(from older PlaceWorks blog)

Music and place? But music is so portable, how can it be “of” a place? Thinking of jazz, that quintessential “American” music. Jazz is played all over the world. In bars in Copenhagen, hotels in Bangkok. And jazz has its roots in West Africa, or some of its roots. Other roots are detectable reaching to/from every part of the world. And yet we think of it as American music. It was “invented” here and does seem somehow emblematic of a mix of cultures and a style of life that is of this American place (and time?).

On our recent trip to South Africa (see earlier posts), we had only a few encounters with the music of the place, but they offer a chance to ruminate on the subject (music and place) based on at least some specific experience. I didn’t know much about South African music to begin with – Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba. Oh, and Ladysmith Black Mombazo, and Dave Matthews. These were South Africans who had brought their music(s) to our shores. But what would I find in the place itself?

First encounter: Friend Susanne in response to my queries about “local music” suggested I would like David Kramer and specifically Karoo Kitaar Blues. Kramer is a long time South African song writer and performer who sings in both English and Afrikaans (bridging a couple of cultures there). Karoo Kitaar Blues is the result of a musical exploration during which he located local performers in remote villages in the Karoo, South Africa’s “outback.” You can see/hear some of it by clicking here!  Pretty amazing, but what is it?

Second encounter: As part of the entertainment offered by a game reserve we visited in the Eastern Cape, local performers presented after dinner, highly energetic folkloric singing and dance. The group leader in closing remarks said that he hoped we had enjoyed this representation of Zulu culture even though he and his fellow performers were Xhosa people. The next day we caught only an accidental glimpse of the same performers playing in a sort of marimba ensemble, enchanting rhythms and modulation, made me wonder if this was their “Xhosa” music (but our group was leaving, no time to ask.)

Third encounter: Arriving in Cape Town, we found that the city was in the midst of a New Year’s celebration (a few days after Jan 1). We were greeted by a truly amazing parade of marching bands, brass mostly, each with its own colors! Infectious music, closest to maybe New Orleans style street jazz (no John Phillips Sousa here); made us all want to step on out. (Encounter 3.5: Street musician above next to parade. Sorry, no great photo of the parade!)

Fourth encounter: Last day in SA, looking around Stellenbosch to find nice presents to bring back home and happened to walk into a wonderful little CD store. The proprietor, when he heard what I was interested in (music that was somehow “of the place,” whatever that might mean) steered me onto a couple of albums (artists: Vusi Mahlasela and Busi Mhlongo).  He described a sort of renaissance in local music, performers growing more proficient, taking old forms and respectfully investing them with new energy, this coupled with a dramatic improvement in recording capacities; call it great salesmanship, but I was convinced. Busi Mhlongo’s UrbanZulu I find particularly affecting, haunting almost, in its strange (South African?) combination of pain, anger, hope. See/hear a bit by clicking here.

So what is the music “of” South Africa? Are all of these forms somehow of the same place? Sure, many different cultures, different perspectives, different communities of origin (within or outside the country). But do they all link to the place somehow? And through place to each other? Is it in their combination that we find a musical representation of place?

Any thoughts?

Final note. My friend Scott Planting, a Presbyterian minister from Farmington, Maine, travels to South Africa periodically to support community development work in the Eastern Cape. He tells me that it was through the church music in the “townships” that he most fully connected with (was transported by) the people he was there to serve. Would like to hear some of that, for sure.