MUSICAL LIFE BEGINS AT 40 FOR THANDISWA

IF indeed respect is earned, and not given, then singer Thandiswa Mazwai has earned her stripes.

For a jazz novice, who started her singing career as a teenage vocalist in kwaito group Jack Knife in the mid 1990s, to be afforded so much respect on the night of her album launch speaks volumes about her musical journey.

Mazwai's third and latest album Belede, her entry into the world of jazz, was launched to the public on Thursday night in the belly of Soweto at the township's state-of-the-art theatre.

Having greats Sibongile Khumalo, Caiphus Semenya and Letta Mbulu in the audience was a mega stamp of approval that the nine-track album is a great effort for a green horn.

And as expected, Mazwai did not disappoint. She walked onto the stage with the dignity of Nina Simone and had the audience eating out of her hand.

It was as if she knew that she had to nail it. After all, this was her night of transformation from a talented but erratic young kwaito songstress to a measured jazz vocalist.

And she did not fail. In fact she was so demanding that if her band was not composed of among others piano sensation Nduduzo Makhathini and extraordinary bassist Herbie Tsoaeli, it could have been chaos.

Makhathini and Tsoaeli, men of immense talents in their own right, were able to improvise when Mazwai was swept away by her inner spirits and veered off the scoresheet.

They were quick on their toes and managed to read her sudden path.

She was especially emotional when she did Wakrazulwa, a piece she is dedicating to the late Busi Mhlongo.

Mazwai still regards Mhlongo as her mentor while the larger public sees her as the heir to the throne left vacant by the Yapheli'Mali Yami hitmaker.

When she did her own cover of West Wind only accompanied by piano, it was confirmation that Mazwai had now transcended the public's understanding of her talent.

For an artist to move from one end of the musical universe to the other requires an extra ordinary gift. Mazwai has it in abandance.

One such artist who comes to mind is actress and rapper Queen Latifah, who has not been shy to dabble in jazz in between what she is popularly known for.

Mazwai also did her own hit song Ndiyahamba in a manner that she has not performed it before.

As a tribute to Miriam Makeba, she braved to cover Malaika. She did it with class and again, it was Tsoaeli who came to the party to enhance her interpretation of this iconic tune.

As a politically aware artist who grew up in a politically active family, she closed off with Makubenjalo. She raised her fist and the audience rose to their feet.

At 40, it is befitting to say that Mazwai's real musical life starts here.

This is a message I sent to my team of volunteers at the end of the 2010 Fifa World Cup

Great people,

Not so sure where to start. Whether to start with the funny part or the serious one. In any case, the most important thing is that we made it happen.

"Our struggle for freedom was a collective effort," Nelson Mandela.

 

In the same breath, I firmly believe our achievement in hosting what is arguably the best World Cup in history was a collective effort. In as much as most of you or us did not have time to reflect on the project during operations, I can assure you now that you were part of this country's and continent's history.

 

In part, you were one of the bolts and nuts in the machinery that saw the very first FIFA World Cup produce among others, these records:

- A debutant winner as Spain has never won the title before;
- The first ever European winner out of Europe as none of the European nations have ever won outside their coninent;
-  This World Cup produced the most unlucky finalists, Holland were appearing in their third World Cup and lost all of them;
- The most lucrative in the history of FIFA, this World Cup made twice more money that then highest earner in Germany;
- New Zealand were unbeaten with three (3) draws but went home after the first round in any way; They are the 6th team to do so?
- New Zealand earned their first point/ points ever in a World Cup, they lost all their games in 1982;

"As a consequence of the victories we have registered during our first ten years of freedom, we have laid a firm foundation for the new advances we must and will make during the next decade," Thabo Mbeki.

Clearly, this was not only an ambitious declaration by the author ten years ago but a visionary commitment to get the country working. It is amazing that a country that was at war with itself a mere 20 years ago has gone on to host among others the World Summit on Sustainable Development which mapped the way for what is today known as the green initiatives and alternatives;

Africa Cup of Nations, Pan African Parliament and the BIG 3 sports World Cups. Some of the biggest economies will only dream about the latter as only a handful of nations play competitive football (soccer), rugby and cricket with equal prowess. South Africa is one of those and you are part of that.

