Jazz artist Malcolm Jiyane joins Percy Mabandu on ‘Dashiki Dialogues’

“I started studying music at the music academy of Gauteng Benoni, Daveyton 1997. And how I got into music was through a children’s home called Kids Haven, which I was staying at, and I remember uBaba Johnny Mekoa visited our shelter once with his first school big band to perform and entertain us. After they performed for us, he told our caretaker that if any child would love to study and learn music they must come to MAG and study for free. The next day I was there and jazz stole my heart, body and soul to date,” said Jiyane

The musician is at the crest of a wave of young jazz masters who’ve been defining South African music over the past decade. A much sought-after collaborator, a master trombonist with a unique voice and a virtuoso pianist who is also an imaginative composer, Jiyane has had quite a storied life both on and off the bandstand.

“My creative process differs from time to time from one situation to another depending on what triggers at that point. I might be asleep, and I dream of a melody. From that point, I used to wake up and write it down or pray it comes back in the morning, but now with advanced mobiles I record voice notes and from there, I learn what I’ve heard and build it to be what it is or what it has to be,” said Jiyane.

Shaped both by boyhood struggles, and artistic inspirations in Johannesburg’s East Rand region, before growing to become a world touring musical marvel, his recently released record, Umdali is a culmination of his story as a grown man and creative musician.

“Being an artist is not only just playing the music, but it also requires the artist to be always in shape – physically, mentally, spiritually. It requires lots of discipline to practice, practice practice! And how much you put in is how much get out of that. Even if you’re already a master of something, you are still required to practice. It is something you have to adapt and accept as part of you for the rest of your musical life because an instrument requires the player to be in shape with their instruments or kiss those chops goodbye,” the artist points out.

Having studied music at the Royal Music School London, Jiyane has performed and travelled all over the world, including Germany, Russia, the US, Sweden, Holland and France.

Dashiki Dialogues with Percy Mabandu is a series of conversations and performances that celebrate virtuosity and luxury craftsmanship. Mabandu explains to Eyewitness News the origin of the word Dashiki and why he named the serious Dashiki Dialogues.

“The word Dashiki, at its basic level is a traditional colourful pan-African shirt. It became popular in the 60s and 70s as an expression of African pride. It also refers to a band that was formed in Ga-Rankuwa during the 1970s. The band began its life as Malombo Jazz Messengers and later became known as Dashiki. It included poet and painter Lefifi Tladi on drums, Lucky Dinku on guitar, Gilly Mabale on saxophones and others. They became a central feature of the black consciousness movement artist and cultural focus. We named this series as a nod to that tradition of people-centred creative activism and an insistence on virtuosity and discipline”.

Mabandu is a leading writer and journalist who works at the intersection of art, jazz and political economy. He is the author of Yakhal’inkomo – Portrait of a Jazz Classic, a book about the classic 1968 record by Winston Mankunku Ngozi.

“We have just launched the series. The pilot featured pianist Kyle Shepherd, and the inaugural instalment at the State Theatre featured guitarist Selaelo Selota. Malcolm Jiyane is the next one. We look forward to hosting Thandi Ntuli, and Nduduzo Makhathini at the State Theatre. Each instalment is unique because each featured artist has had a uniquely creative and personal journey over the years. This comes to bear in each episode. This is what keeps us looking forward to each next dialogue and performance,” said Mabandu.

In Dashiki Dialogues, Mabandu dives into exploratory dialogues with virtuoso craftsmen and women in art, music, and beyond.

“We are hoping to bring all music lovers and audiences who enjoy a higher quality of expression in art and in life. We use the phrase ‘Luxury craftsmanship’ to describe our focus because we conceive of the idea of luxury as an expression of objects that are well-made and of exceptional quality. This is how we feel about the level of artistry that defines our featured artists,” said Mabandu on the Dashiki Dialogues.

Malcolm Jiyane will be joining Dashiki Dialogues with Percy Mabandu on Friday to unpack his musical journey over the past decade.

“I have been of the view that we needed a platform where we could bring together exceptional musicians to enjoy and celebrate them as creatives, while also getting to open them up to explore their story and journey in life. This way, their work might be understood and appreciated as an important contribution to the culture. As an art journalist and creative impresario of sorts, I felt I was well-placed to put it together,” said Mabandu in the conversation had during the dialogue.

Over the years, Jiyane has worked with local and international artists including Abdullah Ibrahim, Idris Elba, Simphiwe Dana, Feya Faku, The Brother Moves On, Fra Fra Sound, Kevin Mahogany, Yusef Lateef, Nduduzo Makhathini, Themba Mkhize and Unathi.

“At this point in my career, I’m no longer worried about genre. I now allow the music or composition to take whichever shape it demands. But it’s no lie, jazz stole my heart, my body & soul, and through jazz, it brought many kinds of genres. If a composition comes asking comes as bebop, R&B, jazz, avant-garde, gospel, classic, umbaqanga, Amarabi or even amapiano etc, I just let the composition to take its own form,” said Jiyane.

The Dashiki Dialogues is set to take place at the South African State Theatre on Friday, June 10 at 7pm.