It was a windy and rainy afternoon when I went to watch the screening of Thato Maluleke’s work with BET, Echoes of Tomorrow, at The Forge. I parked exactly where I used to park when I worked at Untitled Basement and made my way. 

 

This documentary speaks to the past, the present and more specifically, the future of Jazz - my favourite. I have enjoyed witnessing and being a part of the jazz stories unfolding in our time. Maluks, as fondly known, had his expression in a film format and it’s important that it exists and it’s protected. 

 

In the 25-minute-long documentary featuring South African jazz’s most talented, you experience the story of Jazz through the direction and writing of the multifaceted creative. 

It kicks off with pianist, Nduduzo Makhathini, a voice that carries not only our sound and stories but the African spirit. He shares the origins of the sound and gives a foundation for the next parts and voices of the jazz story. Other critical contributors in the beginning of the film who do this task incredibly include the Jack Bhuda founders and players. That name alone is iconic in the music industry as a space that allows for black expression across genres. Singer-songwriter, Linda Kekana, a remarkable voice from the post-apartheid times, adds a layer to the story helping us understand clearer where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going.  

 

For me, the message of the film ties in beautifully with the event, “Kids Love Jazz”. Kids Love Jazz has become more than an event but rather a movement, a saying. I’m interested to find out what the generation before us had for a saying; to re-iterate to themselves, their elders and the next generation; that Jazz is still alive and it’s only going to be better and evolve. 

 

Capturing events like Joy of Jazz and Kids Love Jazz, highlighted all the cultural places that keep the music alive and allow for expression - even for the younger artists. Maluks did a brilliant job in getting insights from not only the musicians but the curators, participants and the avid listeners of the music. This includes Your Friend of Jazz - Thuto Vilakazi, Gomolemo Tibana and Manyano Lwe Jazz’s Zukiswa White. These are people who are following the jazz story and experiencing it, platforming it and consuming it. They observe it as it evolves; not just it; but the culture and the politics as well. These are important people in the Jazz story. 

 

I would have loved to see a Shado Twala in there, or a RudeBoy Paul or any of the journalists, who followed the culture closely. As someone who is writing, sharing, documenting the story of jazz in our time. I feel that as the person with the pen, it’s important to have that. 

 

I wish it had gone on for longer. Because I am a nerd. I wanted some more chats from the artists and I can imagine there was a time crunch. They had to meet those marks. Therefore it felt like a round table I would say. Where everyone chipped in their thoughts on how jazz looked, looks and could or might look. 

 

The duration is perfect for the young audience considering what the social media format has done to our attention spans. 

 

Clear and beautiful grading. It was truly refreshing. The sound was also remarkable throughout. 

 

Kozo Zwane narrates the documentary. As someone who tells stories through folk music, this was fitting. Warm and familiar voice and choice to walk us through the story. 

 

Together with documentaries like this one, we need even more Your Weekly Touch Ups, Black Labone, That Tuesday Funk and residencies that give platforms for the kids to come, share themselves and experiment with live music. Through performance and experience. Through conversations as well. 

 

You can catch the following jazz giants featured in the film: 

national school of arts, std jazz for young people, zoe modiga, bikos manna, spring boys high school, untitled basement, thuto vilakazi, vuyo mcglad, kids love jazz, gabi motuba , vuyo viwe, siya makuzeni, benjamin jephta, nduduzo makhathini, gomolemo tibana, lebogang komane, zukiswa white, nomfundo xaluva, thandi ntuli, 

 

The story is unfolding and Thato and BET archived it beautifully. An important timestamp. We deserve commercial publication of this level. We are not alternatives anymore. We shouldn’t be. That exclusive stuff blocks people’s understanding and even more so, their curiosity about jazz and the culture. This is it. 

 

Besides the music, the culture feels a certain way and is represented accordingly. The thread that holds it together for me is freedom. Vuyo Viwe exudes that; another other kind of liberation. Excited to hear about it. To witness. 

 

Even if you didn’t watch it now, you will definitely watch it later. Guaranteed. Because well, no one quite packaged it the way they did, with the people they had, in the time they did. This is commendable. 

 

I always ask, what was the budget? And I’ll leave that chat for later, maybe. 

 

You can catch it on DStv CatchUp, engaging with multiple talents, experiences and insights of what jazz was, is and can and will become.

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You can also catch it here.