Jazz Epistles

Group 1959 Cape Town connection

The bebop group formed in 1959 by Abdullah Ibrahim, Kippie Moeketsi, Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Johnny Gertze and Makaya Ntshoko. It mixed players classified coloured and African, and men from Cape Town and Johannesburg, at a time when that alone was a provocation. Their one album is remembered as the first jazz LP by black South African musicians.

Connections

is associated with

Jazz Epistle, Verse 1 (1960) their only album

counted as a member

Abdullah Ibrahim (1959) piano
Hugh Masekela (1959) trumpet
Johnny Gertze (1959) double bass
Jonas Gwangwa (1959) trombone
Kippie Moeketsi (1959) alto saxophone
Makaya Ntshoko (1959) drums

Read more on Cape Town Data

Hear the music for yourself

Play the South African music quizTen new questions every day, most of them short clips from more than 90 South African recordings, from kwela and Cape jazz to amapiano. Answer to read the story behind each song.

Sources for these connections

Back to the graph