ln McGregor's lattl bands was filled by other South African bassists, Harry Miller and Ernest Mothl c, two mu$iclans who undemood the crudal rhythmic pulse that the pianist wa$ looking for in the mus c.

~beautiful as the music was on occaslon, the stra n of pulling together a unit of fte rcely lnd1vldual artists and rthears ng a pzogram of ambitious music, only to be faced wtth making no mortey for the r trouble wa~ :t stretch tor all concerned. The marginal acceptance of the music within the fairl, staid atmosphere of 70s London also cr ated som friction within the band. looked. Her tone and sense of the he author's understanding of the HJn South Africa the spirit behind the events brings the reader stTalght into T mus\clans' lives and her empathy resistance 1s expressed in the music ... the thick of a community of artists with their struggle as exiles brings an the kind of jazz we played is not and exiles, forging a music uniquely unusual quality oflmmedlacy to thls obviously political, but 1 think our their own . The BlueNotes (McGregor biography. It l$ enlightening t

tmprovlsed1 but that was not the case. the written score, a notion that was "Just being with them - Albert who's It was just that, because of our origins, exbllaratlng for some and plainly so happy- it was a spiritual ble.ssing. we could synchronise With each other disturbing for others. , Things wete pressing on me like, how instantly through a rhythm or a the formidable bassist of the BlueNote.s can 1 do it? How c.an I get out that melody. Improvisation is a multiform decided that he disagreed with the speed, that en.ergy? And should 1 try notion, connected to a tradition, a direction of the music taking shape this and try to work that so as not to culture, a social life." and lett the country to go settle n lose contact wittl people?" >>>>>

THE BLUENOTES • I CA. LONDON 1966 c.onA '~ he ~arne ~ue!tiom were bein~ mu~idam ha~ much apart of the remember~; 'The ~tran~e Tasked throughout tne mu~ic book a~ the development of he thing wa~ that in that band, Ialway~ world at that time. Drummer John muuc. The musicians' deep lon for wanted to play the charts stralghtet. tevem worked with Chtls McGre or heir work Is well documeltted In The nights when It worked twas tn the lare 60s and saw (as they aJl did) tales of endlus tourlng throughout magic, and then nights when lr didn't, that the music }'lad to move beyond Europe and the U.I<. (often undef it was chaos!. .. (he) was alway technJc.l display and embrace the stressful coodlttons). Incidents spring positive, supportive, as lt he wu ltigher elemenu. Steveru cut through up that eombiJte the comedic and the saying to us: If this is what you want all queshons of technique with $urreal. to do, well. you must do it. He put a charattedsttc brevity: •What lot of work into those arcangement1 lmptovl,ed music really offen us is a "Hazel Miller tdls of late-night and some ntghtJ they weren't pl yed potential community of people to retum from Catdl{f when they saw a at all." create together n spontaneous barn on fire . There seemed to be no ~.. fashion. When you listened to Dudu, . ., ~ he would actually be saying something people around so the very eloquent and very poetic. When rnus clans went to someone Is playi ng a loa(1 of arpeggios. lnvestig3te and found what are they actually aymg? ft may a number of trapped sound like a lot of skills but what are horses. Dudu took they sayln ?H cha.rge and they managed to evacuate The story Is th personal teallt) the hones while behind the creation of the music, a Mongezl awoke the ru lity that was life-chang\ng for th st rtled owner and musicl ns. Their commentS often announced: Your txp ess the joy and frustration of that st bles are on ttre but development. Drummer t..ou ls ioholo, we've got mon of the one or the few ( h hones out." another) for whom freedom posed no obstacle, described the feeling that Over the yean, the pulled hlm into the new d ireCtion: strain of exile and the "'t\'hen we first came here I started demands of artistic hearing some other vibes. I was away tempuar.1ent put an from South Africa .. . away from the end to the BlueNo es ch ms. I just wanted to be free, totally though their legacy fr e . even In mu$iC. Free to sh ke away was carried on in all the slavery, In everyth ng, being McGregor's ne.~t boxed In to places- one,two,ttuee, project, he rour- and being told you must come Bfotherhood of ln after tour. 1 was a rebel, completely Breath. The a rebel. And then thert wer ptople Brothtrhood was a Uke Evan Parker whom I s w was also a loosely-knit rebel. from then on, I lust played f't«. organlzatlon ot 1 met john Tehlcal, , Peter music! n.s who were drawn to the cGregor's rocus was alway$ BrOtzm nn. and I were music that Chris nd the BlueNotes clarity of st:~tement. one that ilttu Uy the first drummeu to play free had been creat\rlg. &5 well as the grew (perhaps) out of hls artistic mus c to Btltatn, If the truth bt told .. . posslblllty of discovery that the big medium. the plano nd the pen. free music is it, man, so buuttful. band held. The Brotherhood existed After numerous tours with the The word 'free' makes sense to me. 1 throughout the 70 and 80s In three Brotherhood, often going Into the red know that's what I want. LET MY d st1nc:t formations, crtatlrtg a music In order to play the mwic that be PEOPLE GO." that pushed the sound ba.rrter and loved, he began performing solo and challenged the musicians to really say trio concerts wtth the same pulse and Throu hout the book many beaut ful what they munt. Considering sense of adventure aJ the bands stones surface. M xlne McGregor'$ McGregor's disclaimer, *t have an bdore them. lways an independent, love of the music is only surpassed obsession with form", the unabashtd he disagreed with both schools of by her love for h r family and the freedom wlthin contut ttut was thought on the av~nt-garde ; he felt at plrits that connect them to the land c~otral to the Brothtfhoocf's message odds with strict ume feel and wlth and the mus c. Her personal proved to be a slgnUicant milestone, th vant·garde reJection ol regularity connection to the extended famUy of thou h not an easy path to follow. as welL

