Figure 1.3 Ghoema beat (from Johannes, 2010:35)

Contextualizing and Defining Mbaqanga and Ghoema

Bassists of iKapa (the Cape)

Apart from mbaqanga and marabi, other styles also developed due to the amalgamation oflocal styles and American jazz. One of these is Cape jazz, which Coplan (2013) describes asfollows:I use the term ‘Cape jazz’ knowingly, because the Mother City has its owncharacteristic style, strongly indebted to the American tradition starting with African-American minstrelsy, but mixed with old indigenous rhythms and melodies, mission

the use of the ghoema beat which is strongly associated with the music of the Cape(e.g. ‘Siqhagamshelane Sonke’ or ‘Our House, Our Rules’ by Shepherd)

Elements of indigenous musics featured in Shepherd’s work include the use of the ghoemabeat in compositions such as ‘Zimology’ and ‘Spirit of Hanover Park’, or his use of the uhadiin this ‘Xam Premonitions (Cape Genesis – Movement 1, 2012)’

MbaqangaAllen suggests that the term “mbaqanga”, which refers to the staple maize-meal diet of manyof the working-class musicians who played the music to earn a living wage, stems from “theneed to define and express an independent and valuable black South African urban identity”by renaming what had become generally referred to as African Jazz (Allen 1993, 26).Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably by musicians and musicologists,Allen arguest that the style of mbaqanga developed in the 1960s is markedly different fromAfrican Jazz (Allen 1993, 26). As the name suggests, mbaqanga is viewed as a morecommercially appealing style than African Jazz and has been popularised in South Africa byartists such as Simon ‘Mahlatini’ Nkabinde and internationally by Paul Simon’s heavilymbaqanga influenced Graceland album. The roots of mbaqanga lie in traditional Zulu musicmixed with influences of marabi and kwela. Rhythmically, mbaqanga is, like tsaba tsaba,generally based on a straight-eighth note feel with a driving bass drum on all four downbeatsof the bar. This quarter note bass drum pattern, commonly referred to as “four on the floor”,is complemented by the hands performing various orchestrations of the rhythm below. Thisuniversal rhythm is known as the Charleston in American jazz, the Habanera in Cuban Latinmusic, and the Ghoema in South Africa.Figure 1.2 Charleston/ Habanera/ Ghoema rhythm

The Music of Africa

ghoema beat in compositions such as ‘Zimology’ and ‘Spirit of Hanover Park’, or his use of the uhadi in this ‘Xam Premonitions (Cape Genesis – Movement 1, 2012)

the use of the ghoema beat which is strongly associated with the music of the Cape (e.g. ‘Siqhagamshelane Sonke’ or ‘Our House, Our Rules’ by Shepherd)

Apart from mbaqanga and marabi, other styles also developed due to the amalgamation of local styles and American jazz. One of these is Cape jazz, which Coplan (2013) describes as follows: I use the term ‘Cape jazz’ knowingly, because the Mother City has its own characteristic style, strongly indebted to the American tradition starting with African-American minstrelsy, but mixed with old indigenous rhythms and melodies, mission Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za12 hymnody, ‘Malaysian’ choral music, and Afrikaans Coloured ghoema parade band music. (Coplan, 2013:56)Cape jazz also bears influences from moppies (up- beat Malay choirs) and langarm, as well as music played by bands from the Muslim community (Ansell, 2005:70). A telling characteristic of Cape jazz is the ghoema beat (see Figure 1.3), which Johannes (2010:35) describes as:a low pitch on every beat within the bar of music which gives the music its driving quality with the higher pitch playing a syncopated pattern to complement the singing and prevailing syncopation of ghoema music (Johannes, 2010:35).Figure 1.3Ghoema beat(from Johannes, 2010:35)This influence is more noticeable in the music of Cape Townian musicians such as Abdullah Ibrahim or Robbie Jansen, although it is also regarded as an important element of jazz in South Africa. Marabi, mbaqangaand ghoema rhythms are markers in the broad style known as South African jazz