Description

South African music is known throughout Africa and the world. This magnificent book, “From Kippie to Kippies and Beyond” by Sam Mathe, is a tribute to his people’s achievement. It is a tour de force, a colossal achievement. Mathe has, with great dedication and respect as well as awe-inspiring and meticulous research, produced a study and a tribute to those not often remembered and honoured, which covers at least four generations of musicians from the nineteen twenties to the contemporary era. The oldest, Peter Rezant, was born in the early 1900s while the youngest, Zoe Modiga, came into this world in 1994. Kippie “Morolong” Moeketsi, the man who inspired the title of this work, was born in the roaring twenties – – the Jazz Age in the United States and a decade that witnessed the birth of marabi, the music of the black working class in the slum yards of Johannesburg. It features the lives and works of over three hundred musicians. Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masikela, Lucky Dube, Brenda Fasie, Dollar Brand [Abdullah Ibrahim], Dorothy Masuku, Letta Mbuli, Caiphas Semenya, Todd Matshikiza and Chris McGregor are just a few of eminent examples. From yesteryears’ kings of kwela, sultans of sax jive and illustrious sultry queens of torch songs, to the stars of contemporary jazz, they all inhabit the pages of this book. The book is a timely and affirming addition to the evolving contemporary archives of a people on the rise after a history of pain and discrimination – casting light on so much musical creativity that until now remained in the shadows of history. The title refers to one of South Africa’s greatest musicians, the saxophonist, Kippie ‘Morolong’ Moeketsi. After his death, the Market Theatre in Johannesburg had a jazz venue, Kippies, named after him.