Mbaqanga pioneer Joseph Makwela lost his life on Tuesday in what has been described as a huge loss to the music industry.

Dimunitive, soft-spoken, and unassuming, Makwela leaves a huge legacy, having cemented his place in the annals of music history. What a journey it was.

From herding cattle in the village, to being a labourer in Pretoria, to the studios of Joburg and performing in township halls and later the music capitals of the world.

 

 

To think that a young black man from Limpopo who in the 1950s joined the throngs who trekked to Pretoria to sell their labour beat the odds to become a “somebody”.

All it took was the sound of the pennywhistle Makwela heard while working in “the kitchens”, or white surburbs. He was so entranced he and Monama begged Johannes Ngubane to teach them to play and, along the way, took up the bass and stuck to it.

Thought to be the first South African to play the electric bass, Makwela had a unique voice. He thumbed that instrument like he was ringing a bell.

Makwela’s full-bodied sound on what was ordinarily a low-end “backing instrument” is beautifully complemented by Mankwane’s brilliant – and also quite unique – guitar riffs.

They were two of the five original members of the Makhona Tsohle Band, that recorded numerous records for Gallo Music company’s new black music unit, Mavuthela Music, run by producer Rupert Bopape.

The pairing of Mankwane and Makwela became the signature of mbaqanga.

Their sound is punctuated by the thundering brasso profundo call of groaner Simon “Mahlathini” Nkabinde, and the response of the angelic voices of the Mahotella Queens.