Jazz Epistles?

[Brian Olewnick]

I was reading Bill Shoemaker's fine interview with Louis Moholo on his new Point of Departure site (http://http://www.pointofdeparture.o...ent_issue.html) and, in the Blindfold Test portion, he plays a track from Jazz in Africa, vol 1, a 1994 release (recorded in the early 60s) of the Jazz Epistles which at that point included, Kippie Moeketsi, Hugh Masekela, Dollar Brand, Jonas Gwangwa, Johnny Gertse and Makaya Ntoshoko. Anyone familiar with this or know if it's still around? Any other Jazz Epistles recordings available?

[Surfer]

Wow, great site Brian!

I have never heard of the Jazz Epistles btw, but they sound interesting. Thanks for the link!

[Nate Dorward]

Shoemaker not Smith.... No, I haven't heard that recording.

[Elliot]

I own that CD ("Jazz in Africa vol. 1"). Not sure where I got it.
It's good, but not great, music. Very derivative of early Jazz Messengers (not that there's anything wrong with that.)
The historical interest is, IMHO, greater than the purely musical interest. And the CD serves the historical interest poorly; there are no session dates, or even a complete listing of the personnel. And what liner notes there are are sometimes self-evidently wrong (the notes say, for example, that the Jazz Epistles recorded only a single LP, which can't possibly be true, because the CD is about 70 minutes long.)

[Felix]

I have a Celluloid CD called "Verse 1", which also sounds influenced by the Messengers. The band is Kippie Moeketsi, Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Dollar Brand, Johnny Gertze, Makaya Ntshako.

Track list:

1. Dollar's Moods
2. Blues for Hughie
3. Uku-Jonga Phambili
4. I Remember Billy
5. Vary-Oo-Vum
6. Carol's Drive
7. Gafsa
8. Scullery Department

There is no recording date, but this could be a straight reissue of the original LP Elliot mentions.

[Richardo Caerleoni]

From the Ronnie Scott Club Website [London 2001]~

"The influences of bebop were also being felt and a group of brilliant young musicians carried the jazz torch into the dark years of the late 1950s and early 1960s: Kippie Moeketsi, Dollar Brand and Hugh Masekela (who with Jonas Gwangwa and others formed the, in retrospect, all-star band the Jazz Epistles), Chris McGregor and the Blue Notes, Mackay Davashe¹s Jazz Dazzlers, drummer Early Mabuza, Philip Tabane¹s Malombo Jazzmen and many others.

Freedom Blues - South African Jazz Under Apartheid (Nascente NSCD048) is a good collection, if slightly later in date. Early Blue Note recordings can be heard on the excellent Legacy - Live in South Afrika 1964 (OGUN OGCD007).

The Jazz Epistles` only album (originally Verse 1) is available as Jazz in Africa Vol. 1 (Camden CDN1004).

The Sharpeville massacre took place in 1961, and for many bands existence became untenable. Dollar Brand, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba and the Blue Notes left for Europe and America. Masekela and Makeba both became superstars, and after the end of apartheid, the trumpeter returned to South Africa to record with some of the young stars of African music (Black to the Future, Sony Jazz 4894772).

Chris McGregor¹s Blue Notes ended up in London, sparking the developing new jazz scene here and on the continent. When Ronnie¹s moved to its current location, the Old Place on Gerrard Street in China Town, under promoter John Jack, became the venue for many gigs by the South Africans, the Blue Notes mutating into a big band, the Brotherhood of Breath. The brilliant recordings made at this period remain unavailable, but in the mid-1970s Ogun Records and other indies took up the challenge and recorded many of the South Africans¹ projects (The Brotherhood of Breath Live at Willesau, OGCD001 documents the band at this time). Drummer Louis Moholo¹s series of superb CDs includes Freedom Tour 1993, OGCD006, a record of his return to South Africa.

Bassist Johnny Dyani relocated to Sweden and recorded a number of excellent records, including Song for Biko (SteepleChase SCCD31109). Dudu Pukwana, perhaps more than any other, fused the hard-swinging mbaqanga style of the townships with European free music. His In the Townships (now available on Earthworks CDEWV5), is one of the great exile recordings. Sadly Chris, Dudu, Johnny and trumpeter Mongezi Feza all succumbed to the rigours of that exile and died before the release of Mandela.

Those who remained struggled and many fine talents are now forgotten. Kippie Moeketsi hardly played between 1964 and 1971. His superb comeback records, Dollar Brand + 3 with Kippie Moeketsi (reissued as African Sun, Camden CDN1008) and Tshona (now Jazz in Africa Vol. 2, Camden CDN1011) demonstrate what a talent was lost. Individuals such as Gideon Nxumalo kept the spirit of experimentation alive with a series of albums fusing modern jazz with traditional music (Jazz Fantazia, Teal-Polygram) and groups such as Harari, the Soul Jazzmen and the Drive kept up with current trends in fusion."

RC. NP/NB ~ "Freedom Blues - South African Jazz Under Apartheid (Nascente NSCD048) "is a great album....played back an interview with John Surman/Hugh Masekela last night....Hugh put it all down to Kippie Moeketsi ~ I can see the ABs influence ~but much more relaxed ?/S.African and more Monk/Clifford B/Max Quin? ~ but some remarkable stuff for 1959/early 60s?RC....and I met them![/COLOR]

[Elliot]

Originally Posted by Felix

I have a Celluloid CD called "Verse 1", which also sounds influenced by the Messengers. The band is Kippie Moeketsi, Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Dollar Brand, Johnny Gertze, Makaya Ntshako.

Track list:

1. Dollar's Moods
2. Blues for Hughie
3. Uku-Jonga Phambili
4. I Remember Billy
5. Vary-Oo-Vum
6. Carol's Drive
7. Gafsa
8. Scullery Department

There is no recording date, but this could be a straight reissue of the original LP Elliot mentions.

The CD I own has those tracks plus more. A picture of the CD and a full track listing are here:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:77520r3at48b