Zim Ngqawana

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Zim Ngqawana (2008)

Zim Ngqawana [ ŋǃʱaˈwana ] (born December 25, 1959 in Port Elizabeth ; † May 10, 2011 in Johannesburg ) was a South African jazz musician ( flute , tenor saxophone , percussion ). He “inspired with his timbre and a fascinating alternation between melodic singing and energetic free jazz”, but at the same time triggered controversy in South Africa: Some suspected him of traditionalism, others accused him of being elitist.

Live and act

Although Ngqawana was forced to leave school before graduation, he was given the opportunity to study at Rhodes University . He received a diploma in jazz from the University of Natal . The International Association of Jazz Educators Convention made it possible for him to attend a workshop by Max Roach and Wynton Marsalis . He then received a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts , where he studied with Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef .

After returning to South Africa in the early 1990s, he worked with Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim . He founded his own quartet Zimology , the octet Ingoma and the large formation Drums for Peace ; this group first appeared in 1994 on the occasion of the inauguration of Nelson Mandela . In 1996 he worked in Norway with Bjørn Ole Solburg and his San Ensemble (CD San Song ). He also toured the United States (1995), Great Britain (1997), Switzerland (2007, 2008) and Germany (2008). He came to Chicago regularly and worked there a. a. with Ernest Dawkins and Max Roach. In the documentary Giant Steps (2005) by Geoff Mphakati and Aryan Kaganof he can be seen in a duet with the poet Lefifi Tladi. He also composed for the Free Flight Dance Company , produced Hotep Idris Galeta and worked as a percussionist for the Moving into Dance Company . He also performed with Raphaël Imbert , Paul van Kemenade , Max Roach, Keith Tippett and with Matthew Shipp and William Parker ( Vision Festival 2009).

Ngqawana brought traditional South African music and dance grooves into his modern creative suites. In 2002 he received five South African Music Awards (SAMA). Most recently he built the Zimology Institute for young jazz musicians based on the model of similar facilities by Yusef Lateef and Archie Shepp near Johannesburg. He collapsed on May 10, 2011 in his Troyeville home during a rehearsal, suffered a stroke and died shortly afterwards in a Johannesburg hospital.

Honors

In 2015 Ngqawana was posthumously honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the South African Music Awards .

Discographic notes

Zim Ngqawana (2006)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary ( Memento from May 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  2. Zim Ngqawana (Center for African Studies, Basel)
  3. ^ Obituary by Neil Tesser in the Chicago Examiner
  4. Detailed obituary in Mail & Guardian
  5. ^ Obituary in Mail & Guardian
  6. ↑ List of winners 2015 , accessed on September 27, 2015