TRIBUTE TO MANDLA MLOTSHWA

(Mandla Mlotshwa. Pic by Caroline Smart)

Ramoll Bugwandeen pays tribute to friend and colleague, Mandla Mlotshwa who passed away a few days ago.

Mandla Mlotshwa, the pianist, composer, arranger and businessman extra-ordinary.

South Africa has enormous wealth of talent and Durban, in particular, when it comes to jazz. Besides the presence of so many greats like Lionel Pillay, Chris Joseph, Theo Bophela, Melvin Peters, Neil Gonsalves, the talented piano maestro Mandla Mlotshwa made his mark on the Durban jazz scene in the early 80’s.

His mentor, teacher and improvisation master was the late Bobby Mofokeng, pianist from Lamontville outside Durban, who inspired Mandla to master the subtle and sublime art of rhythm, harmony, improvisation, swing and chord structure. Mandla was youthful, refreshing and quite capable of taking the audience through a musical journey and back to the point of departure without a hint of regret.

With him you could visit the hot jazz spots in the West and hear the legendary Keith Jarreth, Dave Brubeck, the blues of Monk Higgins, Jimmy Smith and the fusion sounds of Rodney Franklin.

No need to panic, he wouldn’t leave you there. Mandla would take you back to Manenberg, where it’s happening, to District Six where the sounds of kwela, marabi and mbaqanga are tantalizing.

It is in vibrant communities like Sophiatown where the pianist belongs, but he had never been there. In fact, South African jazz was what made Mandla Mlotshwa tick but he was equally at home with mainstream jazz, fusion and avante garde. It was not common, as he often stated, that it was always a pleasure playing at the Moon Hotel in Clairwood in Durban, the Home of Jazz since the 60’s.

What more could be said about this man except to let him talk about himself and his music? “Music is a conversation with the spirits. When we play music we know what the harmonic, melodic and rhythm components of the music are. We wait for our spirits to guide us to play over that as a promise for improvisation.”

Mandla came from a creative, artistic family, with his dad Mlotshwa senior running a community art centre at Hibberdene. Mandla’s academic background includes a Higher Diploma: Light Music obtained from the former Natal Technikon (now the Durban University of Technology). In addition, he completed a Sound Technician’s Diploma and was in the process of completing a degree in Community Law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. While at Natal Technikon, he interacted with greats like pianist Bheki Mseleku and guitar teacher Demi Fernandes.

Apart from his successful musical career, he was appointed as the Centre Manager at Stable Theatre in 2008 for a short period during which he contributed a lot to the arts in terms of managing the centre to achieve sustainability.

Mandla, the extra-ordinary businessman certainly excelled at business. Among his recent businesses are his Global Travel and Tours company. The community was always in his heart and his construction company played a leading role in establishing low-cost houses in Ladysmith. May his family have the strength to cope with this dear loss.

South Africa will certainly miss the talents of Mandla who inspired many young musicians to take their musical career more seriously. May his soul rest in peace and may the angels welcome him in Heaven with open arms. - Ramoll Bugwandeen

(Ramoll Bugwandeen is the Creative Director Jazz@ the Moon Hotel & Durban International World Music Festival and former board member of Stable Theatre)
Mandla Mlotshwa's funeral will take place in Hibberdene on Sunday (July 27) at 10h00. For more information or directions contact his sister, Zama Mlotshwa, on 083 772 8562.