 

It was really a great pleasure and honour for me not to only work but to exchange ideas and thoughts with students, professionals and entrepreneurs of your calibre. Some of you might have not noticed your impact through deeds and views but it has come a long way.

I would like to wish all of you - young and old, black, white, coloured, Indian and otherwise - the very best in your private, professional and student lives. It is only through your efforts and commitment that I as an individual managed to achieve my personal and organisational targets.

I will forever cherish every single and collective moments we had, good or bad, for the next hundred years. If I at some point offended any of you, deliberate or unintentional, professionally or personally, please accept my humble and genuine apology. I can assure you that I never meant anything personal or malicious but all was in pursuit of perfection. The country was at war with dark enemies.

Any African failure is met with ululation in other parts of the world and none of us were prepared to offer that evil satisfaction to any of our detractors. We all know the negative comments that came from all over the world since May 15, 2004. But I am glad that you and I were part of the batalion that crushed all the doubt.

Now for the light moments.

 

Jaydon, can I please have a bottle of water from the Youth Programme Centre, I am thirsty; Dineo, please bring your old face cloth tomorrow, we need to get the YP seats clean (please respond with that big YES!); Monkwe, note that Budweiser can only be enjoyed after lunch, not from 9am buddy; Sunshyn, I am going to miss you so much, please invite me when you grad; Mmathapelo, if babalas was wealth, you'd be in Hawaai by now; Ntombi, Ndosi and Jules, you remain deserters, I hope you enjoy Protocol.

Mabandla, please tell one of your barman jokes, I enjoy them; Prince, bring us some milk please, those with weak bones can do with, they know themselves because they could hardly carry a pair of scissors; Mu and Brice, stick yo your day jobs, you are far from being perfect tsotsis; Brother Leader, we missed you most of the time, what happened?; Gundo, you are a good man.

 

Stay in touch guys.

FADED NENGOMASHA TOSSED AFTER SERVING HIS PURPOSE

WHEN Tinashe Nengomasha joined Kaizer Chiefs in 2002, I was the first person to write about his recruitment by the club.

This because my sports editor at City Press Dominic Chimhavi had first hand information about the transfer.

What happened between then and now is history.

When I heard recently that one of the notable PSL transfer market activities this off-season was Nengomasha’s move away from Naturena to Bidvest Wits, it got me thinking. Is it a good or bad move by the player? Did Chiefs do something to try keep the man in their books?

But I then realised that Nengomasha, like many others before him, is just one statistic of the harsh reality of professional football.

The man known as Washington to some of his fond followers has basically been dumped across town to Braamfontein by a club he dearly served for a decade. It is common knowledge that the Zimbabwean midfield “donkey” is no longer the young man that came to Chiefs and stamped his authority in the middle of the park and helped the club to lift a number of trophies. Among those were two league championships and two Coca Cola Cup titles.

Nengomasha was a central figure in the Chiefs squad that erstwhile club PRO Putco Mafani dubbed “Operation Vat Alles”. There was no stopping “The General” and even one of the club’s most sensational finds of the 21^st Century Collins Mbesuma owes some of his success to the mild-mannered Zimbabwean.

He rarely got sent off. He was always calm and calculated. He would smile at his opponent after being the receiver of a machete-like tackle; pick himself up and dust himself off before launching another attack for his side.

But now he is like an old and slow lion in a pride. He cannot hunt as ferociously as he used to and provide for members of his pride. Young lions he helped breed and taught how to bring down prey have now kicked him out of the inner circle.

History has taught us that someone like him will not survive for a season or two at Wits. He will wilt like a lonely flower in the village and end up in the obscurity of the National First Division or even lower down the football food chain.

