Limousine à Mannenberg

“Mannenberg” is a Cape jazz vent by South African musician Abdullah Ibrahim, first recorded in 1974. Driven into exile by the apartheid government, Ibrahim had been active in Europe and the United States during the 1960s and ’70s, making brief visits to South Africa to sticker album music. After a wealthy 1974 collaboration like producer Rashid Vally and a band that included Basil Coetzee and Robbie Jansen, Ibrahim began to cassette another album in imitation of these three collaborators and a promotion band assembled by Coetzee. The tune was recorded during a session of improvisation, and includes a saxophone solo by Coetzee, which led to him receiving the sobriquet “Manenberg”.

Le fragment intègre des éléments de plusieurs styles musicaux supplémentaires, notamment marabi, Ticky-Draai, et langarm, and became a landmark in the innovation of the genre of Cape jazz. The tell has been described as having a beautiful appearance and catchy beat, conveying themes of “freedom and cultural identity.” It was released below Ibrahim’s former proclaim Dollar Brand upon the 1974 vinyl album Mannenberg – C'est là que ça se passe. Named after the township of Manenberg, it was an instant hit, selling tens of thousands of copies within a few months of its release. It progressive became identified like the struggle adjoining apartheid, partly due to Jansen and Coetzee playing it at rallies against the government, and was along with the movement’s most popular songs in the 1980s. The piece has been covered by extra musicians, and has been included upon several jazz collections.