Jazz Lecturer Wins Best Contemporary Jazz Album Award

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Jazz lecturer Mr Sibusiso Mashiloane has won Best Contemporary Jazz Album at the 2021 Mzantsi Jazz Awards for his fifth album titled iHubo Labomdabu (Native Hymns), a solo piano set featuring music composed during the lockdown.

‘This album is informed by an imagination of my personal life experiences, political climate and imposed lifestyle,’ said Mashiloane. ‘The music tells of social awareness and interprets our daily life as it has changed. I hope my album offers introspection, peace and love.’

The award-winning album is informed by deep meditation on Black life and the meaning of home. The album is Mashiloane’s fifth and the latest instalment of a vow he has made to release seven albums of at least seven tracks each before 2023.

Mashiloane, well-known both in the South African jazz scene and on international music stages, produced four earlier albums which were all well received. He is a multi-award winning and nominated artist at prestigious ceremonies and events such as the SAMAs, the AFRIMA awards and the International Urban Music Awards.

Currently, he is studying towards a PhD in which he aims, through the lens of South African jazz, to focus on the nostalgia-seeped themes of home he finds himself instinctively returning to.

‘When I teach, I make sure there are always numbers from the South African jazz lineage in my curriculum,’ he said. ‘However long it takes me to finish the PhD, it’s already making me a better teacher because now I can share with my students what my people have been through, what they’ve written and how they’ve played.’

iHubo Labomdabu is available on all digital platforms with a limited supply of hard copies available through email: info@isupportdoyou.com

Words: Melissa Mungroo

Photograph: Supplied