Even though I am not fully appraised of the events leading to the transfer, the least the club could have done was persuade their humble servant to retire at Naturena and be slotted into some junior coaching ranks. I believe that Nengomasha is the first to know and should admit that he has no Plan B beyond his playing days. Even swinging the gate open for young lions coming into and departing from training at Naturena would have sufficed, just to keep him going.

He is undoubtedly one of their few, if not only, remaining legends. Not even a testimonial game to thank this battle-scarred king of the PSL jungle for his ten years of selfless service. It sounds morally wrong. But does Chiefs have the obligation to do that?

Let us hope that Nengomasha’s won’t be the case of the hunter becoming the hunted in a few months or years to come.

• Follow me on Twitter @Mezosti

HUNT IS A BAD LOSER WHO NEEDS NOT LOOK FAR

THE recent rant by SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt and his boss Jose Ferreira had me wondering.

Hunt and Ferreira believe that the R1 billion sponsorship to both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates over the next five years is going to “kill competition” in the Premier Soccer League.

While the debate has a potential to take the emotive route – Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza has already told the pair where to get off – I would like to bring in a different view into the whole discussion.

Unfortunately I am not a numbers person but I think that crunching a few digits may help us view this issue in a different light.

But before we get there, let me remind you that Hunt won three league titles on the trot with United and nothing much has changed since then.

Hunt and Ferreira belong to a club owned by digital media company MultiChoice. This company is in the business of selling chiefly television and radio content to its customers via digital satellite television (DStv).

MultiChoice also own their own content developing houses, namely SuperSport and Magic Network (M-Net).

As at when this column was written, there were more than 3.6 million subscribers to DStv with almost half of those on the Premium package that costs one subscriber just over R600 a month.

These subscription numbers are said to have shot up when SuperSport, the channel, signed a broadcast deal with the PSL for the first time in 2006.

According to their annual report, MultiChoice raked in a cool R17.7 billion from all their businesses in the financial year ending 31 March 2011. That yielded a clean R3.4 billion profit.

BidVEST Wits owners, who are an international services, trading and distribution company with more than 100 000 employees, recorded more than R118 billion in revenue for their 2011 financial year. Their CEO Brian Joffe, earned a total of just over R27 million in the same period.

Financial interests of Patrice Motsepe, who owns Mamelodi Sundowns through his family Foundation, are well known.

These are the three clubs that I am aware of their beefy corporate ownership.

On the other hand, the PSL annual report for the same year shows a total revenue of R581 million and a paltry net profit of R3.6 million.

Most of the PSL’s income is derived from broadcast rights and sponsorships. Equally, the PSL churns out that money through equal grants to its affiliates and running costs for tournaments, including prize monies.

For the record, league winners pocket R10 million for the ten months’ worth of trouble.

The rest of the PSL clubs are owned by people who are successful entrepreneurs or run healthy family businesses.

We are often told that they are in it for the passion and not for the money.

Given the above figures, it is clear that owning and running a PSL outfit is more of a financial drain than gain.

Looking at these figures, which are just a scratch on the surface, Hunt and Ferreira might have to reconsider their stance on the debate.

Maybe we should be encouraging Khoza and Kaizer Motaung to ensure that they use the R100 million per season each to make sure that no other player from their teams die like Thabang Lebese.

Chiefs and Pirates, as well as football in general, certainly deserve the R1 billion.

Komphela and his charges deserve much better

I HAD taken a decision more than three years ago that I will resist all the temptation to comment on sporting matters through this blog. This was after I showed sports journalism my back and I thought it would be wise to use the blog for other issues affecting the world.

But one newspaper headline on Sunday and several radio and TV reports on Monday morning regarding the Nedbank Cup match between defending champions Orlando Pirates and Free State Stars prodded me to shelf that decision, just this once.

The newspaper headline screamed: “Stars stun Pirates in Nedbank Cup last 16 match” while the electronic reports blindly towed the same line. The implication here, especially for those who either did not watch the match or did not have the recent background of both outfits, is that Pirates were somehow expected to easily triumph over Stars. That’s the simplistic face value explanation but there is a technical argument on whether Pirates were really the favourites or otherwise.

