UMDALI

Multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Jiyane’s debut outing as a frontman ponders the past while using improvisation as a vehicle to plot future trajectories. Alongside an assembly of talented peers, the trombonist and pianist conjures progressive harmonies, rhythms, and melodies that poignantly capture the intersections between his personal experiences and artistic ethos. “‘UMDALI’ means the creator or the one who creates,” Jiyane tells Apple Music. “I took it from that point and looked at my life and all the things I was dealing with. All the things that shaped me into who I am—growing up in a children’s home where I met my mentor \[the late Dr. Johnny Mekoa\], losing a friend with whom I started this band, and the birth of my daughter, Sierra Leone.” With assistance from trumpeters Brandon Ruiters and Tebogo Seitei, pianist Nkosinathi Mathunjwa, bassist Ayanda Zalekile, saxophonist Nhlanhla Mahlangu, drummer Lungile Kunene, and percussionist Gontse Makhene, Jiyane memorializes a moment in time while fashioning a sonic bridge to what came before. “It feels like a breakthrough,” he says of the album, which he began working on in 2017. “It’s like I was bloated, ’cause it’s been years. Art is creation, and creation needs to be shared.” Here, he talks us through his body of work, track by track. **“Senzo Senkosi”** “I lost a very good friend in Senzo Nxumalo. He loved music so much. We were studying in the same school, so I had that bond with him. We’d been playing music together for the past decade, so when he passed away while we were ready to release an album, that really broke my heart. It felt like something was lost. This is to celebrate him and where he came from—Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. I was so fortunate to be living with my family in Soweto because all the artists that recorded with me are from that township. We started playing this music and we shared. It gave me so much joy to do this with people I regard highly as well. To have them have the faith to create with me—it gives me life.” **“Umkhumbi kaMa”** “Herbie Hancock is our father and teacher in this work we’re doing. \[His playing on Wayne Shorter’s\] ‘Footprints’—if you love improvisation, creation, jazz, or music, you have to pass through this frame. I listened to his music day and night growing up. These things linger in your life as you grow, and he’s such an inspiration to this work. ‘Umkhumbi kaMa’ is dedicated to my mum—it means ‘mothership.’ The womb...I’m fascinated about this also, hence I talk about ‘umdali’ or the creator. A woman gives birth, and every human being is from that process. That, to me, is the most beautiful thing. I pay respect because she had to carry me and also had challenges just to make sure she survives in life. Women are going through a lot of things in this world, so this song is about every mother and the wonders of the world.” **“Ntate Gwangwa’s Stroll”** “Baba Jonas Gwangwa’s generation were not just musicians—they were dealing with apartheid and everything else, and they were using music to \[cope\]. When I first started playing trombone, most of the artists I studied were American masters. When I started digging deeper about my continent, I came across his body of work. It made me so happy to have someone in my country who achieved so much on the instrument I love. Luckily, he was friends with Dr. Johnny Mekoa, and they played in the same band. He was a great teacher—he used to visit our school and share knowledge, technique, and everything else. When I heard him play, my hair stood up. I could now hear something that is our culture and inspired by our history. I got that from him. I consider love as the highest form, and I’m not going to wait for heaven or hell. I’m going to do love while I’m still alive. This song is giving that love. May his soul rest in peace.” **“Life Esidimeni”** “The inspiration for ‘Life Esidimeni’ is what’s happening in this country. It’s a rebellion and a prayer. More than a hundred mentally ill people just died because they were moved from their hospital. When you try to listen to our elders, there’s no accountability and people are hiding. That tells you there’s something evil, and that pains me. I’m challenging this pain and also reflecting. These are people—my people and countrymen. You can’t keep things inside; it’s better to cry, and this song is that. The melody came to give respect to all those that lost their lives. This record is a great stepping-stone, and I’m going to use all I can to make change in this beautiful universe.” **“Moshe”** “As an artist, you can take what you have and push it further. In his time, when Moses Molelekwa came, he started using the knowledge and followed the footsteps of traditional songs. We were now hearing ourselves and, as a listener, you can tell where this sound is taking you. His time signatures are very interesting musically and some of his movements, harmonically, were magic to me. What he did for South African music at that age…I bow. The future might look like what I have in my hands now—where you got it from and what you’re going to do with it. This is the beauty of art: It’s a balance with our elders because we walk on their footprints. There are so many people we still have to celebrate for their contributions to life, not just music. It’s a tribute to all these people because whoever you are, if you’re creating, you’re provoking beauty. Hence ‘Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O’—the circle at the end is the circle of life. The tree, once planted, must bear fruit…that’s what’s happening now.”

A figure in his country’s jazz scene since his early teens, Jiyane’s skill comes to the fore in his anticipated debut as a bandleader, a set full of hope and momentum