In 1998, Sibongile Khumalo and other musicians recorded an odyssey through SA’s musical landscape. Decades later, it helped Thandi Ntuli find her way to self.
The personnel is somewhat of a supergroup, comprising some of our greats; musicians who, in their own right, were instrumental in contributing to and shaping the sound of South African jazz. It features uBab’ Themba Mkhize on piano, uBab’ Khaya Mahlangu on tenor saxophone and flute, Ntate Prince Lengoasa on flugelhorn, uBab’ Herbie Tsoaeli on bass, uBab’ Vusi Khumalo on drums and, on vocals as well as violin, Mam’ Sibongile Khumalo.
To perform the works of another, make them sound like your own, establish your version as a timeless rendition while conveying — with precision — the essence of the composition, is a skill that I sometimes feel is dwindling. This is particularly true in the context of a generation in which performers, myself included, tend to favour their own original works over jazz standards or covers.
I’ve had this thought regarding my own work and realised that, as jazz in America has played that role of simultaneously retaining heritage and creating it, South African jazz has played the same role for me. It has provided some kind of pathway to self-realisation in a world in which the concept of who I am remains hazy.
Beyond all that is technically or theoretically rich about this album, at the heart of it, a classic recording such as this one is a monument. It is an archive through which learning about who I am in the context of our cultural identity is made more tangible. To imagine a future of live performances in which we will never again be entranced by the voice of Mam’ Sibongile Khumalo feels like a loss that I haven’t yet come to terms with fully. But I remain forever grateful for the work and all the gifts she left for us, the next generation, through our many interactions with her spirit, her music and her voice.Throwing
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