It was a spiritual affair at the Margate Art Museum last Saturday when acclaimed South African jazz pianist, Andile Yenana hosted his jazz evening in collaboration with two internationally renowned artists, MXO and Nico Phooko.

Inspired by his performances at the now closed Orbit Jazz Club in Johannesburg, Yenana decided to partner with the Margate Art Museum’s art curator, Siyakudumisa Sotsu to bring the Umngqungqo Wabantu jazz experience to Margate. 

Umngqungqo Wabantu is an intergenerational collaboration process of artist expression, be it in the diverse field of poetry/ spoken word, visual art, or improvisation.

In the second instalment of Umngqungqo Wabantu’s concert series, sponsored by Concerts SA through the digital mobility fund, Yenana invited MXO to come and share fellowship with his Gamalakhe TVET College students in the form of music workshops and educating the students on the business aspect of music. MXO is a prolific composer, producer and vocalist who is set to release his 13th album titled Maverick’s Pieces in a month’s time.

MXO performing with Andile Yenana’s Gamalakhe TVET College students.

This initiative also aims to give Yenana’s students the opportunity and exposure in performing live on stage with established musicians. 

Yenana moved to the South Coast in 2017 to teach music at the Gamalakhe TVET College. He said he created this event because he is unhappy with the discord among generations X and Y. “There is a divide between generations, and I want to use music to unite them,” he said.

“We have also been going through a lot as a country and I wanted to use music as an outlet to release all the pain we have experienced and internalised,” Yenana added.

Apart from Yenana and MXO’s performances, the audience saw performances from local artists such as Kagiso “KG” Miya, Banele Mdunjana who is Yenana’s ex-student, and KwaZulu-Natal’s proclaimed artist, Nozibusiso Vezi. 

At the event, the audience got treated to a session of live painting by Phooko, as well as live sculpturing from South Coast’s fine art connoisseur, Ben Nsusha. They both drew inspiration from the music of the night to create their pieces. 

Nico Phooko (left) and Ben Nsusha (right) standing next to their finished art pieces.

Phooko is a live music painter that uses the energy of his emotions and music to create abstract and semi-real pieces. He has worked with legendary artists such as Busi Mhlongo, Gloria Bosman and Blk Sonshine.