| African Jazz Pioneers | |
| Genre: | Jazz, world music |
| Origin: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Years Active: | 1950s–present |
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The African Jazz Pioneers is a South African group that espouses the music of the 1950s, fusing big band jazz with township marabi sounds. Band leader and saxophonist Bra Ntemi Piliso, who wrote most of the Pioneers' songs, opened the field of composition to the band's younger musicians.[3]
The background of the African Jazz Pioneers stretches back to the 1950s when jazz was in fashion and big bands enjoyed prominence in South Africa. The band was founded in the 1980s and played 1950s and 1960s South African jazz in an attempt to recreate the fun of that era's live performances.
During the 1950s and 60s, Dorkay House provided a haven for South African music legends, including artists like Dollar Brand, Kippie Moeketsi, Miriam Makeba, Ntemi Edmund Piliso, Dudu Pukwana, Hugh Masekela, Wilson Silgee, Zacks Nkosi, and Jonas Gwangwa. These musicians were at the cutting edge of South Africa's music scene, blending American big band sound with traditional Majuba tempos and Marabi influences. However, in the 1960s, big bands declined in popularity alongside the demolition of Sophiatown between 1955 and 1960.
In June 1981, Bra Ntemi decided to re-unite the band members of Bra Ntembi and the Alexandra All-Stars band, re-introducing them to Dorkay House and the stage. Led by saxophone player Ntemi Piliso, a seasoned marabi star, the group comprised both veteran marabi players and younger musicians who had picked up the style. The African Jazz Pioneers' first performance was at the Roman Catholic church in Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg.[4] Despite the pass laws, discriminatory practices and censorship, the African Jazz Pioneers survived apartheid and evolved their music.
In 1986, the band toured Botswana, and international fame came soon after their first overseas tour as part of the Culture in Another South Africa (CASA) Conference in Amsterdam in 1987.[5] After the easing of the cultural boycotts in the early 1990s, the African Jazz Pioneers were among the first to travel all over the world and perform at festivals in France, Japan, Switzerland, England, Spain, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. During these years they shared the stage with the likes of Youssou N'Dour, Quincy Jones, Gilberto Gil, Nina Simone and Chick Corea.
The driving force behind the Pioneers has always been Bra Ntemi. Musicians have come and gone, but he was always at the core of the band, ensuring the continuance of its unique township jazz sound. But even he found it difficult to categorise the Pioneers' music. Stylistically, it derived from marabi and evolved to include the instrumental sound of the big swing bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
Just over 50 years ago, the young Ntemi settled for the saxophone after his cherished trombone was stolen. The saxophone soon became his trademark and he was one of the country's best and most enduring saxophonists, for which he was honoured by Minister Ben Ngubane in August 2000, during a ceremony at Morelete Park, Mamelodi. Bra Ntemi died on 18 December 2000.
The African Jazz Pioneers are honouring their promise to Bra Ntemi to keep the music going. The Ikageng Jazz Festival, established in 2001, has been named "The Night of the Pioneers", and the band closes each edition as top of the bill. In the last two years, the African Jazz Pioneers have performed for the Flemish Minister of Culture, the President of the European Parliament and former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki.
The African Jazz Pioneers are: