One for Joe

My introduction to the warm sounds of Joe Malinga came in the early 1980s on an LP buying trip at Manhattan Records in Durban near Point Road by the seafront. Manhattan used to import directly from the UK so it was one of the few places you could find punk, post-punk, reggae, jazz and other "counter-cultural" musics. The LP I am sharing with you today - One for Dudu - was playing on the speakers and it hooked me big time. He dedicates the LP to Dudu and in his work you can hear the shared spirit although Joe is probably not as single minded about his solo's as Dudu. I couldn't beleive that he was playing with European jazz musicians who had somehow grasped the sound. I took the LP home and have treasured it ever since. Later on in the 1980s whilst sitting out my time in London avoiding military service I used to visit Ray's Jazz Shop on Shaftsbury Avenue every week where there was a dedicated section for the Ogun releases and music from various other South African jazz exiles. I picked up Joe's other two LPs Sandile and Tears for the Children of Soweto. Last month I completed the collection with the 1989 LP Vuka.

If anyone has further background please contribute by posting a comment below. I have provided the discography and beleive that Joe probably went into exile in 1979/80 or earlier. In 1985 he was back in South Africa doing promotional and cultural work. It appears he was teaching at the University of Venda a couple of years ago but beyond that all we have is the music. And what great music it is. If the One for Dudu LP whets your appetite I'm afraid that all there is beyond that is the CD compilation issued by Brambus and available to purchase here. You can listen to the CD here. I haven't seen many of his LPs come up on eBay.

So here is the Joe Malinga discography.




Joe Malinga's Mandala feat. Clifford Thornton - Tears for the Children of Soweto (Canova 113, 1980)
1. Umdrah
2. African Mood
3. Tears
4. Usizi
5. Senecho
6. Nina's Dance
7. Jabula
Joe Malinga (as, fl, voc), Runo Ericksson (b-tb), Clifford Thornton (v-tb, perc) on #1-5, 7; Jurgen "Jux" Seefelder (ts) on #1-5, 7; Walter Gauchel (ts) on #1-5, 7; Johnny "Manhattan" Taylor (p) on #1-5, 7; Mike Guilford (b) on #1-5, 7; Bruning v. Alten (d) on #1-5, 7; "Chris" (foot calabash) on #6.
Recorded Feb 5&6 1980, Phonag-Studio, Lindau, Zurich (Switzerland)



Joe Malinga Quintet - One For Dudu (Meteor 32018, 1981)
1. Kipit
2. Imbhali
3. Zadibana
Joe Malinga (as, perc), René Widmer (ts, oboe), Johnny Taylor (p), Hämi Hämmerli (b), Churchill Jolobe (dr)
Recorded Nov 7, 1981, Tonstudio Stroher, Innsbruck (Austria)
LISTENING TIME



Joe Malinga & Southern Africa Force - Sandile (Meteor 32034, 1983)
1. Ekapa
2. No Net
3. Two Sticks
4. Emsunduza
5. Imbhali
6. Asambheni
Joe Malinga (as, bar, perc, ss, voc), René Widmer (bar, ts), Jürgen Seefelder (ts), Joep Maessen (tb), Johnny Taylor (p), Essiet Essiet (b), Don Mumford (d).
Recorded Oct 30&31, Soundville Studios, Luzern (Switzerland)



Joe Malinga Southern Africa Force - Vuka (Planisphere PL 1267-43, 1989)
1. Penzi
2. Wish You Sunshine
3. Vuka
4. iTwenty-Five
5. Vivi
Joe Malinga (as,v), Monty Waters (as), Paul Stocker (ss,as), David George (tr), Atiba Bakr (ts), Steve Galloway (tb), Mario Canonge (pn), Paplo Nahara (b), Clarence Becton (dr). Recorded and mixed at Studio Friends Amsterdam by Paul Holland, 1989. Arrangements by Joe Malinga, Steve Galloway and Paul Stocker. Produced by Joe Malinga and Plainisphere.

Other albums as sideman:
Chris McGregor and the South African Exiles - Thunderbolt (PAM405 CD only, original recording 1986)
Francois Buttet - Ogun (Plainisphere 1267-55CD, 1992)