Written Articles
"who is cape jazz?"
by loki de pontes
Jazz is a combination of different elements. It has a certain look, a certain sound. A certain aesthetic.
However, even more than other music, jazz has an identity. Each player in a performance adds their own unique flavour, their own style. Their own struggles, hopes and dreams.
Who is the man in the black polo shirt at the grand piano? The man conducting an entire orchestra with a bass guitar? Where do they come from? What brought them here? Why do they play this way?
To the right you'll find a picture of Abdullah Ibrahim, one of the integral figures of Cape Jazz. Click on his face for a dive into other legends of the genre.
"Cape jazz--
Whatever That Means"
by JOZI HARTY
Benjamin Jephta is a 30-year-old with a lot going on. He’s a double and electric bassist, composer, lecturer and producer who finds himself labelled as a “Cape Jazz” Musician.
Cape Jazz finds its roots early in the apartheid era. Once posing a threat to the institutionalised segregation of the time, practicing the genre was at once illicit.
In 2024, South African musicians no longer play with the backdrop of apartheid. So what does that mean for music genres that find their roots during this era? Through conversation with Benjamin Jephta, we sought to discover if the seemingly rebellious subgenre of Cape Jazz is still a tool of resistance, or if this genre encompasses a new message altogether.
Get a glimpse into Benjamin Jephta's thoughts by clicking on his head to the left.
"The Theory Of Rebellion"
by Wanga Charma
The history of South Africa is marred by the racially oppressive and discriminative regime of 'Apartheid'. There were numerous forms of resistance, one of which was music.
In Cape Town, 'Cape Jazz' became the figurehead of musical resistance - most prominent among the coloured community.
This piece explores 'Cape Jazz' as a form of resistance and expounds on the resistance nature of other South African musical genres as well as other forms of rebellion across the country during Apartheid.
To the left you'll find an archival image from District Six, landmark of resistance in Cape Town, click on the street sign to read the full piece.
"Sharpened Notes"
by JUSTIN KEEP
If you were to ask Hilton Schilder, son of Cape Jazz legend Tony Schilder and pioneer of the genre in his own right, how he knows when he’s listening to Cape Jazz, he’d say: “I always hear Cape Jazz as a certain sound… you’ll hear it if you know what to hear.” A younger face in the genre, Benjamin Jephthah, shares a similar feeling: “There is something in the music that is very difficult to articulate”.
Difficult to articulate indeed! Especially for those of us without the advantage of years of practice in making music, pushing the boundaries of the genre and interrogating its elements like Jephta and Schilder have. For those of us without that experience though, there’s still a lot of questions about the musical theory that forms the sound of Cape Jazz, and the story of resistance that is hidden inside of those elements. Let’s start answering.
Click on Hilton Schilder's busy hands to the left to put your ear to the ground of Cape Jazz' rebellious roots. Bring a pair of headphones!