Cape-based Ramon Alexander is a jazz musician who is one of the few scholars of the South African ghoema subgenre. KEANETSE MOKHOTHU was curious to find out more about the crafting of his authentic sound.
What do you think South African jazz has evolved into – its influences, motives of evolution – the birth of more subgenres perhaps?
In my humble opinion, South African jazz has evolved into a sound that represents the diverse ethnic backgrounds of its practitioners.
Jazz is music, music is subjective – what is the Ramon Alexander definition of jazz?
Jazz is defined by the element of improvisation. You can ‘fake’ the sound of jazz by performing transcribed music, but if it’s devoid of improvisation, then the true spirit of jazz is lost IMHO. Gary Kriel told me once that he believed that jazz is practiced using one’s own musical voice. That made a lot of sense to me too.
What factors do the lessons you learn from your live performances, recordings, classical music background and lectures you provide have in common?
I am, like so many other jazz musicians, eternal students of the art form. Life, with all its ups and downs, is constantly teaching. Performing, teaching, and recording have taught me to connect to people. Music performance, instruction, and curation is pretty pointless without an audience. Don’t you think? These elements of music life have given me a sense of relevance over the years.
Which new elements do you draw from listening to other local jazz musicians being Ramon Alexander of 2022?
Being a teacher these days, I am constantly aware of new South African jazz sounds coming to the fore. Still, I try to focus on music that is inside me, as a composer.
What qualities do you prefer when choosing ensemble members?
I always try and book musicians with whom I can grow a ‘sound’ with. A common love for the music of Cape Town is preferable, but not essential.
On the topic of, Ghoema, the making of the studio recording of The Cape Jazz Band / Cape Jazz Series Volume 4 with Mac Mackenzie, Spencer Mbadu, Mark Fransman, Kyle Shepard – how did this particular experience find itself into the Kontiki Jazz Picnic on 15 December 2013 – Three Khois on a fountain was a feature on the line-up?
Three Khois in a Fountain existed for some time before it was recorded. I am very grateful that I got to record it with the Cape Jazz royals that’s Errol Dyers, Stephen Erasmus, Kyle Shepherd, and Jack Momple. Kontiki on the Avenue (the venue that inspired the title of my debut album) was coincidently also the place where the Cape Jazz Band was formed for the recording of Cape Jazz 4: Musical Democracy [2013].
Ibrahim Khalil Shihab formerly known as Chris Schilder – Essence of Spring. Details please!
Ibrahim, after the days he was keyboardist and primary composer for the Cape Town -based super-band Pacific Express, had to leave the country for better work to support his family. He worked as an entertainer on hotel circuits in the UAE, China, and Southern Africa. Back home, his keyboard and composing skills were legendary, but no recordings of post-Pacific Express were available. I used to play with legendary Cape alto sax player, Robbie Jansen (from the Sons of Table Mountain) on various occasions and eventually I became very close to Jack Momple, the band’s drummer. Robbie and Jack were very close and were both members of Pacific Express. After Robbie died in 2010, Jack took over the band and recruited me to what is known as The Cape Jazz Band.
During my time in this band, I learned such a lot about Cape Town jazz and its major players and had already arranged Pacific Express music for a fresh, new audience since the original recordings sounded old and jaded. The music of course was excellent in my opinion. Jack, even today, always left the thought in my head that Ibrahim still has a lot of music in him and that I should investigate ‘finding’ that music and possibly documented it in a studio recording. In August 2017, Leonardo Fortuin, my manager, and myself met up with Ibrahim and proposed to record an album for him. He agreed.
Warren Ludiski of Music legends of Cape Town said, “If you dropped in on Ramon, the chances are he’ll serve you a Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc” – as a qualified jazz musician and oenologist, what sort of marriage exists between this genre and this beverage?
My training as a winemaker has taught me plenty about the importance of ‘balance’. As much as music can be cerebral, it should be heartfelt. That’s as much as I would draw parallels to the two disciplines.
Upcoming Ramon Alexander gig
Ramon Alexander Live in Cape Town 2022
Grub & Vine, The Blue Room
Saturday, 10 September 2022 from 7h30pm, 9h30pm
R200 per set
103 Bree Street, Cape Town City Centre
Tickets
Who: Pianist Ramon Alexander
Albums: Picnic at Kontiki, Echoes from Louwskloof, Essence of Spring
Social media: Facebook – Ramon Alexander Music, Instagram – @ramonalexander
WS
