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Kwela
Kwela is a genre of street music originating from southern Africa. It is distinguished by its prominent use of the pennywhistle, jazz-inspired elements, and a distinctive skiffle-like rhythm. It evolved from the marabi sound. Kwela brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s. Although Kwela has its roots in southern Africa, its later adaptations and many other African folk idioms have permeated Western music (listen to the albums ''A Swingin' Safari'' by the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra (1962) and ''Graceland'' by Paul Simon (1986)), giving modern South African music, particularly jazz, much of its distinctive sound and lilting swagger. The Piranhas' 1980 UK Top Ten hit 'Tom Hark' was based on an earlier 1950s Kwela hit song. One reason for the use of the pennywhistle is its affordability and portability. It is also valued for its versatility, functioning effectively as both a solo and ensemble instrument. The popularity of the pennywhistle may be because f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pennywhistle
The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistler. The tin whistle is closely associated with Irish traditional music and Celtic music. Other names for the instrument are the flageolet, English flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, tin flageolet, or Irish whistle (also ). History The tin whistle in its modern form is from a wider family of fipple flutes which have been seen in many forms and cultures throughout the world. In Europe, such instruments have a long and distinguished history and take various forms, of which the most widely known are the recorder, tin whistle, Flabiol, Txistu and tabor pipe. Predecessors Almost all early cultures had a type of fipple flute, and it is most likely the first pitched flute-type instrument in existence. Examples found to date include a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Hark
"Tom Hark" is an instrumental South African kwela song from the 1950s, believed to have been composed by Jack Lerole. The song was arranged for penny whistle and first recorded by Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes – a South African band formed by pennywhistlers Jack and his brother Elias Lerole – and released in 1956. It was later released in the United Kingdom after it was used as a theme on a television series, and it reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart in 1958. Recording artists of various genres have covered the song, and some added original lyrics. A version by the Piranhas became a hit in 1980 in the UK, and it has been adapted into football chants. Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes recording The song was composed by Jack Lerole around 1954, although other people also claimed to have written the song. The title, "Tom Hark", is thought to be either a misspelling or deliberate wordplay on "Tomahawk", the original title of the song. Tomahawks were carried by s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spokes Mashiyane
Johannes "Spokes" Mashiyane (born Vlakfontein (Mamelodi), Pretoria 20 January 1933; died at Baragwanath Hospital of cirrhosis of liver 9 February 1972) was regarded as one of the greatest pennywhistle artists who graced the South African kwela music scene from the 1950s to (approximately) the 1970s. Arriving on the pennywhistle band scene as a juvenile domestic servant from the northern Sotho communities in the Transvaal alongside contemporaries of Alexandra boys such as Lemmy Mabaso, Barney Rachabane, Elias and Jack Lerole. He stated that the pennywhistle's simplicity allowed for greater freedom to bend and blend notes. The success of his recordings provided significant revenue for his recording company, Gallo Record Company, to which he had switched in 1958. His success gained international notice by the 1960s - he played with Bud Shank among others during their visit to South Africa - and in July 1965 he was invited to the Newport Folk Festival. This festival gained notoriety ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Malawi
The music of Malawi has historically been influenced by its triple cultural heritage of British, African, and American music. Malawians, known for their history as travellers and migrant workers, have contributed to the spread of their music across the African continent, blending it with various musical forms. A significant factor in this musical amalgamation was World War II, during which soldiers transported music to distant lands and brought it back, leading to the popularity of guitar and banjo duos as dance bands by the war's end. Both instruments were imported. Additionally, Malawians working in mines in South Africa and Mozambique influenced the fusion of music styles, giving rise to genres such as Kwela. In the colonial period, Malawi witnessed the emergence of a few well-known singers. Notable among them was Tony Bird, a folk-rock singer-songwriter born in Nyasaland, whose music blended Malawian and Afrikaner traditions. His popularity led to tours with Ladysmith Black M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marabi
Marabi is a style of music and dance form that evolved and emerged in South Africa between the 1890s and 1920s. The early part of the century saw the increasing urbanisation of black South Africans in mining centres such as the gold mining area around Johannesburg - the Witwatersrand. This led to the development of township slums or ghettos, and out of this hardship came forth new forms of music, marabi and kwela amongst others. Marabi was the name given to a keyboard style (often using cheap pedal organs) that had a musical link to American jazz, ragtime and blues, with roots deep in the African tradition. Early marabi musicians were part of an underground musical culture and were typically not recorded. Indeed, as with early jazz in the US, the music incurred the displeasure of the establishment. Nonetheless, as with early jazz, the lilting melodies and catchy rhythms of marabi found their way into the sounds of popular dance bands with a distinctively South African style. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Swingin' Safari
