New York — African songs of freedom rang out strongly in New York Monday night, accompanied by the enthusiastic stamping, clapping and ululating of an appreciative crowd at the Bottom Line jazz club.
The "Let Freedom Sing" benefit concert, produced by World Music Productions, united African jazz greats the Mahotella Queens, Dorothy Masuku and Thomas Mapfumo on a single stage with host and guest performer, Bonnie Raitt.
Freedom has been a formative theme in these artists' careers, and they have both survived and thrived amid the most socially and culturally restrictive periods in southern Africa's history. In the 60's, Masuku had to flee the prospect of arrest, first by the South African apartheid government and then by the white regime in neighboring Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Mapfumo remains unpopular with the Zimbabwean government of Robert Mugabe for his lyrics, which are peppered with social commentary in the guise of traditional proverbs and political innuendo.
The artists highlighted the importance of liberty and the key role that music can play in attaining it. Selections included Masuku in her inspiring "Mandela", the Queens' indomitable Mbaqanga selections, Mapfumo's signature chimurenga or "struggle" style and Raitt's rendition of Zimbabwean artist Oliver Mtukudzi's "Help me Lord".
"[African jazz artists] play something blindingly complex and make it look so simple. I whole-heartedly support the dissemination of this joy," said Raitt, speaking about her work with Afropop and her life-long love of African music. "It is important to support something that lets the rest of the world know where rock 'n roll, R 'n B, jazz -- where it all started from." Raitt's new album, Silver Lining, which several critics have called one of her best, blends African, Afro-Cuban, Delta blues and Irish musical threads.
The benefit concert was organized to raise funds for Afropop Worldwide, which aims to promote greater recognition, understanding and enjoyment of the music and cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora. The beneficiaries also included an independent Zimbabwean radio service and a fund to assist the families of musicians in Zimbabwe who have died of AIDS.
"Our hearts go out to those in Zimbabwe who are struggling with so much," said Raitt. "We're pleased that part of tonight's proceeds will benefit the country's only private radio service, "Voice of the People". We must let freedom sing, not just tonight, but everyday."
The African divas, the Queens and Masuku, invited the audience to join them in an impromptu singing of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika," as the evening also celebrated Freedom Day, the annual commemoration of South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994 that gave Nelson Mandela the presidency. Also on hand to celebrate was South African Consul-General, Nomathamsanqa Xoliswa Ngwevela. Ngwevela inducted the Mahotella Queens, Hilda Tloubatla, Mildred Mangxola and Nobesuthu Mbadu, Dorothy Masuka and Thomas Mapfumo into the Afropop Hall of Fame.
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The concert was an occasion for Africans living in New York to connect. Conversations ranged from how aspects of New York reminded them of home (anywhere from Lagos and Luanda to Johannesburg), to the continent's as yet untapped potential.
Among the topics of conversation was Afropop's intention to expand its outreach through Internet broadcasts as well as radio shows. "It will be good for getting new people to hear African music," said Nigerian film editor Bola Belo, indicating the growing popularity of web radio in Western countries. "But give it a few years, and Africans will really be using [this medium] to their advantage."
