Rabbitt was a South African rock band that released three albums between 1975 and 1977 on Jo’Burg. Trevor Rabin headed their first two albums, Boys Will Be Boys! and A Croak and a Grunt in the Night, both issued stateside on Capricorn. Duncan Faure led their third album, Rock Rabbitt. Rabin launched a solo career […]
Hugh Masekela (April 4, 1939 — Jan. 23, 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer, composer, and bandleader from Witbank, Mpumalanga. His recordings joined South African song forms with jazz, soul, and electronic production across six decades. The Philemon Hou instrumental “Grazing in the Grass” became a U.S. No. 1 single. Background Hugh […]
Trevor Rabin (born Jan. 13, 1954) is a South African-born/U.S.-naturalized guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer who first emerged in the Johannesburg art-rock/pop band Rabbitt, which he joined in 1972 at age eighteen. Rabbitt scored locally with the chart-topping symphonic-ballad “Charlie” and the album Boys Will Be Boys!, which Rabin wrote, produced, arranged, and largely performed. […]
John Kongos (b. 1945) is a South African pop/rock musician, vocalist, and songwriter who was active during the 1960s and early ’70s. He first emerged at age 15 in 1961 as a member of Johannesburg rock ‘n’ roll sensation the G-Men. Within a year, he assumed featured billing in the band’s nameplate. The band scored […]
The Soul of the City was a South African jazz-funk/soul studio project that accounted for three mid-1970s albums with variants of the title City Soul. The first release in the series is a 1974 all-star compilation on Satbel-imprint Soweto with tracks by Care Free, Margaret Singana, and the Superlove Band. The following two albums are […]
Mike Makhalemele (June 10, 1938 — May 6, 2000) was a South African saxophonist from Alexandra, Gauteng, who released the album The Peacemaker on Jo’Burg in 1975. During this period, he also appeared on albums by Margaret Singana, Teaspoon Ndelu, Richard Jon Smith, and The Soul of the City. In 1976, he collaborated with saxist […]
Chris McGregor (Dec. 24, 1936 — May 26, 1990) was a South African jazz pianist and bandleader with a musical career that spanned nearly three decades. He first emerged during the mid-1960s as part of the Blue Notes, a Cape Town sextet that also launched the careers of Dudu Pukwana, Johnny Dyani, and Louis Moholo. […]
Tete Mbambisa (born 1942) is a South African pianist and composer from Eastern Cape who recorded the album Inhlupeko Distress with the Soul Jazzmen for the City Special label in 1969. As a bandleader, he released two albums on the Sun Records label between 1976 and 1979. Discography: Tete’s Big Sound (1976) Did You Tell […]
Roots was a South African jazz-funk band that released two albums in 1975 on Highway Soul. Members: Barney Rachabane (alto saxophone), Dennis Mpale (trumpet), Duke Makhasa (tenor saxophone), Sipho Gumede (bass), Peter Morake (drums), Jabu Nkosi (organ) Background Roots formed in 1975 in South Africa when alto saxophonist Barney Rachabane teamed with trumpeter Dennis Mpale […]
The Soul Throbs were a South African soul-jazz band that released three albums on the Soul Soul label between 1974 and 1976. Members: David Thekwane (producer) Discography: The Soul Throbs (1974) Millie Come Back (1975) Thiba Ka Moo (1976)
Movement in the City was a South African jazz-funk band from Johannesburg that released two albums on The Sun label between 1979 and 1981. Members: Pops Mohamed (keyboards), Basil Coetzee (tenor saxophone), Robbie Jansen (alto saxophone), Sipho Gumede (bass), Roger Harry (drums), Gilbert Mathews (drums, 1979) Movement in the City Movement in the City were […]
Spirits Rejoice was a South African jazz-funk band behind the 1977 Atlantic album African Spaces, followed by the 1978 Jo’Burg release Spirits Rejoice! Members: George Tyefumani (trumpet, percussion, vocals), Thabo Mashishi (trumpet), Duke Makasi (tenor/soprano saxophone), Robbie Jansen (vocals, flute, alto saxophone), Mervyn Africa (piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano, ARP synthesizer, strings), Paul Petersen (guitar), […]
Circus were a South African hard-rock/pop band from Port Elizabeth that released the album In the Arena with two accompanying singles on EMI-subsidiary Sunshine Records in 1977. The members also handled instrumental chores on the studio recordings by contemporaneous girl band Clout. Members: Bernie Millar (vocals), Bones Brettell (keyboards), Gary van Zyl (bass), Sandy Robbie […]
