Bakithi Kumalo

Growing up during the Apartheid years, Bakithi Kumalo saw nothing in his future but music. As a child, he learned mbaqanga (a rhythm characteristic of Soweto), mbube (a cappella vocal music) and jive (electric, urban pop) on bass, drums and acoustic guitar. “Sometimes at schools, the children ask me how I got to America,” he said. In “Set It Free - A Musical Journey From Apartheid To Freedom” Mr. Kumalo will use song, music and his personal story to tell of his coming to of age in South Africa.
-- Barbara Delatiner -- New York Times


Kumalo came up through the township music scene. By the time Simon found him in Johannesburg, in 1984, Kumalo had paid his dues playing township soul, Zulu traditional pop, mbaqanga and other local styles. His work with the likes of Gloria Estefan, Randy Brecker, Laurie Anderson, and Cyndi Lauper .... have given him a taste of mainstream success... a real shot at the sort of crossover audience so many African artists crave.
-- Banning Eyre --The Boston Phoenix


Bakithi Kumalo's fretless carries "Home" and "Hand on My Shoulder," the latter featuring background vocals by no less than Brian Wilson. Revealing his South African roots, Fig enlists the vocal and playing skills of Richard Bona and ex-Zawinul guitarist Amit Chaterjee for the soaring "3:4 Folk," while Bakithi returns for the horn-laden Capetown traditional "Jan/Feb/March."
-- Chris Jisi -- Bass Player Magazine (review - Anton Fig - Figments)


Also backstage was Bakithi Kumalo, my bass player in Bembe Orisha. He played with Planet Drum and is a monster player from South Africa.
-- Mickey Hart - mickeyhart.net


... The album’s focal points include infectious vocal melodies (handled by Kumalo, his wife, Robbi and others), kaliedoscopic rhythms, and killer, percussion-driven grooves. It’s all held together by Kumalo’s articulate bass playing, which anchors the sometimes complex compositions and frequently pops with authority.
--Jim Ferguson -- Jazz Times Magazine


Loved it, you carry it all so well... So often times the bass is buried beneath the drums and what not. You bring it up where it needs to be. And when papa plays the ladies sway. Take it, Take it, Take it Awayyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-- Customer review -- CDbaby .com


... with the soothing and peaceful music performed by the Bakithi Kumalo Band jetting through the air, I found myself in musical bliss. Mothers were dancing with their babies, jubilant line-dancing and shimmying could be seen by the end of the night. The wailing of the saxophone inspired a unison of clapping and arms swaying through the air to “keep the beat”. Whichever way you relaxed, it was a North Fork event that all enjoyed.
--R.B Stuart -- Dan’s Papers


The afternoon will feature a live musical performance with Bakithi Kumalo and the South African All-Stars. Bakithi is a legendary Bass player who was featured on Paul Simon's Graceland album, among other projects. He will be accompanied by some fantastic, equally well-known South African musicians. We’re there.
-- newyork.urbanbaby.com


I think he is one of the more interesting world music artists right now….he is really doing a lot of work…he picked up on the rhythms of New York and his music has a sense of play_ it’s got sounds from South Africa and the world.
--Suzanne Kincheloe – Qradio


As a finale to three days of Global Peace Concerts, the Bakithi Kumalo Band performed at the University Cafe. Deep bass tones flooded the evening, as people poured into the venue. The sound of jazz and traditional South African folk kept the mood buoyant. The cafe percolated and people rose to dance.
-- Chris Williams -- The Press


Kumalo's roots are in a musical family of Soweto, and he was destined to be a musician long before Paul Simon's expedition to South Africa. After Graceland brought him to New York, Kumalo became one of the more in-demand session players for the growing number of American artists looking for an "African" sound. ....he wisely has tried to create a genuinely original sound for himself, one that fuses his South African roots with pan-African rhythms, R&B licks, Caribbean melodies, and jazz grooves. ....but it is his bass playing that informs the sound of the music ... He stretches the instrument to the limit ... Latin and jazz fans will find as much to listen to as "world music" fans.
--Louis Gibson -- Amazon.com


Kumalo's style draws on a broader range of influences from Latin to ambient. This diversity is perhaps unsurprising for a man whose session career has encompassed both Harry Belafonte and Laurie Anderson and Kumalo's musicality has a universal appeal. With an autobiographical theme to most of the pieces, this is an excellent showcase for Kumalo's talents. Anyone wishing to keep tabs on his other collaborative projects may care to check out the work he did with onetime Grateful Dead sticksman and ethnic percussion reasearcher/player par excellence Mickey Hart on the late Tupac Shakur's movie Gang Related.
--Roger Thomas -- Amazon.co.uk

- Various sources

"Hi TBLers.
I just got home from seeing Bakithi Kumalo and his band at the Brooklyn Museum, and I thought you'd like to hear about it. It was a free concert, part of their 'First Saturday' program when the museum is open to 11 PM and all kinds of live music, performance, film, and lectures go on.

Bakithi was playing his Modulus 5-string through a small unidentifiable rack mount amp and a 4X8 cabinet with a large white "W" painted on the grill cloth. There were two keyboards (John DiMatino and Tony Cedras), his sax/flute man Morris Goldberg (called Baba Mojee, he's from Capetown), a percussionist (Emedin Rivera), a drummer (Damon DueWhite), and Mrs. Robbi Kumalo who sings harmony with a great soprano like Flora Purim. All the musicians were superb and tight.

The music was mostly Soweto dance music, which is very close to funk, but some of the tunes were Latin and with the keyboards and soprano sax, you could hear the influence of Chick Corea.

Bakithi's bass lines are probably familiar to you; they are very melodic repetitive riffs that create the dance beat; he does a little slapping and popping, but he mostly plucks with 3 fingers, anchoring his thumb on the B string. Sometimes he hits all the strings with the palm of his hand while he fingers a chord and it sounds like a symphony of bass drums.

He is full of energy and enthusiasm, involving the audience, teaching them phrases in his language to sing along with him even though some had unpronounceable (for us Brooklynites) clicks, which work very well with funk music. His wife Robbi taught us some dances to go with the music.

Most of the tunes in the second set were on his CD called "San Bonan". A grand time was had by all!



- Sunday, February 6 2000, Volume 2000 : Number 046