Another experience we recall being a part of not too long ago involving one of our passions, music. The Emirates Pursuit of Jazz was created to find the next big thing in the jazz music scene jointly pioneered by Emirates Airlines and Universal Music Group (UMG).
In the end two winners announced, namely Gally Ngoveni and Siya Charles. Both recently debuted their original songs on Kaya FM’s The Art of Sunday. The show, presented by Brenda Sisane, was the first to air the song titled ‘Kwa Langa’ by Siya Charles (produced by Nduduzo Makhathini) and ‘Mhani Ntsongo’ by Gally Ngoveni (produced by award-winning composer Dr. Sipho Sithole). You can can now listen to or download the newly released singles on Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, YouTube, Google Play, YouTube Music, iTunes Store and Napster.
Gally and Siya, had the opportunity to perform at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club in New York during Winter Jazzfest. They also won a record deal with UMG to record and release their respective singles.
Hailing from Cape Town, trombonist Siya Charles wrote her own song, dedicating it to her late grandfather and avid jazz musician Patrick Luvuno Mkumbuzi. The melody and rhythm of ‘Kwa Langa’ is reminiscent of Marabi, a style of township jazz, and its harmony influences are derived from South African gospel and American jazz.
Gally Ngoveni, a bassist from the capital Pretoria, titled his single ‘Mhani Ntsongo’, which reflects the hardships people go through after the death of a parent or guardian. When writing his song, he imagined himself walking in a person’s shoes who was mistreated by family and having nowhere to go.
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