Kabasa was a South African funk band from Soweto behind the 1980/81 Atlantic albums Kabasa and Searching, followed by the 1982 Lyncell Records release African Sunset. Members: Robert “Doc” Mthalane (guitar), Tata “TNT” Sibeko (bass, vocals), Oupa Segwai (percussion) Background Kabasa formed in 1980 in Soweto when guitarist Robert “Doc” Mthalane and percussionist Oupa Segwai […]
Harari was a South African funk band behind the 1976 album Rufaro Happiness on The Sun label, followed by ten further albums through 1986 on Gallo and Rufaro. Members: Saitana [aka Monty Ndimande] (guitar), Selby Ntuli (guitar), Condry Ziqubu, Alec Khaoli (bass), Robert Doc Mthalane (guitar), Sipho Mabuse (drums, saxophone, vocals, flute), Tashif’ Kente Background […]
éVoid were a South African New Wave band from Johannesburg that released two albums with accompanying singles on WEA between 1983 and 1986. Members: Lucien Windrich (vocals, guitar), Erik Windrich (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Terry Andalis (bass, 1977-82), Danny de Wet (drums, 1977-82), José “Aggi” D’Aguiar (vocals, 1977-82), George Voros (percussion, 1977-83), Wayne Harker (drums, 1983-present) […]
Abstract Truth was a South African psych-rock band that released two albums in the early 1970s. The band was headed by former Freedom’s Children guitarist Kenny Henson, who later recorded solo and in partnership with singer/songwriter Brian Finch. The band’s second album, Totem, also features ex-Third Eye percussionist Robbie Pavid. Members: Kenny Henson (guitar, vocals), […]
Dick Khoza is a Malawi-born Afro-jazz/funk musician who released the album Chapita on the South African Sun (الشمس) label in 1976. The album features performances from Soul of the City trumpeter Themba Mehlomakulu and ubiquitous saxist Ezra Ngcukana, who also appeared on Barney Rachabane’s concurrent Sweet Matara LP. Background Dick Khoza grew up in Durban, […]
Hawk was a South African hard-rock/psych band behind the 1971/72 Parlophone albums African Day and Africa She too Can Cry. They included ex-Suck/Freedom’s Children guitarist Julian Laxton and Tidal Wave drummer Ivor Black. Singer Dave Ornellas fronted 1960s beatsters The Idiots. In 1973, Hawk released Live and Well, a concert set with the 15-minute epic […]
Harry Miller (April 25, 1941 — Dec. 16, 1983) was a South African double-bassist who was active on the international jazz and rock scenes for more than two decades. He first emerged as a member of Cape Town rockers The Vikings, which issued two albums on RCA Victor between 1959 and 1961. During the mid-1960s, […]
The Third Eye — alternately spelled Thyrd Eye — was a South African psych-rock band behind the 1969/70 Polydor albums Awakening…, Searching, and Brother. Drummer Robbie Pavid also played in Abstract Truth. Members: Ronnie Selby (guitar), Maurice Saul (vocals, guitar), Dawn Selby (piano, Hammond organ), Robbie Pavid (drums), Mike Sauer (bass), Richard Wright (vocals), Rijk […]
Xoliso was a South African Afrobeat ensemble that issued the 1974 album Shingwanyana on the Soweto label. They featured drummer Johnny Motuba, who later joined the jazz-funk/soul combo Kabasa. In 1982, he resurrected the Xoliso name with different personnel for one further album. Members: Johnny Motuba (drums), Abel Nkambule, Percy Monare, Gilbert Mathopa, Abraham Boikanyo, […]
Pacific Express was a South African jazz-funk/soul septet behind the 1976 EMI release Black Fire, followed by the 1977–79 Gull titles On Time! and Expressions. Their second featured veteran saxophonist Barney Rachabane. Tenor saxist Basil Coetzee made the subsequent solo album Plum and Cherry while trumpeter Robbie Jansen resurfaced in Johannesburg stars Juluka. Members: Paul Abrahams […]
Louis Moholo (born March 10, 1940) is a South African drummer who has been active on the international avant-garde jazz scene since the early 1960s. Over the years, he has backed high-profile soloists from England, Italy, Germany, and the U.S., including Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, Elton Dean, Enrico Rava, and Peter Brötzmann. Moholo first rose to […]
The Kalahari Surfers are a South African avant-garde/experimental rock band that juxtaposed manic, zolo-ish arrangements with strident, political lyrics. Their first proper album, Own Affairs, appeared in 1984 on the Gross National Products label, founded by frontman Warrick Sony. The 1985 followup, Living in the Heart of the Beast, drew its title from the 1975 Henry […]
Juluka was a South African mbaqanga duo comprised of guitarists/vocalists Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu. The two came together in 1969 as teenagers and performed in Johannesburg for nearly a decade as Johnny and Sipho. Renamed Juluka and augmented with backing players, the duo debuted on CBS in 1979 with the album Universal Men. Eight […]
