Indaba Is

Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings showcases the sound of contemporary South African jazz on new compilation ‘Indaba Is’. Curated by Johannesburg artists Thandi Ntuli and Siyabonga Mthembu, these eight lengthy tracks capture the vibrant creative energy and stylistic adventurousness that one finds across the city's scene.

Brownswood are proud to present Indaba Is - a compilation of current South African improvised music and jazz. The project is a collaboration with two luminaries of the South African Music scene: pianist/songwriter Thandi Nthuli and The Brother Moves On's Siyabonga Mthembu who act as curators/musical directors on the project. South African townships were historically cosmopolitan places. Apartheid confined all classes in the same impoverished locations. Migration from across the country and the region meant kasi residents commanded many musical languages. Church music, European classical music, the latest US jazz LPs and Liverpool pop tunes from offshore radio stations fed the mix. The same woman could sing Handel in church on Sunday, traditional lyrics by the evening fireside, local and overseas standards on a community hall bandstand and songs of resistance on a march. There never was just one sound. And it's the flowers from all those roots, and more, that Indaba Is has harvested. Questions about lineage, community and spirit thread through the tracks - not just communities of descent or language, but the communities being built now through collective creation.

Tracklist

SIDE A
A1 Bokani Dyer - Ke Nako
A2 The Brother Moves On - Umthandazo Wamagenge
SIDE B
B1 Lwanda Gogwana - All Ok
B2 The Wretched - What is History
SIDE C
C1 Sibusile Xaba with Naftali, Fakazile Nkosi, & AshK - Umdali
C2 The Ancestors - Prelude to Writing Together
SIDE D
D1 Thandi Ntuli - Dikeledi
D2 iPhupho L'ka Biko ft Siyabonga Mthembu & Kinsmen - Abaphezulu