24 CODA OUOU PUKWANA & MONGESJ FEZA "Music must have a rhythm. I'm fed histories articulate the mind of the late 1960s. He slurs and growls up with this avant·garde that says you creative artist in ways that ~heir works through the hom with a kind of must have no time. 1 want a rhythm l only su,sest. Maxine McGregor's book density that was beyond his years. The can rel&te to because any move anyone is a polished biography that retains dye Is cast at the beginning of the makes has rhythm ... some is graceless the raw edges of the lives that it session with E.van Parker's solo in the and some Is Informed by grace, but It's reflects. It Is after all a story of a first few minutes of Do It, the tenor the rhythm of life ... To me, *t piano music's evolution (stlllln progress) kindling a fire against the cold is my favourite drum. For me, tbe and a chronicle of two artists' lives evening air, stoked by Loub Moholo's piano is just a drum with a melody." together. roaring drums . .Ri!stless ls another piece where the insistent rhythms of the The tradition of the artist's book, full ·r.very moment is eternal and music band stir up sparks. McGregor's plano of fragments, sketches and ideas, ls an can at the same time achieve and sound on the CD is ill-served by the old and venerable one. These personal communicate the ecstasy of It" 0 outdoor location recording but he rips into it with a concept that seems to remotely echo 's attack. It 'lEW RELEASES FROM OGUN RECOitOS is also heartening to heat the very tree alto playing balanced against the brass • ne BlueNotes Legacy: Livt! In South Africa 1964- OGCD 007 on this date, Pu.kwana swerving : Lfvt! at WillWiu 1973 - OGCD 001 atound comers, smearing notes against Louts Moholo/Viva La Black: Ltve ln South Africa 1993 • OGCO 006 the rhythms. The Dedication Orchestra: IXESHA (11M£) -1994 • OGCD 102/103 Much of the power on thls seS$iOn is AVAILABLE FROM generated by the freedom of the horns ON THE VERGE. i15 Stewart Street, Peterborough, ON, Canada K9J 3M6 moving through improvisations NORTH COUNTRY, Cadence Building, Redwood, NY, U.S.A. 13679 anchored by piano, bass, and drums. Harry Mllltt's solid time finding a he BlueNotes, caught here in impression with his own composition, deep pocket in Moholo's pulse. The T Durban, South Africa just before the evocative B My Dear. Dudu's roots Brotherhood at this point were at an e5<:aplng the country for exile ln were clearly in Bi.rd's language but advanced Jtltt of evolution, mixing Europe, were an already sea$oned unlt here he had his own thing together, as the lessons of the decade before with at the time of this show. Released at he sald himself, "Really, Inside I'm a the modern compositions from within. last hom Maxine McGregor'5 archives, rocker, I don't care about technique as It is $Omtwhat amating to consider the recording ls very dear, definitely long as I can cook." that this was the first release from the Influenced by arthts Uke Blakey and Ogun label, a side project ot Hazel and Silver though also with that ast forward nlne years past the Harry Miller. The currents that sweep characteristic lilt of South Africa. It Is ~ F breakup of the BlueNotes and the through the band on Davasht!'S Drtam /o yful sound that kicks. The Irresistible immersion of all the artists in the tire demonsuate the cool logtc of sound of Dudu Pukwana's alto of Omette, Ayler, and Coltrane. McGregor's arrangements. The art of saxophone dances through the tracks, Dudu Pukwana Is burning on the live juxtaposition was essential to making the tenor depth of Nick release of the big band project that McGregor. Usten to the intense Moyake seem a bit stiff by comparison. Chris McGregor put together. The tension of Dudu Mwana followed by The tenor is featured to nice effect on Brotherhood Of Breath, a Jive release Mongezl J:eza's unhurried song-like the ballad treatment of I Covt!r Tht from the nascent Ogun record label, is phrasing. Waterfront, playing the melody with a a startling encounter with the band nod towards Lester, dreamy yet after the two releases on RCA In 1970 he years in between these consciou~ of the noisy crowd. &: 1971. Creating some of the most T recordings were troubled by the signlticant music of the period, the deaths of his compatdots, but ln 1993, Chris McGregor's Vortt,t Spuial rocks Brotherhood here get loose in front of Louis Moholo fulfilled a dteam and the house. the rhythm section of Louis a responsive Swbs audience, taking the returned to the land of his binh, Mohofo and 16 year-old bassist tunes bullt on simple vamp figures bringtng with him a vital new band for Johnny Dyani swinging the band and (Tunft's Song and The Serpmt's Kindly a string of shows. There had been a sea the dancehall crowd. Mongezl Fez:a Ey~) and hypnotWng the crowd with change ln his muslc since Moholo had nad developed fast as a young trumpet long solos against the rhythm sect on's last appeared In South Africa with the player. At age 18, he already had an steady foundation. music of this CD reflecting the individual approach, bright and sweeping changes. Viva LlJ Black, an bra5sy. He stood his ground with the Mongczi Feza's solo on iunji's Song is octet a sembled by Moholo from the more ~xperienced older hornmen In an accurate gauge of just how far the ranks of the best young players on the the band, but it Is Dudu's alto that musldans' concepts had stretched London scene, wastes no time getting captUies the crowd, making a strong since the initial studio sessions in the down to business. >>>>>>

