TENDAYI SITHOLE

Searching for the spirit

the elusive search
anxiety sets in
the mind in racing mode
searching for the spirit
intangible, illusive, invisible
tsolo location not located buried deep underground never to resurrect
damnation in duncan village
mdantsane is just a mystical anticipation
dyani in tales, myths, narratives, accounts and mysteries
archives waiting to be subjected to black minds
blowing the dust to avoid derrida’s fever
the name of dyani in documents
indexes, catalogues, entries, and keywords
there is a name and there is something to this name
reaching for the music to make sense of its tonality and soul
dyani’s spirit has never been gone, it is here and has always been there lurking in us
the spirit lives there is no dyani’s spirit to search for
dyani lives!!!

Boxer

in the name of boxing
the rivalry between Mdantantsane and Duncan Village is still yesteryear present
boxing overshadowing
legends are still there
boxing rings still drip with sweat
round one to round twelve if opponents still stand
left and right

overhand
uppercut
punch
hook
jab
Mdantsane has been a boxing ring
the Centre where the body of Dyani was is now replaced
sucker punch and knock-out
the Centre for creative arts and youth development is not there
capitalised by the caterpillar of capitalism
everything whipped out T.K.O ting ting ting…!
there is no evidence that the body of the legend was here
there is no evidence that there was the artistic sphere vibrating
no trace where the body of the legend was
no trace of the jazz being vibrations
aisles, tills, counters and customers in and out
boxer wholesaler

Dorkay House

Dorkay House in the body of the metropolis
Johannesburg the generator of dreams and its shutters
Johannesburg of life and death
The city of the extremes
The magnetic excess of exceptionalism

     Everybody is making it in Johannesburg
     It is where it is happening
     Tales of love and hate about the city that is made of bones migrants
     and their disposable lives

Dorkay House breathing alternative life
The space of possibility and making it
The creative feel
The impulse that defies the orange spine of Impulse Records
The black spine and the only black spine of A Love Supreme
­
       Dyani’s Quartet paying homage to Dorkay House
       Jolobe’s drums on ones and twos
       Epstein’s sax on the same
       Pukwana’s sax on the same
       The same homage, the same one and twos in different registers
       No repetition in this same and different

The hub of Union of Artist
The union against the Union of South Africa and its bastard apartheid
The union of amandla
The union of black solidarity

       Dyani in Johannesburg doing his thing
       The bass in Johannesburg
       The bass from East London
       The bass to exile

Dorkay House wherefore art thou?

U.D.F.

Dedicating a blue one for the movement in struggle
Struggle on the ground with song
The congress and the charter in struggle for democracy
Liberal constitutional democracy came but with no democracy
Archives gathering dust
Umzabalazo turned now to “it is our time to eat”
Taciturn song Dyani

As one

together as one
pursuit of journey of faith as one
The Blue Notes as one sextet
Brotherhood of Breath as one
The Blue Notes again as one as comrades die one-by-one
Moyake dies as one with one tenor saxophone
Feza dies as one with one trumpet
Dyani dies as one with one bass
Pukwana dies as one with one alto saxophone
McGregor dies as one with one piano
The Blue Notes receives the The Order of Ikamanga in Silver as one
Moholo-Moholo still lives as one kulama xesha osizi with his one drum kit carrying the lives of his fallen comrades
The Blue Notes lives as one in one mystery of being one!

Sequel

No follow up yet
The book of life has been written
All is not yet known
Notes and unfinished manuscripts lying scattered elsewhere

No series yet to give a comprehensive picture
Fragments and fractures of narratives and demands of re-narratives
All is beautiful and mystical

Mystery is still the date of birth
It is still mystery of who saw what from the fall on stage
All is yet to follow inconclusively

In prayer: homage in gramasonicsophytology

the word of it all
the beginning of music
improvisation as the coming out of what is inside

homage paid to the socio-existential
homage paid to heroism and martyrdom
homage paid to homage, homage of homage

the prayer that plays with for and to
words of homage
it is all about prayer
memory excavated from scattered unarchivability

in prayer it goes like this:
one for…
blues for…
dedication to…
ode to…

requiem for…
hymn for…
song to…
letter to…

Dyani’s prayer goes like this:
Song for Biko
Dedication to Mingus
Amen!!!
Fela saying it again, Amen Amen!!!