Jazz Compositions Workshops Masterclasses

Johnny Dyani combined the Eastern Cape Folk Music of his roots, with international progressive jazz of his surroundings, with the expression for freedom from his circumstances. Together with a generation of talented musicians from all over the world they brought freedom of expression to the jazz movement in Europe, a free music built on African roots.

As trumpeter Claude Deppa put it: “Music is a universal language. And the minute you speak the universal language, color barriers, class barriers, financial status, all goes out the window. These were musicians who never went to school, but the yearning, they had, the burning they had the need they felt to speak with the voice they had was important. That is professionalism.”

The first break-away tour of Louis and Johnny to Buenos Aires 1966 illustrated this. Peter Niklas Wilson writes: “: We hear a bass player who has liberated himself from all idiomatic constraints concerning meter or harmony. An autonomous voice in a freely interactive quartet music, utilizing the whole tonal and timbral range of his instrument with virtuoso agility and confidence.”

At a concert in 1969, Dyani and Mongezi Feza recited:

Our religion is Music
Music is our Religion
We are here to be what we are

Dyani performed his compositions prolifically from the late seventies to his death in 1985 with a diverse group of musicians. He liked to work with people who understood his music, his fight. He remained open and incorporated American and European musicians. He worked with musicians from South Africa, America, Turkey, North Africa, Caribbean, UK, Sweden and France. Through far reaching musical collaborations in exile, he was a forerunner of unity through diversity, or uBuntu as we have come to know it in South Africa.

Throughout his career Dyani played mainly in quartets with drum bass and horns. Dyani’s music functioned well with an ostinato bassline, strong drums, and saxophone and trumpet manoeuvring on top.

The music came from the heart and influenced a lot of musicians in Europe with a freedom for self-expression. It was this open-ness that attracted Jazz Against Apartheid founder, Jürgen Leinhos to Johnny Dyani and to arrange concerts around the meeting of European and South African musicians. They began performing Dyani’s works in 1986 and after their first concert in October 1986 at Quartier Latin Concert Hall in Berlin, Dyani passed.

“The constraints or the impact it has on a mind or, and your heart and your soul is so severe that many of these people who lived abroad or was in exile, they died really young. This has nothing to do with anything else but broken souls,” recalled his daughter, Thandi Dyani

The Jazz Against Apartheid initiative continued after Dyani’s death on the wings of Dyani’s fellow South African’s in exile, international collaborators and a group of very talented European musicians. Were it not for these extraordinary efforts these Dyani compositions may have never returned to South Africa. And we would have been the poorer for it.

This legacy is built on a collective of wonderful musicians and friends of music. South African’s in exile Gilbert Matthews, Pinise Saul, Ernest Mothle and Lucky Ranku and Louis Moholo shared in this valuable history with Dyani.

In one sense, Dyani’s compositions express his life story. Growing up in the post war era in South Africa, music was rapidly urbanising through the popular styles of marabi and kwela. His hometown, the inner-city suburb of East London called Duncan Village was an epicentre of the Defiance campaign in the 1950s.

From the outset Dyani had a “natural approach,” or what was called SKANGA, a word for the Family of Black Music. His compositions show the merging of folk music and jazz music. His compositions show the influences of his musical roots such as amaqaba, the traditional religious beats, ukuxhentsa the swinging Xhosa shoulder dance and the township mbaqanga saxophone jive.

In another sense the compositions express that deep desire for change. It was against the backdrop of forced removals, that Dyani still only 17 years of age, joined the Blue Notes and went into exile in Europe. The strong messages community building and the desire for freedom of self-expression brought in a fresh and startling urgency to the music.

The Dyani compositions bridged music and society. His harmonic approach had the effect of bringing solidarity and change to the social disharmony. And this was achieved musically.

That ostinato form of composing, that restricted harmonic background enables a real creativity and freedom. Musicians are able to explore, take chances, superimpose harmonies and rhythms on that static yet creative background.

As poet in exile, Vusi Mchunu wrote: “His healing music aimed to stimulate reflection, meditation and creative healing approaches to the complex of human existence.”

And the musical collaborators, Mackaya and his subtle brilliance, John Tchicai, and  his understated power, Harry Beckett with his sheer creativity continued the Dyani musical approach giving the energy and courage to follow your own voice of taking chances and creativity. Long-time collaborators trumpeter Harry Beckett, saxophonist John Tchicai, and South African born drummer Makaya Ntshoko all performed with Johnny Dyani regularly. The following generations of musicians including Thomas Dyani on percussion and trumpeter Claude Deppa, added considerably. German musicians saxophonist Daniel Guggenheim and vibraphone player Christopher Dell and Canadian trombonist Allen Jacobson have carried his spirit forward during annual workshops and performances.

Dyani’s music crossed over into multiple genres: “I am a folk musician and I don’t like to see my work described as jazz because it introduces connotations that I don’t regard as relevant,” he once said.

“He regarded himself as a folk musician, playing the talking bass,” confirmed Thomas Dyani.

Dyani’s music made an indelible impact on humanity and the solidarity that formed in exile. The audiences of Europe and Frankfurt in particular have come to know these Dyani compositions over the last 36 years of regular performances. By saving this art of exile from oblivion with the music of Johnny Dyani, we are together restoring the keys for the cultural memory of South Africa.

The Johnny Mbizo Dyani story has come full circle. This work stands as a legacy, “for my people, for my country,” as Dyani himself put it.

Struan Douglas