Jazz it out

Pianist Sibusiso Shabalala describes himself in Ndikho Xaba’s words ‘a destiny in the process of becoming’.  Based on the stories his uncle Themba Shabalala tells of his much younger nephew, it became evident quite early that he was destined to be a musician.  “As a child, I had a very peculiar imagination.  Like most kids, however, my imagination leaned more on mysteries of the spirits”, he told Jazz It Out.

He was born at the time his family was residing in Orlando West.  His mother, uncles and grandmother left Newcastle to seek a better life in Johannesburg.  After his birth, him and his mother moved to Emadadeni, Newcastle.  “After the first grade at Qedizaba Primary School, we moved back to Soweto, this time settling in Central Jabavu where I attended Lekang Primary School”, he said.  After primary school, they moved to Rockville where he was deep into skateboarding.  It was when his family moved to Emndeni where he met like-minded people in poetry sessions, the Rasta community and beautiful music gatherings.

As a youngster, he participated in the school choir which most children did.  At Lekang, he enjoyed writing essays with Miss Hazel encouraging him to read and write.  When he progressed to Hoernie Primary School, Mrs Sonto Sithole played a significant role in shaping his language skills further.  “She was also the school’s choir conductor, a beautiful singer and a disciplinarian”, he recalls.  The school also gave him an opportunity to be an actor where once he was given a difficult role of a sangoma which he enjoyed.

Like some children often do, at one stage he became very rebellious, feeling that learning at school was not exciting anymore.  “I just felt like I was in prison”, he said.  This period was also influenced by the music he was listening to at the time, which was mostly Hip Hop.  “I was into Jay-Z, KRS One, Immortal Technique, The Roots, Black Star, Bahamadia to name a few”, going down memory lane.  This music drove Sibusiso to become a lyricist.  “I was scribbling rhymes everyday practicing my freestyling skills so I may showcase my skills to other MC’s who were older than me”, he added.

By the time he progressed to Morris Isaacson High School, he was a fully fledged rapper.  He did his best to defend the nature of what made Hip Hop an art.  Because of his talent, he was recruited to join a crew of gifted lyricists and thinkers called Unfamiliar Systems.  “I was also into poetry sessions at Credo Mutwa Village in Soweto.  We had weekly ciphers in Rockville at Thokoza Park”, he recalls.  The vocabulary he acquired through Hip Hop saw him participating in the debating team.  His uncle took him to a music school in Pimville where he learned to play the recorder.

With his very first piano teacher Khaya Mahlangu. Picture by Viwe Mhlana

This very curious learner also developed an interest in history, which began with him  captivated by Egyptology, and widened his gaze even further.  “I started learning about freedom fighters, iconic figures who had an impactful presence in the world like Malcom X, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Steve Biko, Dr John Henry Clark to name a few”, he said.  He also started dwelling into South African history which led him to read and study Credo Mutwa.  “I learned a couple of skills from those who surrounded me, he added.

One the boys Sibusiso did skateboarding with in Rockville was a son to saxophonist Khaya Mahlangu, whose father he didn’t know at the time.  He describes 2012 as a very pivotal year in his life.  The year started with Tebogo Seitei randomly taking him to the Music Academy of Gauteng, which was founded by Johnny Mekoa. Tebogo was a student at the institution.  He fell in love with the institution’s surroundings, practice rooms and instruments he saw. Hlubi Vakalisa borrowed him an alto saxophone and advised him to look for Khaya Mahlangu in Soweto.  

This turned to be a perfect timing as Mahlangu had just opened his own school of music.  “There were about 15 to 20 of us.  We played different instruments from guitar to saxophone, keyboard, trumpet and others.  Classes were minimum of 2 hours, starting with music theory for 40 minutes and the rest was for practicals”, he said.  What surprised the young students was that Mahlangu did not charge for the lessons he gave.  They felt the music theory he gave was very advanced and they benefited a lot from their mentor.  Sometimes the lessons would last very long and Mahlangu would drive him home.

A proficient saxophonist as well. Picture by David Weeks

“Bra Khaya became a father to me.  He used to share books on Black history with me”, with fond memories.  Those books were by Dr John Henrik Clarke, Prof Cheikh Anta Diop, Dr Ivan Sertima and other authors.  Makhangu became his first piano teacher.  “I remember at times when I was getting ready for saxophone practicals, he would sit me down on his piano and teach me how to play chords, scales, and a few great chord progressions”, he said.  He describes Mahlangu as an exceptional piano player, and a great composer.  Years later, Sibusiso realized that good piano skills are a prerequisite to being a great composer.

