The stories that Black South African musicians tell about life under apartheid are searing. Such oppressive and demeaning conditions are difficult to imagine for those who didn’t live through it. Trumpeter Mongezi Feza, in the company of the multiethnic band The Blue Notes, emerged from those confinements in the sixties to become one of the fiercest and freest voices on the European scene. His music could seem totally unrestrained but still summon the cultural traditions as well as the joy and outrage and aspirations of the world that he came from. His death in London in 1975 at age 30 left an empty space that will never be filled.
But he has his devotees and fellow trumpeter/composer/bandleader Frank London is one of them. So where does Frank find inspiration in this music? What about it speaks to him?
We will find out Monday (2/19) from 6pm to 9pm NYC time when Frank London joins Mitch Goldman’s Deep Focus on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD and wkcr.org. Next week it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.
Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on
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Photo credit: Mongezi Feza by Simon Russell. No publishing info available.
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