Sipho Gumede
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Sipho Gumede (17 April 1952 – 26 July 2004) was a South African jazz musician and composer. Gumede was best known for his bass guitar playing and his own music writing and was one of the founding members of the band Sakhile. He is known for his fusion of jazz and African sounds.


Early life

Sipho fought in the
Cato Manor Cato Manor is a settlement located from the city centre of Durban, South Africa. It was formed when Indian market gardeners came to settle in the area some time after it was given to George Christopher Cato in 1865, who was the first mayor of ...
area when it was still an Indian-only area in
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
. From a young age, Gumede had a great love of music, and so he built himself a guitar from a tin can with a hole cut out and strings strung together to resemble a guitar. When he was 8 years old, they were evicted from the area by the apartheid government under the Group Areas Act in the 1960s. At the age of 12, he moved to live on a farm outside Umlazi. While on this farm, he learned a lot about many types of music at weddings and funerals. Every time they came home from school, they would go out to herd cattle, and while grazing, he would play his "homemade" guitar. As he grew older, instead of playing the guitar he had built himself, he borrowed a real one to further his talent as a guitarist. At the age of 16, he returned to
Umlazi Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region. It is the fourth largest ...
where he met Cyril Magubane, a jazz guitarist. Meeting Magubane opened up many opportunities for him to hear the music of many jazz masters, including
Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...
. He also found himself meeting Dick Khoza, where he found work as a member of a jazz club called the "Jazz Revellers". In this club, he got the opportunity to play bass guitar.


Works

1970 In 1970 Gumede moved to Ndonga Ziyaduma's house in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, where he found himself in an unfamiliar place, Dorkay House on Ellof Road. It was here at Dorkay that he met many of the musicians he would eventually work with. His fellow musicians included Dennis Mpale and Cock Tlhotlhalemaje in the band known as "Isintu". He also worked with Dennis's band at the Piano Culo Music Festival. It was during this time that he also met Dick Khonza, whom he had previously worked with, who was based at the Pelican Nightclub, which was famous for its upbeat music in the 1970s. Soon after, Gumede met Gibson Kente and they toured the country together. After his first tour, he took a sabbatical to further his guitar skills after hearing the music of
Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...
,
Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer, composer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a membe ...
, Flora Purim and Chick Corea. After the sabbatical, he met other jazz musicians and formed a band called "Roots". The musicians he worked with in this band included Jabu Nkosi, Barney Rachabane, Duke Makasi, Dennis Mpale and Enoch Mtlelane. The band did not last long, and when it ended, Gumede met Bheki Mseleku and they both called themselves "Spirit Rejoice" which was a jazz fusion band. 1990 In 1992, he won an OKTV award for his solo album, "Thank you for Listening". In 1995, he won a lifetime achievement award from Johnny Walker, where they recognized his significant contribution to the South African music industry. In 1995 he released another album titled "Ubuntu (Humanity). In 1996 he released the album titled "20 Years of My Life", this album looked back at Gumede's early days in jazz music. In 1998 Gumede released the album titled "Blues for My Mother" under the Sheer Music label, where he worked with artists such as Mandla Masuku, Paul Hammer and Xoli Nkosi. In 1999 Gumede was part of the band that played in the background when American jazz pianist Joe McBride came to South Africa . 2000 McBride and other jazz musicians including Andy Narell, Wayne DeLano and Manny Rodriquez were part of Gumede's album "New Era". At this time Gumede was playing bass guitar in a band known as "The Sheer All Stars" consisting of Paul Hanmer,
McCoy Mrubata McCoy Mrubata (born 1959) is a South African jazz saxophonist. Biography McCoy Mrubata was born in 1959 in the township of Langa, Cape Town, South Africa. He was surrounded in childhood by many African hymns, from the sounds of Zion churches to t ...
, Errol Dyers and Frank Paco. It was during this time that Gumede collaborated with Pops Mohamed to produce the critically acclaimed Kamamzoo. It was voted Best South African Jazz Song at the
South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...
. In the 2000s, Gumede returned to
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
where he taught music and performed for young people in the townships. During this time, he set up a recording studio in his home where he produced many of his albums. His last albums were "From Me to You" in 2004 and "Togetherness" with Sakhile. In 2004, his album "Blues for My Mother" went platinum.


Discography

* Faces and Places (1985) * We Know Who We Are (1986) P* 20 Years of Life (1986) * Thank You for Listening (1990) P* Banana Jive City (1991) P* Down Freedom Avenue (1993) * Outernational Meltdown (1994) * Ubuntu - Humanity (1995) * Blues for My Mother (1998) * New Era (2000) * Village Dance and Moore (2001) D* From Me to You (2002) * African Sunrise (2004)


Illness and death

After a brief illness in a Durban hospital, Gumede died on 26 July 2004 at the age of 47. He was survived by his newlywed wife Fikiswa Pupuma, his four children, including Mantombi, Sifiso, Nozipho and Nontuthuzelo, and his brother Qedi.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gumede, Sipho 1952 births 2004 deaths South African jazz guitarists Jazz-blues guitarists 20th-century South African male musicians 21st-century South African male musicians South African musicians