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Botswana: Lister Fulfils His Musical Dream
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
COLUMN
13 March 2008
Posted to the web 13 March 2008
Lekopanye Mooketsi
Last year was quite fulfilling for saxophonist Lister Boleseng. Finally he is reaching his destination after undertaking a long journey in music.
Boleseng made inroads into the music industry after the release of his acclaimed album, Life's a journey.
It is every musician's wish to record and the success of Boleseng's album was the turning point. Suddenly everyone in jazz circles was talking about him and he was in high demand to perform at various concerts. One of the popular tracks in his album, O tlhokana le nna, was voted as the Song of the Year for the Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) Awards. This was a rare achievement for an Afro jazz musical piece since the genre does not command a mass following in Botswana.
But Boleseng says he is not surprised by the success of his album, which was released towards the end of 2006. It takes time for most people to get used to a new product, he says, adding that people only started to take the album seriously in the middle of last year. He is not complaining about its sales either. "This is a life time music. The pace at which it is selling is unbelievable. I didn't expect the album to sell like hot cakes."
The easygoing artiste says he is humbled by the response from members of the public. He says he is so excited because since he appeared on Botswana Television (Btv)'s Mokaragana music progamme, his popularity has soared. Even winning the BOMU award was a plus for his music.
"Attendances at my shows have been impressive. It seems everything is starting to go according to plan."
Boleseng said members of his band have also perfected their act. In fact, he said, they are so outstanding that when they are performing it is better than listening to the CD. Boleseng is content with the turn his music career is taking. "I am happy with the turn of events," said the veteran muso.
He is working on materials for his next album. However, he revealed that he is not in a hurry. "I have set a standard, so the next album has to be even better. I am going to take my time before recording the next album," he said. Boleseng, who is also a member of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), intends to go into music full time. But he could not indicate whether that would mean quitting the army.
The Serowe-born Boleseng became a musician because he has been following music from a tender age. He attributes his musical influence to his grandmother who took care of him. He says the old lady was also passionate about music. As a young child, Boleseng followed music on radio. "I could tell who was playing which song. I have followed music since then. I liked to listen to the radio so much." He started to appreciate soul musicians like Otis Redding of the United States. Even now Boleseng still admires the African-American maestro. "Otis is still my favourite artiste. Even in my performance I play his songs." One of his favourite songs is I have got dreams to remember.
Other artistes that he followed when he was young were the likes of Percy Sledge. Boleseng liked soul music so much that he said it is still there in his repertoire. He remembers that there used to be a soul music programme on Radio Botswana (RB).
Boleseng's involvement in music goes as far back as 1985. He recalled that at one time that year, local pianist Rampholo Molefhe and Masilonyane Radinoga approached him with the idea of forming a band. In no time, they had formed a band known as Badiri.
Boleseng said it was this band, which introduced him to the stage. "That is when I started to play but then I was still learning music." Because he was in the army nobody knew that he was a musician. But eventually his colleagues noticed this when he appeared on stage with a civilian group.
Boleseng was then co-opted into the army band as tenor saxophonist, replacing Tsilo Baitsile who went for further music studies overseas. Since then Boleseng became a member of the BDF dance band and he was later sent for a music course in the United States. Boleseng has always been a session musician. He has played for groups like Unity band, Just Friends and Abraxas. Other musicians that he has backed include South African saxophonist Steve Dyer, respected Zimbabwean jazz artiste Paul Lunga and South African songbird Dorothy Masuku. He recalls how Dyer approached him to do rehearsals on the same day for a show in the evening.
But one of the shows that touched him was when he was backing South African diva, Sibongile Khumalo. Boleseng managed to click with her despite the fact that they did not do any rehearsals together. He said Khumalo just sent him a list of songs that she was going to play.
"He said in the middle of the show, Khumalo wept as she acknowledged his amazing skills. After the show she encouraged him to believe in himself. Even though he is an accomplished artiste in his own right, Boleseng is still backing other musicians who need his services. "When you play with other artistes you learn so may new things. I also jam with other artistes," he said.
Boleseng has appealed to local artistes to be united. "It is high time that we, as artistes, work together and quit politics."
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He said local musicians must improve on their discipline. "We must be principled."
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