While the debate is not scientific, bookmakers would most probably have told you before this clash that Pirates were the underdogs – purely based on current form and climate. If the discussion is then elevated to history and commercial fibre, then Pirates would then obviously tower over the “ruralitarian” Stars.

I must also state upfront that I don’t hold any brief for Stars nor its coach Steve Komphela but I think this is one match in which both the team and mentor deserved some modicum of respect and due credit - before and after.

For starters, Stars came into the game as a stable team pegged 5^th on the PSL log, six points adrift from pace setters Mamelodi Sundowns. A counter argument would be that Pirates are second on the standings with two points superior to Stars. Granted.

Another “ammunition” from my side would be that Stars dimmed Pirates and claimed maximum points in their first leg of the league in Free State last year. Others would argue that Pirates won all their cup matches last year. Fair enough.

Stars have had the same coach since the beginning of the season. Pirates are in turmoil because they “suspended” their coach Julio Leal over a week before this match. Caretaker coach Augusto Palacios was baptised with a 3-0 drubbing by Santos before redeeming himself with a 3-2 win over Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs in a league derby.

One of Komphela’s charges, little-known Edward Manqele is a joint top scorer in the league alongside veterans Siyabonga Nomvethe (Moroka Swallows) and Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns) with 10 goals each. Pirates boast Benni McCarthy with seven goals as one of the league’s leading goal machines.

And if its worth any mention, this is the same Ea Lla Koto who have had five dubious refereeing decisions given against them this season. Two of their clear goals were disallowed when they played SuperSport United in their season-opener, another one against Platinum Stars before another daylight robbery against their provincial nemesis Bloemfontein Celtic. When they came up to play Chiefs in Joburg, ageing Arthur Bartman handled outside the box but that went unpunished. Of all these heists, Manqele was castrated not once, not twice but three times!

So if Stars are to mop up all the spilt moo juice, they’d be sitting at the summit of the log with 45 points and Manqele with 13 strikes under his belt. But hey, the referee’s decision is final in football.

The Komphela that is being denied the credit he deserves is the same one who rescued Stars when they were languishing in the wrong end of the league grid in the 2008/ 09 season. He came in and Ea Lla Koto were 4^th at the end of that campaign, a performance that encouraged Platinum Stars to lure Komphela to the North West.

All I am advocating for here is that let praises be heaped on those who sweat for it, especially local coaches. We are normally quick to extol foreign but shady coaches. Some of them have later been exposed as nothing but charlatans, mostly from the Balkan states and other obscure places around the world, with nothing but basketball or some such comedic backgrounds.

Komphela and his Stars are shining bright for now and let us reflect that without any doubt of contradiction.

Photo credit: www.sport24.com/ Gallo

University freshers, beware madala students

The last time I updated this blog I promised to be back shortly with another instalment that would solely deal with age-old traditions of recycling and saving energy thereby saving the planet. However, in between following discussions at the COP17 and enjoying the festive fun, I never got around doing that.

So, in the spirit of continuity and being “relevant” or “moving with the times”, let us rather discuss things normally associated with January. While traditionally we were made to believe that January is a month when most people are broke, there are many other activities – good or bad – that are synonymous with January.

The death of a mother who was trampled by desperate students who were trying to register at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has even heightened the spotlight on this very first month of the year.

For me, January is a good month because I was born on the fifth and always use my birthday to plan ahead for the year. It is no secret that not everything that I set out to do every year pans out as I envisage but at least this pattern of doing things has helped me a great deal. If it wasn’t for that, I probably would not have bought that new bed or saved for a holiday.

I must say that the chaotic happenings at UJ shocked me not only because someone lost a life but because the same shambles reigned supreme last year as well. What could be the root cause of this?