When Hlubi took back his saxophone, he had no instruments to practice on until an old Hip Hop associateloaned him a keyboard, then he started practicing everything he used to do on the saxophone on the keyboard.  He didn’t like the piano at first but ‘had no other choice’ under those circumstances.  Later he moved to Durban where he learnt pianistic Mbhaqanga style of the late Ndikho Xaba.  He enrolled for a B Music degree in 2016.  “I became like a son to Bra Ndikho”, he said.  Sibusiso would spend many hours practicing on Xaba’s keyboard while his ‘father’ narrated stories about life in exile.  The first time he heard “Lost and Found” by pianist Themba Mkhize was through Xaba who had it on a cassette.

At UKZN, he found a lot of motivation from his piano lecturer Burton Naidoo.  One of the things Naidoo said which he will never forget was ‘take care of the music, and the music will take care of you’.  In 2017, he formed a band with fellow classmate and trumpeter Phuti Mofokeng called Iza-Ngoma which translates to “come to us, music”.  They started performing at the campus and received good feedback which boosted their confidence.  Their music was influenced by Ndikho Xaba, Khaya Mahlangu, Tlokwe Sehume, Madala Kunene, Sakhile and Ali Farka Touré to name a few.  He also made friends with bassist Giyani Shangase and drummer Skhulile Mthembu.

Regularly teaches music to children through community school outreach. Picture by Smanga Konstant Zondo

Later he co-founded an ensemble called Bandless with saxophonist Hlubi Vakalisa which also had drummer Kabelo Mokhatla and Giyani Shangase on bass.  “Bandless is a mentality more than just a band.  It is a mentality of breaking chains or bondage that tries to prevent us from reaching to what outcomes of authentic craftmanship has in store for us”, he explained.  Sandile Mbatha later joined this group whose members keep changing because of various reasons.  For an example, Mokhatla is currently studying in New York and has released his own solo project.  

It was at UKZN where Sibusiso met his third musical father Salim Washington.  Together with the US saxophonist and academic, they formed a group called Ubizo which translates to “The calling”.  The group was formed at Washington’s household where musical workshops were hosted on Sundays.  “He invited students to come and sit with him, learn more about music through jamming to mostly American standards, which was not easy”, he said.  The ensemble included Tseleng Mokhatla on flute, Kabelo Mokhatla on drums, Giyani Shangase on bass, Nokwanda Nkala on tenor saxophone, Bucco Xaba on drums, Thabo Sikhakhane on trumpet and Kgethi Nkotsi on trombone.

Members of Ubizo would have conversations about various aspects of history, from music to the transatlantic enslavement and its ramifications.  “We also got to learn about who we were before slavery and colonialism”, he said.  These conversations would be accompanied by a feast Washington and his wife would prepare.  “It disappoints me to see that Professor Washington was not treasured for the gem he is, for the institution that he is, and for being a father to a whole lot of us who are responsible for shaping the future”, not mincing his words.

His favourite South African musicians are Victor Ndlazilwana, Andile Yenana, Louis Moholo, Bucco Xaba, Themba Mokoena, Khaya Mahlangu, Themba Mkhize, Bheki Khoza, Stompie Manana, Johnny Mekoa, Dudu Pukwana, Johnny Mbizo Dyani, Winston Mankunku Ngozi, Pinise Saul, Busi Mhlongo, Victor Ntoni, Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, Neil Gonsalves, Tete Mbambisa, Ndikho Xaba, Madala Kunene, Mfaz’Omnyana, Bhekumuzi Luthuli, Moses Ngwenya, Soul Brothers, Brenda Fassie, Lebo Mathosa, Lebo Mathosa and Kabomo.

Outside South Africa, his favourite musicians are Nigerian Fela Anukúlápó Kuti, Ghanaian E.T. Mensah, the late giant of Mali Arli Farka Toure, Etuk Ubong from Nigeria, Cameroon born and US based Richard Bona, Pharoah Sanders, Salim Washington, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Art Blakey, Jason Yarde, Soweto Kinch, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Charles Baron Mingus, Sun Ra, Duke Ellington and Abbey Lincoln.  Sibusiso is a very versatile artist who fits in various settings such as RnB, Rock, Jazz, Hip Hop and more.