Dudley Tito township jazz concert

The small shed that Dudley and his band played in.  We had to rotate inside in shifts as there were only four chairs inside.  Thank goodness that sound travels.

Dudley is playing sax on the far right. Then there was a flutist, keyboard player, drummer, bass and guitar.

The bass player who reminds me of Hobie is on the left.

South African Hobie

The walls were covered in flyers for shows, newspaper clippings, obituaries, stories celebrating jazz, and more.

This vocalist was amazing.  Her first song was "A New York State of Mind" and I was in a trance listening.  She has a real presence at the microphone, and her little girl watched her while playing a coffee-can bass.

What a cool homemade toy!

She stole her mom's shoes.  How adorable. 

The band

This morning at House we chose some paint colors for the bathrooms, looked through a huge storage area containing all of the crafts, educational tools, outdoor toys, and anything we could imagine to do with the kids, peeled some vegetables, and played with the kids.  I was most excited about all of the resources that have been hiding away in the closet.  We were given permission to use the supplies as long as we return them.  Because Connie, the teacher, is only 1 against 17, she cannot do things like paints or activities that need more supervision.  She also struggles to have age-appropriate lessons for a group which is 2-5 years.  So, we hope to have some stations to accommodate each age group and plan a few lessons in the near future.  Next, I peeled and chopped some vegetables and went to the play school.  Most of the kids were at clinic today, so we had an almost 1:1 ratio with those who were left.

After House I quickly ate and went with our director, Bruce, and on other student to the home improvement store to get paint for next week.  After a few minutes devoted to some reading, we were picked up at Langerry at 2:45 for a concert in the townships.  Dudley Tito is a township jazz artist who still jams with groups.  We had a really great time listening to Dudley and his band.  I was amazed at their vocalists voice, and I was so grateful for  a fabulous concert showing the vitality in the townships.

Culture for Bruce and Norma

Today, I realized that I read every time we’re on a bus, so I don’t see the townships very much anymore.  Reading on the bus is valuable study time, but I often wonder if it is valuable enough to miss the sights around me.  I am afraid that I am becoming desensitized to the living conditions endured by the people in the townships. 

I really enjoyed myself at the concert today, but I couldn’t help but think how these musicians might live in another country.  It is a toss-up.  Township jazz has its roots in the apartheid.  Songs are inspired by relocation of people from their homes in cities into townships on the outskirts of town.  For instance, “Meadowlands” is about the relocation of black people from Johannesburg to the township now called Soweto (short for Southwest Township).  Apparently it was a meadow land.  Township jazz became a uniquely African product after the black bands were kicked out of white establishments.  Apart from its identity as the music of the struggle, township jazz artists are very talented be-bop players.  They can improvise very differently from the melody, so a good player must be masters of her or his instrument.  It is sad to think that legends of a musical genre live in townships.

I had to see township conditions close up again to remind me of their harshness.  One of the little girls had to use to restroom today, so she went to a building behind the house.  There is no plumbing or running water to have a flush toilet.  In addition, many of the band members were missing quite a few teeth, and even some of the children were missing adult teeth in the front of their mouths.  It must be very hard to eat while missing one’s two front teeth.  I was also surprised at the common attire of the band and vocalist, but I was so amazed by their talent.  I wish in this case, that talent meant success.

In Dudley’s heyday, he was required to work a job during the day in order to have a legitimate pass to be in the city.  Then he could stay and play music by night.  Musicians didn’t make enough money to live on, at least not black musicians in the heart of apartheid.  I don’t want to butter this up too much by saying that the band obviously enjoyed playing.  They loved what they were doing, but the space was so limited and the scene was so bleak in some ways.

I think of the man with the Swedish bass.  He reminded me of Dad’s old neighbor Hobie.  The man was always hooting at the female vocalist, just loving her sassy way of doing things.  Hobie is like that with Holly.  But the bass player was in a car accident and lost his leg.  I don’t often hear of that happening in the States.  So his friend sent him a Swedish bass that is smaller than a normal standing bass and can be played while sitting.  He didn’t have a proper case, so he wrapped it in a blanket and bungee cords.  He limped very badly, because his prosthetic leg did not fit very well.  Another example of how the talent of these musicians was not enough to improve their quality of life, whereas much less talented people in affluent countries make millions.  This is a sad truth.  I could say that their music fulfilled them and that was all they needed, but I bet affording health care and some dentistry, having a flush toilet, and not worrying about rampant crime every day could have made life a lot more enjoyable.