At its core, history is about remembering.
However, in many instances, history tends to forget women, leading to attempts to change history to herstory to emphasise the importance of being intentional about remembering women’s stories.
Herstory
So when Gabi Motuba sang her song Remember Me from her debut album, Tefiti-Goddess of Creation, dedicated to her late friend and trombonist Lesego, it was a heart-rending reminder that like other women who are jazz musicians, we need to heed Motuba’s call and remember her and every other woman before her, together with her and after her.
Motuba, who is also a vocalist, composer, arranger, and music lecturer, was performing at the second installment of the HERoines of Jazz—An Ode to the Matriarch at Constitutional Hill’s Women’s Jail on Freedom Day.
Curated by MarumoFemme, this transformative celebration pays homage to the indelible legacy of women in jazz, weaving together the rich threads of tradition and contemporary culture. It serves as a resonant call to inspire future generations. MarumoFemme is a DJing Jazz duo by sisters Mamello and Kopano Pule.
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Intentional about alla that jazz
History is also about intention.
The intention is to ensure that the history is not repeated and that the women in Jazz are not forgotten. As April 30th is recognised as International Jazz Day, we must be intentional about remembering women who are jazz artists.
History is also about narrative and who writes the story.
The great Mariam Makeba famously said: “The conqueror writes history, they came, they conquered, and they write. You don’t expect the people who came to invade us to tell the truth about us.”
While Makeba may have been referring to colonisation and white supremacy, black women have also been the greatest casualty of white supremacy, and so is the lack of and distortion of our history. Jazz is no exception, especially when South African Jazz has been a vessel of protest against white supremacy.
MarumoFemme intends to counter the narrative that leaves women behind and has picked up the pen by telling black women jazz stories through the HERoines of Jazz.
Speaking at the event, co-curator Mamello spoke about the intersection between politics and jazz.
“This month and this date to celebrate the heroines who surround us everywhere we go. They have played such a significant role in each of our lives in the political and jazz landscape of this country. Jazz played a significant role in our apartheid legacy and us attaining the freedom that we enjoy today,” she said.
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HERstory as a reminder and a reference
“Indlela ibuzwa kwabaphambili” is a proverb in isiZulu that speaks to how history is a reminder and a reference. Loosely translated, the saying means the path is asked from those who have gone before.
This is something Siya Makuzeni’s performance displayed. The trombonist, vocalist, and composer kicked off her performance with the legendary Margaret M’cingana’s Isiphiwo Sami.
Makuzeni said we don’t pay the homepage to M’cingana enough.
Makuzeni also rendered her song Hold On from her debut album Out of This World. My personal interpretation of the song is to hold on to your dream because that is the only way we can make history.
Throughout the event, I kept on thinking of Mam’ Dorothy Masuka, who was a jazz singer and songwriter, but for me, she was a historian.
Many of the songs she wrote reflected the condition of black lives, and they also put some of our of our favourite musicians on the map. For me, she is the matriarch of South African Jazz.
Who can forget Pata Pata, a song that feels like black joy in the 1950s and still defines what black joy feels like today. We have enjoyed different takes of it from Makeba to Jonathan Butler and most recently Somi.
Or Hapo Zamani, which speaks to the link of dispossession of land, homelessness, exile and being drunk because of the wickedness of white supremacy.
The song has versions from Masuka, Makeba, Somi, and most recently a take from DJ Kenzhero and Tha_Muzik featuring Spha Mdlalose in their What Is Wrong With Groovin’ album.
We know how Cape Town was a place of danger and protests because Masuka wrote Hamba Nontsokolo, which has various remakes, including one from Thandiswa Mazwai in her album Belede.
We know how black people warned each other about the apartheid police coming through her song Khauleza, which also became a hit by Hugh Masekela.
And then I thought of Sibongile Khumalo, who continuously showed her camaraderie spirit by paying homage to her fellow artists through song.
A lesson that we are the ones who can use our positions to create a space of housing women’s history.
And Masekela and Caiphus Semenya, who have always supported their women counterparts. Showing us that it’s not only the responsibility of women to record the history of women artists but everyone has a role to play, especially men.
Jazz itself is a record of history. Women have been there, many times silenced, but through music, they defeated the patriarchal battles that sought to erase them. They protested through jazz.
As we celebrate the great genre called jazz, let us not forget the women who used it as an instrument of our freedom and the other freedoms that we still need to gain. Most of all, we never forget that the act of remembering is also activism.
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She got all that jazz
Both performances by Motuba and Makuzeni were a collaboration with a predominantly women’s band formed by MarumoFemme.
The formation of the band moves away from the limiting notion that women are solely confined to singing in Jazz; they too can play instruments, and perform many other roles.
“Women are exceptional musicians. They are phenomenal drummers, pianists, and saxophonists. We are band leaders, composers and arrangers,” said the day’s MC, poet and jazz artist, Mo’Afrika wa Mokgathi.
The renowned poet and author was also the event‘s co-producer.
In Between live performances, we were treated to DJ performances that took us to musical archives that were familiar with our upbringing and some tunes that Shazam found tough to find.
Iphupho lika Biko closed the day with a performance that had us on our feet from the first to the last song.
The Jo’burg band opened with a song that says “mfazo omnyama uyi-ingwe esadubula isibhamu”. I would rather not translate it into English as a lot (meaning, context, etc) gets lost in translation. The band is an example of how heroes are immortalised through jazz.
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