Jonas Gwangwa, 83, was a trailblazing musician, cultural ambassador, activist, father figure and guiding light who mentored a generation of notable artists on the contemporary SA jazz scene.
A professional performer for seven decades, three of them were spent in exile where he demonstrated remarkable courage and resilience as one of the expatriates who kept the flame of SA music alive through their unique brand of mbaqanga and township jazz.
It was therefore no coincidence when in 1979 then ANC president Oliver Tambo commissioned Gwangwa to form a cultural ensemble that would make the world aware of the injustices of apartheid through musical performance. The leadership of the anti-apartheid movement in exile, and Tambo in particular, was aware of the power of the arts in fighting the unjust political climate at home. The late ANC president had taught at St Peters in Rosettenville – a white working class suburb south of Johannesburg.
Father Trevor Huddleston, the principal of the Anglican boarding school for African boys, was another prominent anti-apartheid activist who understood the conscientising role of culture in the liberation Struggle. As a pupil at St Peters alongside his cousin, Hugh Masekela, he was politically influenced by both Tambo and Huddleston, a well-loved cleric among the people of Sophiatown where his ministry was based for 13 years as priest at the Christ the King Anglican Church.
So when Gwangwa was commissioned to establish an ensemble for the expressed purpose of spreading awareness about the injustices of apartheid across the world, he understood his mission and accepted it with the necessary dedication. The result was the formation of the ANC’s Amandla Cultural Ensemble in 1980 in Angola. He served as the outfit’s musical director, principal composer and arranger.
Arguably the greatest trombone player to have come out of the African continent, Jonas Mosa Gwangwa was born in Orlando East, Soweto, on October 19 1937 in a family of pianists. Both parents and a sister were proficient players.
His father, Wilson Gwangwa, taught at the famous Orlando High School. He was also a skilled carpenter who specialised in cabinet making for families in his Soweto neighbourhood. His mother, Sophie Gwangwa (nee Lebelo), was a seamstress and a housewife who raised four children.
Both parents were of northern Ndebele stock who traced part of their ancestry in Limpopo. He pays tribute to his roots in Ga-Mashashane, a composition from his 1999 album A Temporary Inconvenience. The song title is derived from a village of the same name situated outside Polokwane and regarded as the Gwangwas’ ancestral home. Although their language is not officially recognised by the SA government, the late artist has championed its preservation and survival in some of his compositions, notably Letuba Lami (My Dove) – from his last album released in 2008, Kukude (Lapho Sivela Khona).
In his boyhood, his parents exposed him to the marabi music of pioneers Griffiths Motsieloa and Peter Rezant’s Merry Blackbirds. He idolised Kippie Moeketsi and Mackay Davashe, two of the leading lights during township jazz’s golden era in the 1950s. They were exceptional clarinet players who went on to become great composers as well as masterful alto and tenor saxophonists respectively. His favourite instrument was a clarinet, but when the Huddleston Jazz Band was formed at St Peters, Father Huddleston gave him a trombone because that’s what he could get from some good Samaritan at the time.
It was an awkward monstrosity for the teenager but as he later explained: “I accepted it because I didn’t want him to think that I was ungrateful or afraid of a challenge. I grew up to love and appreciate the instrument.”
He was raised in an environment where Glenn Miller-type brass bands were mushrooming all over as part of street entertainment in the 1950s. And although the trombone was a favourite instrument with big bands, Gwangwa has distinguished himself as the first local musician to play it in small combos.
The Huddleston Jazz Band included fellow students Zakes Mokae (sax), Stompie Manana (trumpet) and Masekela – who inspired its formation when he requested a trumpet from Huddleston. However, Gwangwa took credit for the band’s name after being declared the winner of the naming contest. Although this was an ensemble of schoolboys, they would soon establish a reputation as virtuosic and classy players who could hold their own against established pros.
