Schuller differentiates between thewestern and African understandings of polyrhythmic playing by stating that westernmusicians generally see polyrhythm as two or more rhythmic patterns played simultaneouslybut always resolving or meeting at the start and ending of phrases, bar lines and other centralpoints in the music. In contrast, “African music” reveals a far more intricate, extended,“polymetrically organized” understanding of polyrhythms, in which the individual rhythmicphrases hardly ever, and sometimes never coincide vertically (Schuller 1968, 11). These twointerpretations of polyrhythm are apparent in much U.S.-American jazz and can be seen toshift closer to the African approach in the later styles of jazz through the rhythmiccontributions of musicians such as John Coltrane, Tony Williams and Miles Davis. KeithWaters states that polyrhythm and polymeter, which he terms “metrical conflict”, were a keyfeature of music performed and recorded by the Miles Davis Quintet from 1965 to 1968(Waters 2011, 68).In terms of the use of polyrhythm in Western music from the pre-jazz era, Schuller citesCharles Ives as the only European composer who experimented with polymetric andpolyrhythmic structures, stating as an example Ives’s Fourth Symphony. Gridley deviatesfrom Schuller by suggesting that polyrhythms were used in European folk and concert musicin America for a long time before the jazz era came about but were not as prominent as inAfrican music (Gridley 1999, 45). He acknowledges the African ancestry of polyrhythms asoriginating from combinations of rhythms which can be heard in ragtime music. He definespolyrhythms as “the sounding of some rhythms that have a basis of two pulses while

Polyrhythms and Polymeter

kwel

marab

Appendix A: Drum Kit Notation

Exoticisation of South African Jazz and Township Culture

Reworking the South African Jazz Sound

Influence of Apartheid

Traits of South African Jazz in Masekela’s Style

South African and U.S.-American Rhythm Sections

Rhythmic Influence of Latin Music on South African Jazz Styles

Rhythm section

Analysis of Selected South African JazzRecordings

South African Jazz Sound

Mbaqanga

Marabi

Behind the Beat”Feel

Syncopation

Theoretical Framework

Jazz in South Africa: Roots and Styles

t can be argued that it was the use of these short harmonic cycles that then led tocertain styles of melodic and rhythmic phrasing which mirrored the short, repetitive harmonicmovement, thus resulting in characteristics common to much South African jazz, such asshort repetitive motivic melodies, basslines and drum grooves

s 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

Although, mbaqanga became exceptionally popular both locally and internationally, it willnot be a key focus of the analysis presented in this dissertation as, like tsaba tsaba, its musicaltraits reveal it as being more of a hybrid, sub-genre of the original styles of South Africanjazz: marabi, African Jazz and kwela

However, in the case of marabi, the three chords were usuallyplayed in short two or four bar phrases, and were most commonly voiced as triads in thesequence I-IV-I-V. Due to the preference for diatonic tonality in marabi, few chord extensiontones were used other than the occasional addition of a major 6th to chord IV and the use ofthe dominant 7th on chord V. The resulting progression is the iconic I-IV6-Ic-V7 whichbecame the harmonic foundation of the South African sound.

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

DECONSTRUCTING “THE SOUTH AFRICANJAZZFEEL”: ROOTS, RHYTHMS AND FEATURES OF SOUTH AFRICAN JAZZ

MarabiMarabi is described by Ballantine as just as important in the development of South Africanpopular music as the blues was to American popular music (Ballantine 2012, 7). Merz (2016)echoes this statement claiming prominent South African “musicians ranging from tenor-manBazil Mannenberg Coetzee to pianist Darius Brubeck” have referred to marabi as “SouthAfrica’s blues”, highlighting its central importance in South African jazz as “the form to basecompositions on” (Merz 2016, 34). Described by Matshikiza as a set of “highly rhythmicrepetitive single-themed dance tunes” (Matshikiza in Ballantine 2012, 32) which developedbetween the 1910s to 1930s, marabi was generally performed on keyboard, banjo or guitar inshebeens5 and at drinking and dancing parties. Like the blues, it followed a three-chordcyclical harmonic structure. However, in the case of marabi, the three chords were usuallyplayed in short two or four bar phrases, and were most commonly voiced as triads in thesequence I-IV-I-V. Due to the preference for diatonic tonality in marabi, few chord extensiontones were used other than the occasional addition of a major 6th to chord IV and the use ofthe dominant 7th on chord V. The resulting progression is the iconic I-IV6-Ic-V7 whichbecame the harmonic foundation of the South African sound.

In the pre-colonial music of Southern Africa there seems to be little evidence of the I-IV-V-Iprogression typical to the U.S.-American blues style, or many longer harmonic cycles.Instead, there seems to be a definite predilection for short harmonic progressions, such as theaforementioned two-chord progression of traditional Xhosa music of the Eastern Cape notedby Dargie. It can be argued that it was the use of these short harmonic cycles that then led tocertain styles of melodic and rhythmic phrasing which mirrored the short, repetitive harmonicmovement, thus resulting in characteristics common to much South African jazz, such asshort repetitive motivic melodies, basslines and drum grooves.

Although, mbaqanga became exceptionally popular both locally and internationally, it willnot be a key focus of the analysis presented in this dissertation as, like tsaba tsaba, its musicaltraits reveal it as being more of a hybrid, sub-genre of the original styles of South Africanjazz: marabi, African Jazz and kwela.

Citing the work of a number of prominent scholars on the style of kwela she states, “Academics who have written about kwela have been no more precise, or more in agreement with one another, about the boundaries of this musical style” (Allen 1993, 58).

like tsaba tsaba, its musical traits reveal it as being more of ahybrid, sub-genre of the original styles of South African jazz: marabi, African Jazz and kwela.

This rhythm is typically played with brushes on the snare drum. The first of the three notes is omitted on the snare drum as it is played by the bass drum in the four-note note “four-on-the-floor” pattern. This creates the feel of the groove as a heavyemphasis is placed on the eighth note after beat two and beat four of the bar. An additional snare accent is consistently placed on the last sixteenth note before beat two and beat four of the bar to set up the anticipations before beat three and beat one of each bar. The bass guitar generally phrases around this same three-note rhythmic pattern and plays an important role in defining many of the stylistic features of the music. This will be elaboratedon in the following chapter.

Rhythmically, mbaqanga is, like tsaba tsaba, generally based on a straight-eighth note feel with a driving bass drum on all four downbeats of the bar. This quarter note bass drum pattern, commonly referred to as “four on the floor”, is complemented bythe hands performingvarious orchestrationsof the rhythm below. This universal rhythm is known as the Charleston in American jazz, the Habanerain Cuban Latin music, and the Ghoema in South Africa.Figure 1.2 Charleston/Habanera/Ghoema rhythm

Paul Simon’s heavily mbaqanga influenced Gracelandalbum

characteristics commontomuch South African jazz,such as short repetitive motivic melodies, basslines and drum grooves.

However, in the case of marabi,the threechords were usually played in short two or four bar phrases, and were most commonly voiced as triads in the sequence I-IV-I-V. Due to the preference for diatonic tonality in marabi, few chord extension tones were used other than the occasional addition of a major6thto chord IV and the use of the dominant 7thon chord V. The resulting progression is the iconic I-IV6-Ic-V7which became the harmonic foundation of the South African sound.