Christopher McGregor (24 December 1936 – 26 May 1990) was a South African
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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
pianist, bandleader and composer born in
Somerset West
Somerset West ( af, Somerset-Wes) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottent ...
, South Africa.
Early influences
McGregor grew up in the then
Transkei
Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ba ...
(now part of the
Eastern Cape Province
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 199 ...
),
where his father was headmaster at a Church of Scotland mission institution called Blythswood. Here McGregor was exposed to the music of the local
amaXhosa people.
This music, as explained in Dave Dargie's book ''Xhosa Music'', is complex. Dargie mentions the following as examples of this complexity which might be seen to have influenced McGregor in his own music, both as composer/arranger and as band leader: "...a great number of style characteristics are to be found: relating not only to harmony and scale, but to melody, structure and phrasing, form, rhythm, instrumentation, singing techniques, and so on."
In his book ''Chasing the Vibration'' Graham Lock quotes McGregor saying: "I have this strong imaginative reference to African village music, and the thing I know about that music is that it has a strong centre. It builds up, a lot of people do things together that they know."
Early career
After school and a stint in the merchant navy training academy
The General Botha at
Gordon's Bay
Gordon's Bay ( af, Gordonsbaai) is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality as a suburb of the Helderberg region (formerly called Hottentots Holland). It is ...
in the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 202 ...
in 1952–53, McGregor enrolled at the
South African College of Music
The South African College of Music, abbreviated as SACM, is a department of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town. It is located on the University's Lower Campus in Rondebosch, Cape Town.
Study opportunities
The South Africa ...
, then headed by Professor Eric Chisholm. Here McGregor was exposed to a different set of influences, during the day
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hu ...
and
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
, and at night recordings of
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...
and
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
, and the live music of local jazz musicians such as
Dollar Brand (now Abdullah Ibrahim),
Cecil Barnard
Hotep Idris Galeta (7 June 1941 – 3 November 2010) was a South African jazz pianist and educator. His legal name at birth was Cecil Galeta, but according to local custom he was more commonly known as a child and young man as Cecil Barnard, his ...
(now Hotep Idris Galeta), Christopher Columbus Ngcukana, Vincent Kolbe, "Cup-and-Saucers" Nkanuka, Monty Weber, the Schilder brothers, and many others who were active in the vibrant Cape jazz scene at that time, the mid-1950s. The vibrancy and power of this music has led some to designate the music played around Cape Town as a particular jazz genre called "
Cape Jazz." (Miller, 2007).
While at the SA College of Music, McGregor studied composition with
Stanley Glasser, who later wrote the music for ''Mr Paljas'' – a musical that played at the
Labia Theatre in Cape Town around 1962 – Chris McGregor was band leader and pianist in the theatre band, which consisted of
Dudu Pukwana
Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist, composer and pianist (although not known for his piano playing).
Early years in South Africa
Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, ...
and Nick Peterson on alto saxes, Cornelius Kumalo on baritone sax and clarinet, Denis Mpali on trumpet, Blyth Mbityana on trombone, Joe Mal on bass, and Columbus Joya on drums. An LP of the show, ''Mr Paljas'', was released by Gallotone Records (GALP 1207).
As McGregor's friend and fellow-student Bruce Arnott wrote in the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
's alumni magazine after McGregor's death in 1990: "I am no musicologist, but I believe that Chris was working toward a synthesis of South African black traditional music and the wonderfully evolved black American contribution to jazz."
McGregor put together a group to perform at the 1962 Moroka-Jabavu jazz festival in the Johannesburg suburb of
Soweto
Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a ...
. This group consisted of Mzimkulu "Danayi" Dlova on alto, Chris Ngcukana on baritone, Ronnie Beer on tenor, Willie Netie on trombone, Sammy Maritz on bass and Monty Weber on drums. At the festival, in which the group took second prize, McGregor came into contact with a wider group of musicians such as Dennis Mpali, the legendary altoist
Kippie "Morolong" Moeketsi, Churchill Jolobe and the various artists then organised under the banner of the Union of South African Artists, which had put on the famous "jazz opera" ''
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
''.
These contacts led in the following year to the formation first of the Blue Notes
and, secondly, of a big band called the Castle Lager Big Band. The Blue Notes at this stage consisted of Mongezi Velelo (and later Sammy Maritz) on bass,
Early Mabuza
Early may refer to:
History
* The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.:
** Early Christianity
** Early modern Europe
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa
* Early, Texas
* Early ...
on drums, Dudu Pukwana on alto and
Nikele Moyake on tenor. The great young trumpet player
Mongezi Feza
Mongezi Feza (11 May 1945 – 14 December 1975) was a South African jazz trumpeter and flautist.
Biography
Feza was born in Queenstown, Cape Province, Union of South Africa, into a family of musicians, His elder brother, Sandi Feza, who ...
joined the group soon after.
Johnny Dyani replaced Sammy Maritz on bass and
Louis Moholo
Louis Tebogo Moholo (born 10 March 1940), is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai.
Biography
Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The Blue ...
replaced Early Mabuza soon after and the permanent Blue Notes group was complete.
The Castle Lager Big Band was formed after the 1963 Moroka-Jabavu Jazz Festival. This 17-piece group made the album ''Jazz: The African Sound'', which had six tracks, two compositions by
Abdullah Ibrahim
Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...
, two by
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".Jürge ...
and two by McGregor, all in arrangements by McGregor. Apart from the arrangements, one of the most striking things about the album was the wonderful playing by Moeketsi on clarinet, instead of his usual alto. In the band were musicians who had yet to make names for themselves but would become internationally known. Most notable perhaps was
Barney Rachabane
Barney may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Barney (surname), a list of people
Film and television
* the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...
