Philip Tabane And His Malombo Jazzman

★★★★

The Indigenous Afro-Jazz Sounds Of… WE ARE BUSY BODIES. LP

Restlessly experimental 1969 debut by guitarist hailed as South Africa’s Sun Ra.

Five years after he took first prize at South Africa’s Cold Castle Jazz Festival, Philip Tabane captured his spirited brand of Malombo jazz in one-take studio sessions. A sparse but spirited two-way with percussionist and thumb pianist Gabriel ‘Sonnyboy’ Thobejane, the breathy chants, lonesome pennywhistle and resonant cow-hide drums of Babedi and Dithabeng build on traditional Ndebele and Sepedi music’s healing properties, and ache with reflective stillness. A wild card guitarist, Tabane’s Gibson semi-acoustic unexpectedly flits from delicate melodies to fleet mercurial runs and darkly menacing chords amid Inhliziyo’s twonote pulse and Kathloganao’s almost Celtic interplay, numbers that sound like they were plucked from the ether. Restorative and dynamic, Tabane’s sparky yet soothing touch is a salve to the soul.