McCoy Mrubata excited at another bite of Zim cherry

Simba Jemwa, Sunday Life Reporter
SOUTH Africa-based jazz saxophonist, flute player, McCoy Mrubata is relishing returning to perform in the country 34 years after his first trip north of the Limpopo.

In 1988 Mrubata performed in front of 20 000 fans at the National Sports Stadium at the Children on the Frontline Concert as part of PJ Powers band alongside the likes of Brenda Fassie, Harry Belafonte, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Youssou Ndour, Princess, Maxi Priest, and King Sounds.

Mrubata is set to feature in the 2022 Spring Feelings Jazz Show scheduled for Country Side Resort on 3 September. Spring Feelings concert will return this September in Bulawayo to celebrate the underappreciated jazz music, following a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19.

The guitarist will lead a band with a mix of young musicians from South Africa that will be the main act at the annual jazz fete.

He will be accompanied by fine young cats like Wandile Molefe on piano, Bernice Boikanyo on drums & vocals and Neville Nhlanhla Radebe on bass.

“I’m really excited about this trip, coming to Bulawayo is something I have been looking forward to and I am happy the opportunity has presented itself. We are busy at rehearsals and we want to once again leave a memorable imprint of the show on the jazz lovers in Bulawayo. It will be a jazz experience not to be missed. It is quite an honour that I will be coming to bless the beautiful people of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo in particular with good jazz music. This will be my third time,” he said.

The artiste is one of the most accomplished jazz musicians in South Africa with various albums under his belt and has featured in several collaborations that include the acclaimed Sheer All Stars that also included Errol Dyer and Hugh Masekela. One of the organisers Prince Tshabalala said they are pleased to bring back the event after Covid-19 disruptions.

“We launched the Spring Feelings Jazz concert in 2018 with the late Oliver Mtukudzi and Bekezela at the large City Hall and that was Mtukudzi’s last show in Bulawayo, we are proud to have hosted him. The Spring Feelings concert is a crossover from the winter season where people pack away their long coats and heavy jerseys and move over to summer clothing. The idea behind the spring feelings was to allow jazz lovers to go out and celebrate jazz music complemented by the beautiful weather,” said Tshabalala.

He said apart from headliner McCoy Mrubata, will be supported by top local artistes.

“We have put together some of Bulawayo’s cream. They will be led by Hudson Simbarashe. Qeqe will also be part of the supporting artistes. There is going to be an after-party but the venue is still being organised,” he said.

Tshabalala said jazz music is underrated unlike other genres.

“One thing that I have realised is that when people talk about jazz music they think it is that lousy kind of music but I assure that those who attend on 3 September everyone one is going to be on their feet dancing,” said Tshabalala.
He added that from the first day, there will be a tour of Bulawayo to promote the festival, before the show in the evening.

“On Sunday we will be going all over Bulawayo showing people what we mean about jazz music. We will also show them the jazz and jacket dance as a means of promoting jazz. We have no specific places that we are going to be going but we will randomly be visiting places in locations,” Tshabalala said.

Born in 1959 in Cape Town’s historic Langa township, South Africa. Reedman McCoy Mrubata grew up with the sounds of African music: the soulful hymns of the Zion Church, the chants and rhythms of traditional healers and the brassy jive of the Merry Macs band who rehearsed opposite his home. When schooling became impossible in the fiery aftermath of the 1976 uprising, the young McCoy then playing flute studied informally under Langa greats like Madoda Gxabeka, the Ngozi brothers, Winston and Thulisile, the Ngcukanas, Ezra and Duke, Blackie Tempi and Robert Sithole.

Mrubata’s current projects include Kulturation and Vivid Africa. Kulturation is a duo-led album with pianist Wessel van Rensburg exploring new interpretations of tunes from the African and Afrikaans communities. This project blends together familiar tunes from the Xhosa and Zulu cultures with Afrikaans folk music tunes fusing these into contemporary versions of local South Africa music. Vivid Africa, is another collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Greg Georgiadis, using instruments like oudh and bouzouki alongside saxophones to explore the musical spices of the East African coast.

Mrubata also produces, teaches and spends a lot of time, as he puts it, simply being a family man. “My ambition is to keep our kind of music alive here at home. Everything I do is about linking the now to the community I came from all those years back in Langa, and sharing my South African experiences through music with the rest of the continent and the world.” — @RealSimbaJemwa