"A Swingin' Safari" is a 1962 instrumental composed by Bert Kaempfert. It was recorded by Kaempfert on Polydor Records and released in the United States on Decca Records. The song features a distinctive main theme played on the piccolo as substitute for the traditional tin whistle, and a trumpet solo by Manfred "Fred" Moch. The prominent bass line is by Ladi Geisler. Kaempfert's recording of the song did not reach the charts, but a near-simultaneous cover by Billy Vaughn reached #13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Easy Listening chart. ''A Swingin' Safari'' (album) The song was the title track of an LP consisting of orchestrations of the South African kwela style of penny-whistle music popular in the 1950s. The album was credited to "Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra". This album was first released in the U.S. in August 1962 under the title ''That Happy Feeling'' and had climbed to Number 14 in the charts by September of that year. It was then released on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert (born ; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, including " Strangers in the Night", " Danke Schoen", " Moon Over Naples" and " A Swingin' Safari".Derek Taylor. ''The Golden Age of Light Music'' (2024), pp. 80-83 Early life and career Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, where he received his lifelong nickname, Fips, and studied at the Hamburg School of Music. A multi-instrumentalist who played accordion, piano, clarinet, and other instruments, he was hired by Hans Busch to play with his orchestra, before serving as a bandsman in the German Navy during World War II. He later formed his own big band and toured with them, following that by working as an arranger and producer, making hit records with Freddy Quinn and Ivo Robić. Kaempfert met his future wife, Hannelore, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Lerole
Aaron "Big Voice Jack" Lerole (c. 1940 – 12 March 2003) was a South African singer and penny whistle player. Lerole was a leading performer in the kwela music of 1950s South Africa. Lerole was the bandleader of Elias and His Zig-Zag Jive Flutes, who had an international hit record in 1958 with "Tom Hark". He co-founded the fusion band Mango Groove in 1984, and later collaborated with Dave Matthews Band, a rock band from the United States. Biography Lerole grew up in the Alexandra township near Johannesburg, and in his early teens play penny whistle on the street with his brother Elias. David Ramosa and Zeph Nkabinde started playing with them, and to defend themselves from street gang attacks they carried tomahawks. Jack Lerole wrote "Tom Hark", although the producer of the song Earnest Bopape claimed the credit and royalty, and Lerole was only paid $15 for the song. The song was first released in 1956, and became popular in South Africa. The tune of "Tom Hark" (which some th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, hymns, marches, vaudeville song, and dance music. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. However, jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Piranhas
The Piranhas were a British ska-influenced punk band from Brighton. They are best known for their cover version of the song "Tom Hark". Career The Piranhas formed in 1977, and were originally part of the Brighton punk scene, first coming to prominence when DJ John Peel started playing their single "I Don't Want My Body" on his BBC Radio 1 programme, but achieved their biggest success with their cover version of the South African kwela song "Tom Hark". This had been an instrumental hit in 1958 for Elias & His Zig Zag Jive Flutes, and had already been covered in a ska style by Millie Small and by Georgie Fame on his 1964 EP "Rhythm & Blue-Beat". With new lyrics written by the band's frontman "Boring" Bob Grover (allegedly en route to the recording studio), and with Pete Waterman on executive production duties, it was a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1980. It was the first song to feature on BBC Television's pop music programme, ''Top of the Pops'', when it returned in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Kachamba From Malawi
Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the Gaelic pronunciation by English speakers. A short form of Donald is Don, and pet forms of Donald include Donnie and Donny. The feminine given name Donella is derived from Donald. ''Donald'' has cognates in other Celtic languages: Modern Irish ''Dónal'' (anglicised as ''Donal'' and ''Donall'');. Scottish Gaelic ''Dòmhnall'', ''Domhnull'' and ''Dòmhnull''; Welsh '' Dyfnwal'' and Cumbric ''Dumnagual''. Although the feminine given name '' Donna'' is sometimes used as a feminine form of ''Donald'', the names are not etymologically related. Variations Kings and noblemen Domnall or Domhnall is the name of many ancient and medieval Gaelic kings and noblemen: * Dyfnwal Moelmud (Dunvallo Molmutius), legendary king of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kippie Moeketsi
Jeremiah "Kippie" Morolong Moeketsi (27 July 1925 – 27 April 1983) was a South African jazz musician, notable as an alto saxophonist. He is sometimes referred to as "the father of South African jazz" and as "South Africa's Charlie Parker".Jürgen Schadeberg"Profiles" ''Jazz, Blues & Swing: Six Decades of Music in South Africa'', New Africa Books, 2007, p. 145. He played with and influenced some of South Africa's great musicians, including Jonas Gwangwa, Abdullah Ibrahim, Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela. Biography Born into a musical Johannesburg family, Jeremiah Morolong Moeketsi was the youngest of 11 brothers, and one sister who was a nurse (Mirriam Ntsadi Kathar, ''née'' Moeketsi), all but four of whom played an instrument. Growing up in Eastern Native Township, George Goch township was unpleasant for him and he was often truant. According to the Johannesburg official website, "His mother used to go looking for him, shouting: 'kippie-kippie-kippie', as if he were a chicken" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