The big time came with Davashe’s Jazz Dazzlers and Jazz Epistles where he played with jazz royalty – leader Moeketsi (alto sax), Makhaya Ntshoko (drums), Dollar Brand (piano), Johnny Gertze (bass) and Masekela (trumpet). They were the first SA band to release a jazz LP, Jazz Epistles - Verse 1 (1960). Unfortunately with Sharpeville, the state of emergency and banning of liberation movements, it became impossible to keep the outfit together.
A sextet was by definition a violation of state of emergency regulations. Masekela was the first to go into exile. Gwangwa followed in 1961 during the King Kong production’s London tour and went on to distinguish himself on international stages as a member of the exile community in Britain, the US and Botswana. On arrival in New York, he enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music. One of his high-profile performances in those years was in 1965 at Carnegie Hall alongside fellow expatriates Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu and Caiphus Semenya.
Another highlight was producing Makeba and Harry Belafonte’s An Evening With Harry Belafonte (1964), the first album to win a Grammy Award for the African continent. In 1970 Gwangwa, Semenya and Masekela formed a jazz combo named the Union of South Africa. Their album, Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa, was released in 1971 under Masekela’s Chisa label. It showcases the music of their township upbringing and caused an immediate sensation among music lovers in the West.
In the mid-1980s he was a member of Shakawe, a Botswana-based ensemble whose members included Dennis Mpale, Steve Dyer and Baleka Kgositsile (now Mbete). He survived the Gaborone bombing by the SA Defence Force that claimed the life of fellow exile and artist Thami Mnyele. The incident forced him to relocate abroad. He’s also a survivor of three serious car accidents. The first one was in 1971 in New York and would inspire the title of the album, A Temporary Inconvenience.
Besides producing and recording albums, he has made a remarkable contribution to scores for movies and TV productions. They include the score and theme song for Richard Attenborough’s film Cry Freedom (1988), based on journalist Donald Woods’ friendship with Steve Biko. The score, which he created with George Fenton, earned him several achievements, notably two Oscar nominations.
Other notable achievements include the first theme song for the TV soapie Generations, soundtrack for feature film Soweto Green (1995), theme song for Dali Tambo’s now-defunct M-Net variety show People of the South, a soundtrack for the British film version of Othello (1990) and a theme song for e.tv news bulletin. Highlights with Amandla Cultural Ensemble include a performance during Nelson Mandela’s historic 1988 birthday concert in Wembley, London.
It was the intention of a leader like Tambo to ensure that the memory of the jailed Mandela was kept alive through regular events such as memorial concerts. For 10 years the ensemble toured over 50 countries on all five continents. He noted that although the ensemble was dedicated to its mission and raised millions of dollars for the liberation movement, the current political establishment seems to have forgotten the contributions made by artists in the liberation of this country.
“Amandla was on the road for 10 years but today culture is treated like an orphan of the liberation Struggle,” he observed bitterly. Following the release of Mandela from prison in 1990, it was deemed mission accomplished by the Amandla Cultural Ensemble and they were disbanded after a performance in Zimbabwe. They reunited in 2015 for a once-off performance at the State Theatre in Pretoria.
On his return home in 1991, he re-established his colourful career with some help from a formidable crop of jazz instrumentalists who constitute his band – Glen Mafoko (bass), Sabelo Mtshali (piano), Mzamo Bhengu (trumpet), Godfrey Mgcina (drums), Babes Ndamase (drums), Kenny Mathaba (guitar), Khaya Mahlangu (saxophone) and Arthur Tshabalala (keyboards). Thankfully, most of them are still alive.
In 2010 the government awarded Gwangwa and Masekela with the Order of Ikhamanga in silver, the highest honour bestowed on artists for their exceptional contribution to music and the Struggle for freedom in SA. In 2012 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arts and Culture Trust for his contribution to SA music. He is survived by seven children, 18 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Violet Molebatsi Gwangwa, his wife and partner for 65 years, died early this month. His rich legacy lives on.
Gwangwa will be buried on Friday January 29. Funeral service: 8-10am – Christ The King Church, 49 Ray Street, Sophiatown. Burial: 11am – Fourways Memorial Park
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