The Indigenous Afro-Jazz Sounds of Philip Tabane and his Malombo Jazzman

Guitarist Philip Tabane burst onto the South African jazz scene in the mid-60s with a guitar-flute-drums trio that blended modern sounds with the ancient malombo tradition of healing through sustained exposure to the vibrations of the drum. At a time when black South Africans were living under the heel of apartheid’s most savage restrictions, it was a bold and overtly political innovation. Fast forward to 1969, when he recorded these duets with young percussionist Gabriel ‘Sonnyboy’ Thobejane, and Tabane had honed the aesthetic even further. Throughout, Thobejane plays cow-hide drums, exchanging the snap and crash of the Euro-American jazz kit for something warmer, softer and more redolent of antiquity. Drenched in thick reverb, Tabane’s electric guitar chops out ragged chords suggesting a loose, rural blues, while displaying some of John Lee Hooker’s nonchalant disregard for conventional timekeeping. One moment he’s drifting off into a hazy reverie, the next snapping back to his senses with brittle strums or a sudden, skittering eruption. On a handful of tracks, Tabane swaps guitar for a breathy penny whistle, with Thobejane accompanying on a mellifluous dipela (thumb piano), creating almost unbearably haunting dialogues that speak from a deep and defiant corner of the soul.