{"id":92171,"date":"2021-11-11T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=92171"},"modified":"2021-11-10T19:04:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T17:04:50","slug":"the-many-voices-of-herbie-tsoaeli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/the-many-voices-of-herbie-tsoaeli\/","title":{"rendered":"The many voices of Herbie Tsoaeli"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Herbie Tsoaeli is a discrete, yet key figure of South African jazz. His debut album African Time<\/em> was the 2013 Best Jazz Album at the South African Music Award, followed by the beautiful At This Point in Time (Voices in Volume)<\/a><\/em> in 2021. The man has played with all the greatest \u201celders<\/em>\u201d who contributed to the formidable energy and creativity of Mzansi-bred jazz music: \u201cBra\u201d Hugh<\/a> (Masekela), \u201cBra\u201d Louis (Moholo), \u201cBra\u201d Zim (Ngqawana)…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we meet him in a Johannesburg caf\u00e9 for a discussion, it becomes clear that music is an integral part of his being. His words are as dense as his jazz, inhabited by epiphanies, surprising connections and unexpected poetry. He speaks like he composes, different ideas and voices colliding and intertwining like the \u201cjazz moya\u201d he plays, influenced by spirits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was brought up in my grandmother\u2019s house, in Cape Town. Ancestors have these clan names like Bakwena, or Bafokeng\u2026  These are voices I used to hear in my grandmother\u2019s house. It was happening, I could hear those people<\/em>. These voices, they get translated into the music I do. And the music I do has been translated to the elders out there, for those who came before us. I have some ancestral umbrella protecting me.<\/em>\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Cutting his teeth in the early 80\u2019s in the Nyanga East township (he prefers the word \u201clocation\u201d, a township being a \u201ctown with many ships<\/em>\u201d for him), he is a self-taught bassist, pianist, composer and arranger. His eyes light up when he remembers all the musicians he \u201chad<\/em>\u201d at home, spinning on a disc: Coltrane<\/a>, Miles Davis<\/a>, Blue Notes<\/a>, Mahotella Queens\u2026 His \u201cselling whatever she could sell<\/em>\u201d grandmother wanted him to be responsible; he became a jazz musician. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was so much happening in the location. Next door was a Zionist church with their loud prayers. On the other side they were traditional healers, shouting. Then our grandfathers used to have Zulu, Xhosa or Sotho ceremonial stuff, with bands. And the location was a centre of jazz. That sound was all around me, and I liked being in that environment. I didn’t buy my first instruments ! There were schools in my community that used to lend them. And that\u2019s how I became involved. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Herbie Tsoaeli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In terms of jazz, Cape Town was like… New York City. Let alone the money we were getting for our craft\u2026 the spirit and the energy were there. We would often play for nothing, just for the love of music. We would play a gig that would only pay our cab back. I played with the elders, like Bra Winston [\u201cMankunku\u201d Ngozi]. I wouldn\u2019t even be paid, and I\u2019m not saying anyone robbed me, because we all knew what we were building together. I played with Abdullah Ibrahim, beautiful\u2026 Zim Ngqawana, incredible\u2026 Louis Moholo, wow !\u201d  <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, there was Sophiatown in Johannesburg, and then there was Cape Town. The city was a \u201cheartbeat<\/em>\u201d and jazz was a war cry against the daily horrors of Apartheid. However, this did not stop him from moving to Johannesburg in 1995, a turning point for the entire country. Herbie had to adapt to the City of Gold and the intense pace of a new era. Perhaps he longs for Table Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean when he speaks about how rapid things are nowadays : \u201cYou have to follow robots, go to departure and arrival time, then there are estimation times\u2026This is not African Time! And in music, I don\u2019t want people to emphasize on time\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His years of playing with the greatest in Johannesburg led him to an Award winning album. Composition comes easily to him, as he takes note of everything: what the elders tell him, what the kids tell him\u2026. \u201ceven the <\/em>bergie<\/em><\/a>!<\/em>\u201d. He also has a facility for translating his experiences into music, whether it be the beatings of his grandmother when he skipped church, or the voices he used to hear in his Nyanga room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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