During my days as a student at the then Technikon Pretoria (now Tshwane University of Technology), we didn’t have such troubles. Prospective first year students had to apply a year in advance and go through a rigorous selection process that included a psychometric test and interview. January was all about smiling in front of a camera before some ancient machine coughs out your student card on the other side. That was it and then classes would resume. And I must emphasise that these classes were mostly – even though officially it as supposed to be 50/50 – conducted in Afrikaans. Even IsiZulu and English lessons were taught in Afrikaans, well by Afrikaans-speaking lecturers.

My favourite part within this January mayhem was when we would invade and “own” the campus bar with the help of some of my “well-off” classmates. The trick was that we had all applied for state student loans through Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa (TEFSA), including those whose parents could afford. So the parents didn’t know about this and when they give some of my friends the registration fee in January, we would be instantly rich and do as we please. Only when we started working and TEFSA garnished us that we realise who was clever back then.

Also, when we became senior students, we were always enjoying the advantage we had over junior or new students. The common term was “Mafresher”. It is always easy to spot one with either a brown envelope or see-through flip file and that look on their face. How we “welcomed” them to the campus is a discussion for another day.

Freshers, beware of campus oldies.

Of old ice cream tubs, Oros and cow dung

I became a source of amusement to a friend and my colleagues the other day. The big joke was that I had “bravely” carried my lunch to work in an old ice cream tub. While the three of them were rolling on the floor, I innocently continued tucking into my leftover braai spoils that included snoek, chicken and sweet corn.

It was really a funny sight around the dining table but I was being honest in my reaction. Old ice cream containers and many others are valuable possessions in my part of the world. Even though my mother was a champion collector of stylish lunch boxes from Tupperware, my siblings and I would not dare be seen tossing away an empty container of ice cream, or even margarine for that matter.

The more stylish Tupperware accessories were reserved for special occasions like school trips. Also, because my mother likes sharing, she always used the old recycled containers to give away food and seeds to friends, neighbours or relatives. That was the drill and we all knew it like the back of our hands.

This little episode that played itself out during lunch at work actually reminded me of two important issues that I believe need to be elevated to a public debate. The one is about the manner in which we grew up versus the hankering for a different lifestyle in modern day. The other is purely about recycling.

For me, I have managed to carry on leading mostly the same lifestyle that I became accustomed to when I was growing up. I get a sense that with education and better income, relative by South African standards, most black South Africans from rural villages and semi-urban townships tend to shun some of the smaller things in life that define who they are for more fashionable urban lifestyles.

Am I really being “behind” and “out of tune” by carrying my lunch in an old ice cream tub?

I have also seen people giving me a really funny look or chastise me when I marvel about or treat myself to some of my favourite food and drinks. Some believe just because I have been eating peanut butter all of my childhood, I need to exchange that for something “sexy”. Frankly, I enjoy my peanut butter and there’s no stopping me now. Give me peanut butter - and please make it Black Cat – sandwiches and a glass of ice cold Oros to wash it down with anytime and you will be my hero.

In fact, I have discovered a new method of enjoying my Brooks orange squash these days. Instead of drowning it with water and lots of ice cubes, I dilute that good old Oros with Soda Water. It gives it a nice and biting but refreshing fizzy taste. Try it on a cruel Monday morning and see how fast that iron hat of dehydration will disappear.

The same goes for my All Gold tomato sauce and Koo baked means. I can assure you that the only time my meals are not accompanied by the trusted tomato sauce is when I am having cereals. I remember All Gold used to have a TV and radio campaign back in the day where they made us believe it takes 36 tomatoes to make one bottle of their legendary sauce. A bright friend of mine and I used to have a big debate about whether that goes for both the small and the big bottles.

As with the matter of recycling, I will leave it for another instalment on this blog but I can assure you that the ice cream tub is not the only thing that I have always and will continue to recycle, there are many others too. And to me, it is not a fashion statement; it is a way of life.

So all greenie beanies, look out for my next offering when I will be sharing with you how we grew up using dried cow dung as a source of heating and cooking, and all this without the drama of hijacking construction cranes and fishing vessels or interrupting climate change meetings.