By BRUCE DENNILL
Sipho Hotstix Mabuse: The Journey / Theatre On The Square, Sandton
Sipho Hotstix Mabuse is part of the fabric of South African music, and his most famous song, Burn Out, is perhaps the equivalent in this country of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five in the US and elsewhere, still being played on radio a few times a week the better part of 40 years after it was released and somehow never dating in terms of its appeal and effect on listeners (read: they will dance – in offices, cars or clubs).
Mabuse’s cultural significance is marked by the audience for the opening night of this short run of The Journey in Sandton, with two former South African Presidents – Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe – seated and expectant as Mabuse and his band walk onto a crowd that’s fairly crowded with instruments. There are Lloyd ‘Toto’ Mbele’s keyboards and the theatre’s baby grand piano; Mabuse’s saxes and flute on their stands; conga and table drums to be played by guest musician Ashish; a range of guitars played by the tall, bald guitarist; Siphiwe Kubheka’s full drumkit and the amp stack and guitars of bassist David Mabaso.
Mabuso’s geniality and quiet comfort with his profile is undermined early on by some sound issues that unfortunately linger throughout the show, causing some brief interruptions here and there as sound technicians scamper onto the stage to activate microphones, move stands, convince cables to co-operate and so on. This is often a function of a live gig featuring a number of guests – apart from Ashish, the line-up includes Mauritian sitar player Shanjeet Teeluck and Mabuse’s son Biko (a beautiful, soulful voice and abundant confidence), daughter Nqobile and grandson Sechaba – but it arguably feels a little more intrusive in a theatre rather than in a scabby inner-city jazz joint.
All of that said, the issues don’t seem to have any impact on the way the music – and the history, and the meaning in listeners’ lives – lands for most of the audience, with the set, which includes Angola, Sophiatown Blues, Welcome, Jive Soweto and, of course, Burn Out, regularly punctuated with mini standing ovations and dancing (the latter encouraged from the stage). Kubheka’s drumming is pretty much unimpeachable and he and Mabaso make a formidable rhythm section over which the more florid instruments can play – and really groove, when the equipment and chemistry clicks.
Under difficult conditions, and looking fresh at 73, Mabuse carries his legacy lightly, being generous with his band, guests and audience and delivering a range of music that makes jazz feel more accessible to more people than many other artists can manage.
