In recent years, many musicians and fans have questioned whether jazz still carries the same political charge it once did. For Cape Town’s seven-piece collective Kujenga, those tensions pulse beneath every note of their new EP, Common Ground, a record that insists jazz — or what they call “Black Improvised Music” — still carries a responsibility to the times we live in.
For a few hours on the evening of the first Thursday of September, Cape Town’s music scene witnessed a shift. When Aloe Aloe and Quiet Life Co staged Maglera Doe Boy alongside Kujenga, it wasn’t merely a show; it was history being written in real time.
In the heart of Cape Town’s pulsating music scene lies a collective of extraordinary talent, each member a luminary in their own right, collectively known as Kujenga. As a beacon of Afrojazz brilliance, Kujenga isn’t just a band; they’re architects of sonic landscapes, builders of soul-stirring melodies, and creators of unforgettable musical experiences. In our quest to delve deeper into the essence of South Africa’s musical tapestry, Let’s Get Local had the privilege to sit down with Zwide Ndwandwe, the bassist extraordinaire of Kujenga, to unravel the threads of his journey and the soulful resonance that defines the band’s sound.
