Johannesburg — Tomorrow evening, Arts Alive stages a concert that brings his legacy to life again through re-imaginings of his compositions and new music from artists he worked with and influenced.

AFTER bassist Gito Baloi's murder in 2004, much of the media coverage focused on that death and its aftermath: eulogies, memorial concerts and tribute albums - most notably, 2008's Beyond.

But there was much more to Baloi's life and work than its end. Tomorrow evening, Arts Alive stages a concert that brings his legacy to life again through re-imaginings of his compositions and new music from artists he worked with and influenced.

The tribute to Baloi forms part of the Africa Unites concert on Mary Fitzgerald Square, which will also include performances by regional artists such as Ivorian roots music star Aly Keita.

Steelpan player Dave Reynolds, one of the driving forces behind Beyond, says : "Live, we absolutely won't be trying to copy the record. All the tracks will be reworked by this current group. We're using Gito's music and his influence on us as a point of departure for what we have to say today. That's the real tribute to Gito, because he was always reinventing his own material.

"He was quite extraordinary. Musicians all like to think we work 'out of the box' - but Gito actually lived it."

The group includes Reynolds, Steve Newman on acoustic guitar; Pedro da Silva Pinto of the group 340ml on vocals; bassist Sakhile Nkosi; percussionist Tlale Makhene; and drummer Bernice Boikanyo.

On Beyond, a collection of unreleased tracks, Baloi's own voice was heard. "For the live concert," says Reynolds, "I didn't want to say - no vocalist because Gito isn't with us. These are songs; they need to be sung. Pedro spent a lot of time in Gito's studio when 340ml first arrived in Joburg, and Gito always spoke highly of him. We needed someone who could sing in Portuguese but also be creative with the opportunity, because as well as a tribute, this is an opportunity for each artist to speak in their own voice."

For Reynolds, Baloi's music spoke about the vibrant cosmopolitanism of his adopted city. "Back in the mid- 1990s you'd go to a club and hear Gito singing in Portuguese, which I doubt everybody there understood, but it still spoke to them. It was music without borders, in a way that Joburg is a city without borders - if only we'd embrace that as a strength of this place." For that reason, Reynolds sees the support for the concert from Arts Alive and the Moshito music conference, both of which focus on cross-continental links, as the most apt.

The set will include compositions by all the group members, and Newman's will be Jaywalking from his most recent release, Flavour. With Baloi gone, the Tananas trio (Baloi, Newman and drummer Ian Herman) no longer exists. But Newman continues to make beautifully intricate and inventive guitar albums that receive far too little coverage.

Flavour comprises 14 solo tracks - though solo hardly reflects the multitracked complexity of the music. As well as the predictable guitars and basses, Newman employs the sounds of the Japanese koto, various drums and percussion instruments and recorded effects. Nor does the digital classification of the music as "new age" (with that term's implication of unanchored vagueness) do the CD justice. The music is at times meditative, but also tough, crisp, and - on Jaywalking - just the kind of joyful, mbaqanga-flavoured little dance Baloi would have loved.

Supporting concerts isn't all the Moshito conference will do this week. The event, at Museum Africa, began yesterday and runs until tomorrow. As well as the small trade fair and linked recitals and performance workshops, there are a series of information and debate sessions. Topics include copyright, taxation, business skills and digital readiness, including a seminar on maximising the benefits of the mobile and download music markets.