Jazz is a beautiful genre of music
Jazz artist Erik Paliani has been around for decades. He started his career as a young man before joining the Acacias Band. Then he trekked to South Africa where his career blossomed. He went on to release his album Chitukutuku which earned him the much-admired South Africa Music Awards (Sama) nomination. This cemented his name as a great jazz player both in South Africa, Malawi and neighbouring countries. He made South Africa his home. However of late the jazz player has relocated back home and has started a new project. Our Arts Editor EDITH GONDWE caught up with Paliani for details.
Q
: Tell us more about this new project?
A
: It is a Malawian jazz project. The full intention is to use everything Malawian. My ambition is to highlight that Malawians can play jazz. This project is not connected with Erik Paliani the jazz artist, but Erik Paliani jazz trio, a new group that I have founded and set up. It comprises myself, Jay Munthali and Lightone Chisuse. This project is a foundation of a lot of things. J Munthali is a Malawian sound engineer, and Chisuse is a drums player.
Q
: Out of the project, what should we expect? An album, a major tour?
A
: We are actually recording a full album. Eight to 10 jazz songs with a Malawian touch to it. I think we have so far recorded half of it but the most important thing on the album is to translate what we do on stage into CD form. But this album is pure jazz.
Q
: What has been the experience recording here in Malawi?
A
: It’s been interesting. We have a special name for it. We call it the Mzokoto River Project. Mzokoto is a river at Phwezi. I went to Phwezi Secondary School, so in my profiling i feel like there is a dead space whereby people do not know which primary school I went to, which secondary school I went to. Where was I born. So with this project we are going back to that era where we were born, raised and schooled right here in Malawi.
In Malawi when you are recording music, you do everything yourself. It’s the three of us funding everything. The equipment is limited but good enough. Sometimes we get trade exchange with Nthakomwa of Mibawa Studios but basically this is a self funded project. Jay Munthali did the sound engineering and I did the production, It really took us back to the time we started our careers here in Malawi with the very basic things.
Not much has changed.
Q: So when should we expect the final product?
A
: I think by the second week of August we should have at least two singles out. Be aware, however, that this is not really a vocal album. It’s not vocal jazz. We have to create a story using very few words. We have to create moments and stories using the sound and let our fans feel the music and get the meaning of the sounds.
Q
: Of late we have seen Erik Paliani more and more in Malawi. Should we say you are now home to stay?
A
: The modern world of a musician is interconnected. I was born here, grew up here and this will always be home. Before, we just wanted to be a resident band, be here in Blantyre and play our music. But now we have to be all over connecting with fans from anywhere. A musician can never say I am home, I am settling. I just want to revisit my roots and bring back to life the experience that made me the Erik Paliani that I am today. So to answer your question, on one hand we are here, on the other we are still out there in the world making music.
Q
: Any last words?
A: I think Malawi has some great jazz music and jazz players. But the understanding of jazz among fans is limited. We need to go in-depth in the arts world. Jazz in Malawi is not famous because of that and you never get a lot of people that will play or listen to it. We have decided to be fusing some hip hop, gospel, pop into our jazz. Jazz is just a language and we will make sure that more and more Malawians fully understand jazz. I am not bothered by the less numbers of jazz fans at the moment. This project is the beginning of great things. n
