Iconic South African jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim and his band Ekaya — with Freddie Hendrix in the trumpet chair — will present a concert program in tribute to The Jazz Epistles, South Africa’s first black jazz band, first recorded jazz group, and important contributors to modern jazz. New arrangements of The Jazz Epistles’ original compositions from their 1959 recording, Jazz Epistle, Verse 1 will be woven into a beautiful concert program with Abdullah Ibrahim’s classic catalog.
The Jazz Epistles' music was almost lost forever — only 500 copies were pressed in 1959, buried, and rediscovered decades later after the tyranny of apartheid. Jazz symbolized what the white nationalist government feared most: the social mixing of racial groups. The government’s prohibition of jazz spawned secret listening parties, and the Sharpeville massacre ultimately destroyed the musicians' hopes of a national tour when the apartheid government outlawed gatherings of more than 10 people, forcing the ensemble into exile.
This concert will be performed in memory of trumpet player Hugh Masekela, an original member of the Jazz Epistles who passed away from prostate cancer in January.
The Jazz Epistles' music was almost lost forever — only 500 copies were pressed in 1959, buried, and rediscovered decades later after the tyranny of apartheid. Jazz symbolized what the white nationalist government feared most: the social mixing of racial groups. The government’s prohibition of jazz spawned secret listening parties, and the Sharpeville massacre ultimately destroyed the musicians' hopes of a national tour when the apartheid government outlawed gatherings of more than 10 people, forcing the ensemble into exile.
This concert will be performed in memory of trumpet player Hugh Masekela, an original member of the Jazz Epistles who passed away from prostate cancer in January.
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