, who would go on to, among other achievements, play with
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
on the Graceland tour. Simon would describe Rachabane as the "most soulful sax player in the world".
Years in exile
McGregor is perhaps best known for his foundation and leadership of
The Blue Notes, a South African
sextet that included collaborators
Dudu Pukwana
Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist, composer and pianist (although not known for his piano playing).
Early years in South Africa
Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, ...
,
Nikele Moyake,
Louis Moholo
Louis Tebogo Moholo (born 10 March 1940), is a South African jazz drummer. He has been a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai.
Biography
Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The Blue ...
,
Johnny Dyani and
Mongezi Feza
Mongezi Feza (11 May 1945 – 14 December 1975) was a South African jazz trumpeter and flautist.
Biography
Feza was born in Queenstown, Cape Province, Union of South Africa, into a family of musicians, His elder brother, Sandi Feza, who ...
. Equally as notable was McGregor's creation of the
Brotherhood of Breath
The Brotherhood of Breath was an English-South African big band established in the late-1960s by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor, an extension of McGregor's previous band, The Blue Notes.
History
The Brotherhood of Breath i ...
in 1969, which branched out from his work as The Blue Notes.
The Brotherhood was a larger group than the Blue Notes, and incorporated leading English improvisors. They made several recordings throughout the 1970s, both studio sessions and live, as well as a final studio session in 1988. McGregor also released three albums of solo piano performances, and continued to be a major force in the music after leaving England to live in the French countryside.
[Cotterrell, Roger. ‘Chris McGregor: African Roots’ ]Jazz Forum
''Jazz Forum'' is a European jazz magazine based in Warsaw. It was established as a quarterly in 1964 by jazz bassist Jan A. Byrczek, who served as its editor-in-chief. It was the first jazz magazine published behind the Iron Curtain and allo ...
46 (Mar 1977), 40-3. He also made a contribution to
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...
's ''
Bryter Layter
''Bryter Layter'' is the second studio album by English folk singer-songwriter Nick Drake. Recorded in 1970 and released on 5 March 1971 by Island Records, it would be his last album to feature backing musicians, as his next and final studio a ...
'' album by performing a piano solo on the track "Poor Boy".
Death
McGregor died of lung cancer in May 1990, at the age of 53.
Discography
* ''Jazz/the African Sound'' (New Sound, 1963)
* ''Legacy Live in South'' (Afrika, 1964)
* ''Up to Earth'' (Fledg'ling Records, 1969) (Septet) (2008)
* ''Our Prayer'' (Fledg'ling Records, 1969) (Trio) (2008)
* ''Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath'' (RCA, 1970)
* ''Eclipse At Dawn'' (Cuneiform Records, 1971) (& Brotherhood of Breath) (2008)
* ''Brotherhood'' (RCA Victor, 1972) (& Brotherhood of Breath) (2004)
* ''Travelling Somewhere'' (Cuneiform Recs, 1973) (& Brotherhood of Breath) (2001)
* ''Live at Willisau'' (Ogun, 1974) (& Brotherhood of Breath)
* ''Bremen To Brigdewater'' (Cuneiform Recs, 1971-75) (& Brotherhood of Breath) (2004)
* ''Piano Song Vol. 1'' (Musica Records, 1977) (solo piano)
* ''Piano Song Vol. 2'' (Musica Records, 1977) (solo piano)
* ''Procession'' (Ogun, 1978)
* ''In His Good Time'' (Ogun, 1979)
* ''Yes Please'' (In and Out, 1981)
* ''Thunderbolt'' (Popular African Music, 1986) (& The South African Exiles) (1997)
* ''Sea Breezes'' (Fledg'ling, 1987) (solo piano) (2012)
* ''Country Cooking'' (Virgin, 1988) (& Brotherhood of Breath)
* ''En Concert a Banlieues Bleues'' (52e Rue Est, 1989)
References
Further reading
* Philippe Carles, André Clergeat, and Jean-Louis Comolli, ''Dictionnaire du jazz'', Paris, 1994.
* Ian Carr, ''Music Outside: Contemporary Jazz in Britain'', 2nd edn., London:
Northway Publications
Northway Books ( Northway Publications) is a publishing company based in London, UK. Northway specialises in biographies of musicians, and British social and cultural history. Its focus has been particularly on documenting jazz history in Britain ...
, 2008, ch7.
* Maxine McGregor: ''Chris McGregor and the Brotherhood of Breath: My life with a South African jazz pioneer''. Flint, MI: Bamberger Books, 1995;
* David Dargie: ''Xhosa Music''. Cape Town and Johannesburg: David Philip, 1988;
* Lars Rasmussen: ''Jazz People of Cape Town''. Copenhagen: The Booktrader, 2003.
External links
Chris McGregor Jazz Collectioncontaining articles and photographs at the
Cory Library for Historical Research
The Cory Library for Humanities Research, formerly The Cory Library for Historical Research, is a research library at Rhodes University, and is one of the branch libraries of the Rhodes University Library services. In addition to its preservat ...
The Cape Jazz Collection (sheetmusic)* Colin Miller
"What is Cape Jazz?"* Francesco Martinelli
Artist biographyat All Music.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGregor, Chris
1936 births
1990 deaths
African jazz (genre) pianists
South African jazz pianists
South African jazz bandleaders
South African jazz composers
The Blue Notes members
Cuneiform Records artists
Avant-garde jazz pianists
Musicians from Cape Town
People from Somerset West
20th-century pianists
20th-century jazz composers