Todd Tozama Matshikiza (1921–1968) 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 A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, composer and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

Overview

Matshikiza came from a musical family. He graduated from St Peter's College in Rosettenville,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, and went on to obtain a diploma in music and a teaching diploma. He then taught

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Mathematics in Alice until 1947. During this period, Matshikiza composed songs and choral works; in particular "Hamba Kahle", now a standard South Africa piece. Matshikiza moved to Johannesburg in 1947 where he got married in 1950. He taught for a while and opened the Todd Matshikiza School of Music, a private music school, where he taught piano. His main interest was jazz. As this did not bring in a regular income, he worked in a bookshop and then as a salesman. From 1949 to 1954, Matshikiza was a committee member of the Syndicate of African Artists, which group aimed to promote music in the

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

by getting visiting artists to perform there. In 1952, Matshikiza was asked to join ''Drum'' magazine and was one of the first writers, together with investigative journalist

Henry Nxumalo Henry Nxumalo (1917 – 31 December 1957), also known as Henry "Mr Drum" Nxumalo, was a pioneering South African investigative journalist under apartheid. Early life He was born in 1917 in Margate, Natal, South Africa, and attended the Fasca ...

. He wrote a jazz column covering the township scene, particularly in

Sophiatown Sophiatown , also known as Sof'town or Kofifi, is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Sophiatown was a black cultural hub that was destroyed under apartheid, It produced some of South Africa's most famous writers, musicians, politicians a ...

, where he commented on the likes of

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

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

, who both played for

The Jazz Epistles The Jazz Epistles were South Africa's first important (albeit short-lived) bebop band. Inspired by Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, its members included Dollar Brand (later known as Abdullah Ibrahim) on piano, Kippie Moeketsi on alto saxophone, Jon ...

. Matshikiza also covered township life in his regular column "With the lid off". He subsequently worked for the ''Golden City Post''. His love of classical music inspired him to compose the choral piece ''Makhaliphile'' in 1953, which he dedicated to

Trevor Huddleston Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston (15 June 191320 April 1998) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Stepney in London before becoming the second Archbishop of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean. He was best known for ...

. This was a combination of classical, jazz and traditional themes. In 1956, he composed ''Uxolo'' (peace), commissioned for the 70th anniversary of Johannesburg. In 1958, Matshikiza composed the music and contributed to the lyrics of the musical ''

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 ...

'', which had an all-black cast. Portraying the life and times of a heavyweight boxer,

Ezekiel Dlamini Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is ackn ...

, known as ''King Kong'', this musical was a hit in 1959 and played in the West End of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1961. (''King Kong'' launched the international career of

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...

, who played the

shebeen A shebeen ( ga, síbín) was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, the ...

queen of the Back of the Moon, a shebeen of the time in Sophiatown). Frustrated by

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, Matshikiza moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1960. However, he found it very difficult to break into the English music scene. Sometimes he played jazz gigs in nightclubs. He freelanced for various publications and wrote a regular column for ''Drum'' entitled "Todd in London". Missing Africa, Matshikiza moved in 1964 to

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

, where he worked for the Zambian Broadcasting Corporation. Again, he felt stifled musically and took up a position in 1967 as the music

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...

for the Zambian Information Service. In this capacity he travelled extensively, building up the archival collection. Matshikiza remained frustrated that he was unable to return to South Africa where he had been banned by the South African government. He died in 1968. Todd's son

John Matshikiza John Matshikiza (26 November 1954 – 15 September 2008) was a South African actor, theatre director, poet and journalist. Biography John Matshikiza was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Todd Matshikiza - renowned jazz pianist, composer ...

was a world-renowned actor in television and film. John died on 15 September 2008 in Johannesburg, aged 54. Todd's granddaughter, Lindi Matshikiza, has followed in the footsteps of her father and grandfather before her, becoming a rising theatre actress and director herself.

Books

*
Chocolates for My Wife
', Todd Matshikiza, Hodder & Stoughton, 1961. David Philip Publishers, 1982, * ''With the Lid Off: South African Insights from Home and Abroad, 1959-2000'', T. Matshikiza J. Matshikiza., M&G Books,

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matshikiza, Todd 1921 births 1968 deaths Xhosa people South African journalists South African composers South African male composers 20th-century composers 20th-century male musicians 20th-century journalists