CODA 25 §PffiiTi IN ACTION n IXESJH : he Dedication ick Mo ake}b~5im ~~ ~ ~~ ~~ in OOrchestra oo a ain at the vocal chorale, picKs up ~team with With mw composition by Moholo music

Tradition in he mus:c is clear! . Important to Moholo with Inter­ pretati ons drawn from Duke (Come Sunda ) Pops (Wizat A Wondtrfull-Vorfd) 3nd RalHaan ( olunteered S/ e:ry). In a brief bright moment, pianist Pul Phcto decons ructs the •ul•v lv Llu: A, ua~l•vu 0 song with a too·short solo. The arrangements for he band connotations: It's about t me as There 1s not enough space here o all seem ro favour maximum exposure rhy hm, it's about time that South m ntion all the remarkable playmg o w1thout s rammg the audience's Af nca was ree, it's about ttme more tht5 CD. ,.,.hich was recorded ov~r at ention. Late into the set, sweat people shared 11\ the b~aut1ful three days m january 1994, IX£SHA pounn Cl f the players, the leader melodies tnese composers brought tO presents the mv•. of these campo r signals to the band to ake it deepe1 the world. To quote the lin r note~ . tn nch scttin s. There ·s rhe en rgy mto SA roo s as trumpeter Claude thiS is a mus1c tlluminated by he !llUSIC o Mra, Harry Beck~tt lo ·ed t Q Deppa plays muted horn on the lovely African sun . the udal force of Loui · Moholo's rune Ltndewt. This lets everyone on drumming, the ser nit ·of Keith , stage (and m the house) c-atch their As the ensemble featu es a re T: ;:>peu·s plano on An,(el om ali, the breath after a b rea ·neck P\lkwana community of pia ers, all of them happ · ye unresolved meJoct oi he me (Bmt Lives). Claude smooth! , associated wtth the music ot Chr's johnn • D a tl's Wish You Suml1ine segues mto Dn.mr Choir, a piece tha McGregor and the SlueKotes, there reflect n an edle's uneasmess. Dudu spo t hgh t ~ the surging rhythms of Is a ense of meaning to thh mus1c f mous theme, Bird Li I!S. brm Moholo and Ltpere as an underscore that is uncommon lt LS a $hared forward swell a new face, . 1t '·e fo r a bass solo from Bellatalla. The his oty that ~~ evident in the mterpla • Wit iams. who e ~ol•.> piece turns the sololst mto a hird As m the tudy tn contrast from n he tune shares the s uit or the drum, extendin the tonal qu.Jlltie o( trumpet solohts and co nposer, he lo tC of bebop where all three. Tlus release IS true to the . the Orchestra hr!ves what was once only tma med is now roots of Moholo's music in its on shtfting tonalines and e.xpr sstve realt y The disc closes With the eleg a blending of the traditional and a changes of dirf:!ction. The hard tribute and prat e son , IXESH.J. . d1stmctl ad enturous ed iness. i\'a S\"ln mg Blues f(J-r rck (a rlbute by La Black ! iva Moholo! Dudu to tus departed fne.nd , tenor Trul ·, i 'sa our 11me . :J

26 CODA LOUIS MOHOLO & VIVA LA BLACK· 0 DON 19. ~·