TIMELESS MAGAZINE Issue 02

TI M ELES S MAG ISSUE 02 OCTOBER 2017
TIMELESS MAG
LIMPOPO BORN JAZZ MUSICIAN WHO MADE A NAME FOR
HIMSELF IN THE UK
By Godlive Masinge - Images provided by Mphuzi Chauke
“Mama, you are
my shield because in the wars of life you
have fought for me [Mama, u xitlhangu
xanga. Etinyimpini ta vutomi undzi lwele]”
Mphuzi Chauke is a recording African
Jazz artist from Maphophe Village,
Limpopo Province, South Africa. He
has been in the music industry for over 11
years performing with his band in the United
Kingdom and recently in South Africa.
Mphuzi Chauke’s love for music started at
an early age. He grew up listening to legends
of XiTsonga Traditonal music by the
likes of Dr Thomas Chauke, General MD.
Shirinda and Samson Mthombeni. He
made his first guitar using a 5 litre tin of
Castrol Oil and fishing strings; and taught
himself how to play guitar. “I remember
making noise everyday to my mother and
my siblings playing my guitar”, he says.
Things took a turn when he went to the
University of Cape Town to study Civil
Engineering. “My next door neighbour had
an acoustic guitar and he used to play it
outside his flat”, Mphuzi adds. He asked
him to teach him how he played but he was
not interested, as a result he had to rely on
looking how he was playing and that’s
when he picked up few chords here and
there.
In the late 90’s Mphuzi Chauke started writing
his own African Jazz music hoping that one
day he will get a chance to record it and many
people will hear it. In 2002 he moved to live
and work in London, United Kingdom. One of
his luggage was his acoustic guitar. In 2005 he
was invited by the UK’s Green Party to perform
at their Annual Fundraising Event. This
time he had no band to play with. He asked
Dominic Angadi to join him and they performed
as a duo at this event. That was the beginning
of the realization of the life-long ambition to
pursue music. In 2006 he increased his band
line-up and was joined by Sam McGowan on
lead guitar, Keith Miller on second guitar, the
late Steve Bullen on bass and Thierry Deneux
on drums and percussions.
Together they performed at pubs and bars
around London including the Nottingham Live
Music Festival in 2007. In the same year
Mphuzi and his band Pamoja (Swahili for
togetherness) supported Oliver Mtukudzi and
the Black Spirit at a festival at Chepstow, in
Wales. They also performed at Kingston
Carnival in London. Sutchara Baton joined the
band as the backing vocalist together with
Issue 02
Timeless Magazine
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