Johnny Mbizo Dyani (Nov. 30, 1945 — Oct. 24, 1986) was a South African double-bassist who emerged as one of the founding members of Cape Town jazz heroes the Blue Notes, in which he played alongside saxist Dudu Pukwana, drummer Louis Moholo, and trumpeter Mongezi Feza. Just as the Blue Notes began making waves in […]
Jabula was a London-based Afro-jazz/funk collective comprised mostly of South African and Ghanaian musicians. The band released five albums between 1975 and 1982. Star saxist Dudu Pukwana played on the first two albums, which appeared on the Caroline-subsidiary of Virgin. Subsequent releases appeared on the band’s eponymous imprint. At the peak of their activity, they […]
Abdullah Ibrahim (Oct. 9, 1934 – June 15, 2026) was a South African jazz pianist and bandleader with a musical career that has spanned six decades. He first emerged in 1959 as part of the Jazz Epistles, which also featured trumpeter Hugh Masekela. In 1965, Ibrahim assembled the Dollar Brand Trio — the first of […]
Allen Kwela (Sept. 11, 1939 – July 1, 2003) was a South African jazz guitarist who released three albums during the 1970s. His first, Allen’s Soul Bag, was recorded with an eponymous octet and released on the Atlantic City label. Subsequent recordings appeared on the Soweto and Ring imprints. He later explored his namesake roots […]
Genevieve Waite (born Feb. 13, 1948) is a South African actress and singer who achieved cult-status opposite Donald Sutherland in the 1968 swinging London drama Joanna. In 1970, she co-starred with Elliot Gould and Paula Prentiss in the American comedy Move and also played an uncredited role in the infamous Raquel Welch vehicle Myra Breckinridge, adopted […]
Freedom’s Children were a South African psych-rock band, active between 1967 and 1973 through multiple lineups and three Parlophone albums. They traded guitarists with Abstract Truth (Ramsay Mackay, Kenny Henson), Hawk (Julian Laxton), and Rabbitt, whose Trevor Rabin achieved global fame in Yes. Members: Ramsay Mackay (bass, 1966-71, 1996), Colin Pratley (drums, 1966-73, 1990), Kenny […]
Canamii were a South African symphonic/jazz-rock studio project assembled by two local music-industry insiders, keyboardist/composer Phillip Nel and vocalist/lyricist Claire Whittaker, both of whom worked for the Johannesburg branch of EMI. The nameplate is an altered portmanteau of their respective zodiac sings — Nel being a Cancer and Whittaker a Gemini. The latter roped in […]
Dudu Pukwana (July 18, 1938 — June 30, 1990) was a South African jazz saxist and composer who rose to prominence during the mid-1960s as a member of the Blue Notes, one of the first Cape Town acts to court an international audience. Under the leadership of pianist Chris McGregor, the band morphed into the […]
Dollar Brand was the performance moniker of South African jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. The name was used on most of his releases between 1965 and 1981 and also referred, collectively, to his backing ensembles during this time. In the latter sense, musicians such as Barney Rachabane, Basil Coetzee, Cecil McBee, Charles Sullivan, Enrico Rava, John Stubblefield, […]
Black Disco were a South African Afro-jazz/funk band that released three albums on The Sun (الشمس) label between 1975 and 1976. The band’s second album, Night Express, has gained a cult audience since its 2016 reissue on Matsuli Music. Included in the lineup was Dollar Brand saxist Basil Coetzee, who played concurrently in Pacific Express. […]
Batsumi were a South African spiritual-jazz ensemble that released two albums during the mid-1970s. Members: Zulu Bidi (bass), Lancelot Sello Mothopeng (piano), Johnny Masweswe Mothopeng (guitar), Thomas Thabang Masemola (flute, drums), Themba Koyana (tenor saxophone), Abel Lekgabe Maleka (drums), Buta-Buta Zwane (bongos) Discography: Batsumi (1974) Moving Along (1976)
Assagai was a London-based Afro-rock quintet comprised of three South African and two Ghanaian musicians. The band released two albums, both in 1971, on the Vertigo “swirl” label. Members included Blue Notes mainstays Dudu Pukwana, Louis Moholo, and Mongezi Feza, all concurrent players in Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath. Assagai’s self-titled debut begins with “Telephone […]
Robert Calvert (1945–1988) was a poet, singer, and songwriter, best known for his stints in the English space-rock band Hawkwind. He first joined as their performance poet on the 1972/73 releases “Silver Machine,” Doremi Fasol Latido, and Space Ritual. As a solo artist, he issued the 1974/75 UA albums Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters and […]
