42 Jabavu

42 Jabavu is a luminously engaging waypoint for Sabu Jiyana's Afro-fusion adventure. Jiyana, a multi-instrumentalist from South Africa, has been leading his band, The Matimba Project, since 2017 after completing his postgraduate studies at the University of Cape Town. Over these nine tracks, Jiyana and Matimba cover a variety of styles from jaiva (township jive), mbaqanga and jazz to Afrobeat, highlife and the blues. ‘Mongameli’ and ‘Siyabulela’ recall the mesmerising pianistic exaltations of Abdullah Ibrahim. ‘Izulu’ and ‘Sowbrys Dance’ showcase Jiyana's expressive focus on African indigenous percussion instruments – the group uses mbira, nyungue, akadinda, uHadi and the talking drum – within a 21st century context. ‘The Call’ features a reverberant choral refrain mixed with pan pipes and squeezebox in service to a stomping township groove. Named after the Cape Town street of Jayana's childhood, this album exemplifies his concept of a ‘pan-African sound’, which mixes venerable and contemporary musical ideas drawn from secular and sacred traditions to break down borders and cross barriers.